“Good boy, Elmer, you’re right!” commended Wee Willie.

“And now no talking except in whispers, with as little of that as possible. We don’t want to have our walk for nothing, I imagine.”

With these words Elmer led off, the others trooping after him, Amos coming next, then the tall chum, and fat Perk bringing up the rear, as was ordinarily his custom.

They soon found themselves deep in the woods, with all sight of the big beechnut tree on the knoll lost to them. But trust Elmer for having fixed the location indelibly in his mind. Every step they took was fetching them just that much closer to their goal; and while Wee Willie also kept tabs on their progress, not once did he find occasion to enter the slightest protest concerning the leadership of Elmer.

After about ten minutes of this sort of thing, the one in the van stopped, and held up his hand. They seemed to be at the foot of the knoll, judging from the lay of the land. Elmer parted some bushes that hemmed them in, and, looking up, the others saw the very beech tree toward which they had started.

There could no longer be the least doubt concerning the nature of that dark object, for it was a young black bear. Whatever had tempted him to climb the tree they could only guess; for at the time they discovered him afresh the clumsy little animal was thrusting out his muzzle, and seemed to be sniffing the air suspiciously.

His method of descending the tree was exceedingly clumsy.

“He’s got a whiff of human presence near by, somehow or other,” whispered Elmer; “do you think you could snap him off from here, Amos?”

“To be sure I can,” came the ready response, as the camera owner shifted his position; and a few seconds later a sharp click announced that he had done the work.

“He heard even that little sound,” announced Wee Willie, in a low tone, “because I saw him give a start. Hurry and duplicate, Amos, for the rascal means to come down.”

Sure enough the bear seemed to have decided to change his location, as if growing uneasy after getting that suspicious waft of a scent his instinct told him was hostile to his species.

His method of descending the tree was exceedingly clumsy when compared with the clever actions of a gray squirrel while skimming the smooth trunk with ease. Indeed, 

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