The Strange Cabin on Catamount Island

in spite of his constant quarreling with the o

by, and this he flourished around his head as he started to meet

panting for breath; for he had fallen at least twice, in

lready began to suspect that Bandy-legs was allowing his fears to run away wit

saw something, Ban

am," came

ur shadow this ti

mediate indignation; but he seemed to understand that Max meant every word

how things looked inside, it gave a nasty little spit straight in my face, and wen

ave been a 'coon," remark

f he just had to come snoopin' around, why couldn't the critter pick out a boat

. Perhaps you may have dropped a small piece of food in your boat; and as he came prowling around, not ve

hey're eating. Just try taking a bone away from a hungry dog or cat, once, and see. He thought you a busybody, that's what, Ban

ly threw himself

was time to go to bed. They could see that Bandy-legs was really becoming quite worked up over the queer w

ht, fellers?" he asked later on; show

r what?" a

and we ought to do everything we can to break up his game,"

ed Steve; while the others

as though he had conjured up this beautiful little scheme all by himself, while sitting there staring into the fire. "If

s, the way you feel right now," remarked Max, seriously. "Come, you mustn't think

in my mind I'd like to try out

yourself, and get us all up in the middle of the night. You must pro

ou see, I was readin' just last week about a crocodile hunter away off in Afri

ut it, please?" asked

hickory sapling of the right kind, and strip it of all the branches. Then you bend it over, and fasten it to a crotched stick you've pounded hard in the ground. The end of the sapling has a stout cord tied to it, and this is made i

just two to one, old fellow, that if you set a trap like

that without throwing cold water on him?" complained Bandy-legs,

It's a pretty smart scheme, let me tell you, Bandy-legs. And if we heard a yell

Steve could think up. So Bandy-legs, with a look of triumph at his opponent, picked up the ax and sauntered

m chopping aw

ory you wanted, have

ill, O. K.," repl

came back for a

emarked. "Before we leave here that rop

y straight and horizontal from that tree over yonder. If we happened to be out West now inst

frowned and looked a trifle unwilling to go away from the circle again. "T

at grunting. Hurrying over to where the trap setter had been hard at work they found him with h

mpt assistance of his chums he might have had a serious time of it. Of course Steve laughed

new play that they want to try out in some small city away from New Y

ng on his tormentor. "I wanted to s

d!" remarked

eemed to be so well pleased with the result of his labors that he

might need. For Max had an idea that perhaps the trap might play a part in the discover

round the blaze and

lived here?" asked Max. "That cabin must have been built a g

thing this afternoon, when sittin'

something about it,

a long time ago, and I must 'a' been only a little kid the

do remember, Ste

wild-looking old island, where in the spring they say the flood sometimes nearly covers everything. Yo

things. Owen and myself were talking about it; but when you get to paying attention to s

s glistening with pleasure at hearing one he respected

what you know," Owen

do right now. He said that a long time before, a man by the name of Wesley Coombs had bought the place for a song from the owners, and with his wife and baby

been felled with the ax years ago," Max remarke

to W-w-wesley C-c

winter he was here he made quite a heap of money trappin' furs, and fishing through the ice for pickerel that he sold in town. Then in the spring the fl

s baby, too; that's a tough story of the old

ater on. I never could get that story out of my bead for a long time. It gave me a bad feeling thi

a notion to swoop down this way while we're ca

ot air tanks fitted away up in the bow and back in the stern. All we'd have to do would be to lash ourselves to 'em with pieces of that rope, a

me of year, take my word for it. But we'll try and make ourselves as secure as we can, with our canoes in the ba

me they had set for crawling under their blankets, and "wooing the moose," as Bandy-legs put it, meaning