charm in their eyes as it was bound always to recall the jolly times they had when camping out in company.

Elmer Kitching had always possessed an ardent love for everything connected with the Great Outdoors. He came by this nature honestly, for his father in his day had been a well-known naturalist, whom such famous men as Teddy Roosevelt himself, John Burroughs, and others along the same line had been glad to consult when preparing articles for publication, in order to verify their own observations concerning animated nature.

His mother, now a widow, was comfortably well off, and Elmer had a young sister at home by the name of Rebecca.

Amos Codling lived with his mother and three younger children. They had not mingled very much with other folks since coming to Chester; the widow returned no calls, and seemed content to look after her family. Some were inclined to think this rather strange; but by degrees it became the conviction of her neighbors that she must have seen great trouble, and shrank from contact with the rough world. Her children were always well dressed, and bright in school; but even the town gossips could find out next to nothing about the previous history of the Codling family, save that they came from a big city.

Wee Willie Winkleman was the son of the owner of the finest motion picture theater in Chester. As has been stated before, his prevailing passion was the ambition to discover new and novel methods of making fires without the use of matches. That had become such a “fad” with the tall chum that he even dreamed about it, and had been known to get up in the middle of the night to try out some queer scheme which had visited him in his sleep.

Perk, the beloved pal, was famous for his amiable disposition. Few fellows had ever seen him show a trace of anger. Indeed, his beaming smile could, the boys claimed, melt the flinty heart of almost any farmer around town; though this rule had its exceptions. Perk was frequently in trouble; likewise rosy-cheeked, and guileless, he was also addicted to straying from beaten paths in the woods, and getting lost; but never from the truth, since his word was as good as most fellows’ bond. His father was a railroad engineer, and likewise rather ponderous of build.

As the evening crept along, Wee Willie every once in a while might have been noticed glancing sharply in the direction of Amos. It struck him that the other was acting unusually nervous, for he would get up and walk around for a minute or two, and then again throw himself down.

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