"Yes," assented Bob, "and it may prove a hard task."
"Not if you do exactly as I say," declared Stoodles. "Just follow me. I know all the short cuts."
The journey was not a pleasant one. There was no beaten path to follow. They had to breast their way at places through whole acres of thorny bushes. At other places they had some steep rocks to climb.
They rested frequently. It was about two hours later when Stoodles pressed through the last canes of a great brake with an expression of intense satisfaction.
"The hardest part of our tramp is over and done with, lad," he announced.
"That's good news," said Bob, who was pretty tired.
"Now you rest here till I get up into a tree and take a peep in a certain direction."
Stoodles selected a high, lonely tree near at hand, and was soon up among its loftiest branches. He came down speedily.
"It's all right, Bob," he stated. "A mile more and we will be at the edge of the town."
"The new town?" asked Bob. "The old one was destroyed by the cyclone, you know."