Frank in the Woods

supper waiting for them. After they had eaten heartily, they dr

, how do you lik

to try it again," said Harry. "I never

'll own up, that when we started, I thought I would see what sort o' stuff you wur made of; an' I thought I'd stretch your legs for you in a way that would make you give in. But you fellers are purty good shakes at runnin', for boys of you

rmed with long, sharp teeth. It had received a thorough rubbing and greasing, and shone in the fire-light like silver; but, after all, there was nothing uncommon in its appearance. There were plenty o

o ole to trap, he give it to my father, an' he give it to me. It has been stole from me a good many times; but I allers made out to get it back agin. Onct a yaller-hided Mexikin Greaser bagged it, an' I didn't set eyes on it for more 'n a year; b

ide of the mountains. I war right in the heart of the Pawnee region, the wust Injun country in the world; but I kalkerlated to get all my trappin' done arly in the spring, an' move out; 'cause as soon as the ice breaks up in the spring, the red-skins allers come round on a grand hunt, an'

uns to come round on their reg'lar hunts; so one mornin,' arter a good breakfast on buffaler hump, I started out an' begun to gather up my traps. A'most every one had some kind o' game in it, an' I soon got as big a load as I could wag under. So I started back for camp. I war goin' along mighty keerless like, an' wasn't thinkin' o' nothin', when all to onct I seed something that made me prick up my ears, an' step a li

d that I did want it, an' that I would have it, if I had to foller the Injun clar to his home. So I started arter him, an', for a mile or so, the trail was toler'ble plain, an' I got along first-rate. I made up my mind that if the thief got away from me he would have to be smarter nor I thought he war. But, at last, I come to where he had tuk to a swamp, an' two or three times I come mighty nigh losin' the trail. The swamp war full o' logs, an' the Injun had walked on them, an', in course, he didn't leave no trail. I follered him more 'n a mile by the marks on the bushes, an' finally I couldn't see a single sign. There war the print of one of his moccasins in the mud as plain as daylight; an' there the trail ended. I couldn't tell which way the rascal had gone. I looked around, examinin' every bush an'

ould carry me. But afore I had gone a mile it begun to grow dark. In course, I couldn't foller the trail no further; an' the only thing I could do, war to camp down

about him. I lifted my head an' listened. Yes, thar war no mistake-I could hear something steppin' keerfully over the leaves, an' I thought it war comin' right toward me. At first I thought it war some wild varmint; but, as it come nigher, I found that it war a two-legged critter; so I cocked my rifle an' waited for the Injun-for I knowed by the step that it war a red-skin-to

all my trouble for nothin'. I knowed that the Injun that stole my trap wasn't a great way off, and I knowed, too, that the feller that jest passed war a sort of fri

his supper, an' the other lay stretched out on his blanket, and war showin' his friend the trap he had stole from me; an' they war both laughin' over it, as though they thought it war a mighty good joke. This kinder riled me, an' I knowed that I could soon put an end to their skylarkin'. I might have shot one of them where he sot easy enough, but that wouldn't do, for the other would have escaped, an' I wanted to make sure of both of 'em. I wasn't fool enough to think of walkin' into their camp

ar a human critter, an' then, givin' an unarthly yell, he dropped his rifle, an' made at me with his tomahawk. But I met him half way, an' ketchin' hold of the hand that held the tomahawk, I give him a stab with my knife that set

blankets; and arter makin' a good supper on a piece of venison I found hung up

other day I had gathered up all the rest of my traps, without seein' any more Injun signs; but I knowed they would soon be around. As I did