“A joke? What kind of joke, Brad?”
“It was connected with that paper sack he had with him. He brought a bear skin rug from home. Red figured he’d slip away from camp, put it on, and then sneak back to scare the Cubs. You know—pretend to be a real bear.”
“Red should have known better than to try such a kid trick!”
“It was my fault,” Brad said, taking the blame. “I should have set my foot down hard when he told me his plan. He was so hepped up about it, I let him go ahead.”
“But why didn’t he come back as he planned?”
“That’s what has me bothered,” Brad admitted anxiously. “He intended to make a few scratching sounds in the trees and show himself about the time the story telling reached a climax.”
“Red is such a youngster,” Mr. Holloway murmured. “He never did have much sense of direction—”
“Right now, he may be wandering around in the woods, hopelessly lost,” added Mr. Hatfield grimly. “We must find him quickly, or it may turn into an all-night job!”
CHAPTER 2
THE FACE ON THE CLIFF
The Cubs bunched together, waiting for orders. Red’s plight, they knew, easily might be a serious one. If he foolishly had wandered deep into the woods, it might be necessary to organize searching parties in order to find him.