“No,” answered Bert, and this was borne out a moment later, for with a snorting grunt the raccoon turned and scurried away into the bushes.
“There!” said Bert. “He’s gone!”
“I’m glad of it,” returned Nan, with a sigh of relief. “I don’t like raccoons when I’m chestnutting.”
“They’re nice!” declared Bert. “I wish I could see him again.”
But the raccoon did not show itself, probably being just as much frightened at having seen the Bobbsey twins as Nan was at getting a glimpse of the ring-tailed creature.
Over this little fright, the Bobbsey twins walked on again, and soon they had reached the grove that the foreman had told them about.
“This must be the place—there are chestnut trees here,” said Bert. His father had taught him how to tell the more common sorts of trees by means of their leaves and bark.
“Well, let’s look for chestnuts,” proposed Nan.
With sticks the children began poking among the leaves, turning them over, for the little brown nuts, when the frost has popped them out of their prickly shells, have a great trick of hiding under the leaves.
“Oh, I’ve found one!” cried Nan. “Two—three! Oh, Bert, I’ve found three!”