Page:The Outdoor Chums.djvu/114

102 "They are always tough for frying unless parboiled first. After skinning and cutting up I always put the pieces in a pot, and boil until tender; then take them out, dry off, and put them in a hot pan in which several pieces of salt pork have been first tried out. I think you'll say they're all right when you get your teeth in them, fellows," he remarked.

And they did.

Will managed to take a few views during the middle of the day, prowling in the neighborhood of the camp. There was a pretty stream not far away, and it ran over rocks and between attractive banks, so that half a dozen charming pictures presented themselves to the eyes of the artist.

The Fall had not advanced so far as to show signs of ice on the water, though there were times when the air was very crisp and frosty.

Bluff had remained in camp pretty much all day. He seemed uneasy, and passed in and out of the tents frequently as though wondering what could have happened to bring about such a mysterious disappearance of his beloved gun.

Sitting by the fire for a time, he would conceive some idea, and jumping to his feet hurry into the woods to search a particular spot where he remembered having passed over on that never-to-be-forgotten night.