So they climbed this steep trail, which was so plainly worn that there was no need of blazes along the way. They climbed and climbed! Still they had not reached the top where they expected to find the knoll they originally started out for.
“Seems to me we have gone twice as far as ever that bluff was,” complained Joan.
“Places always seem close at hand when one is on the water,” commented Julie.
But they now found the trail descending, and shortly it went decidedly downhill, away from the lake. Both scouts looked at each other.
“There is no sense in going down, Julie!”
“Apparently not, Jo, but these trails wind awfully, you know; and maybe it is trying to avoid a gully or a cliff.”
So they kept on, hoping every moment for a sight of the bald place that had allured them from the camp on the safe and desirable meadow. After half an hour of this hiking they came out to an inland pond with canals cut in different directions.
“Why! it’s a beaver colony!” exclaimed Julie, pointing to the huts and dam, and they saw several beavers working in the aspens at the far side of the pond.
“I could eat one of those beavers—I’m so starved!” sighed Joan.
“Shall we follow that trail around the pond?” asked Julie.