“Guess the only thing to do is to follow the shore around,” he mused, as he sat down on a rock to eat his dinner of berries. “They are mighty good, but not what you’d call filling, and as for variety, it reminds me of the butcher who said he had pig, pork, hog and swine.”
He rested for an hour, knowing that it was necessary to conserve his strength, and then started off to circle the lake. It was hard going from the first, as the shore, in many places, was marshy and he had to make long detours.
“Reckon it’ll take about a week at this rate,” he thought as he noticed that the sun was getting low in the west.
He stopped to eat a few more of the berries and was about to start again when he was electrified by a sound. It came from what seemed a great distance. He was not sure that he had really heard the call. He realized that it is easy to imagine that one hears his name called, so he waited and listened. In a moment it came again, and this time he was sure that it was no fancy.
“Hello-o-o-o,” he shouted at the top of his voice.
“Rex-x-x-x,” came back the answer.
“It’s Bob for a fact,” he exulted. “Here I am,” he called.
“Stay right where you are and I’ll find you.”
Rex sat down calling from time to time to guide his friend, and in about fifteen minutes Bob came in view.
“Thank God, I’ve found you at last,” the latter cried as he grasped Rex by the hand. “It’s sure been a long trail.”