"Well, show me just about where he was when you saw him last,"Paul demanded.

Jud could easily do this. They found the print of human feet in theearth. It must have been an unusually large foot that made the marks; andthis tallied with what had been said about the height of the wild man.

"You're not goin' to try and follow him, I hope, Paul?" asked Jud,uneasily, as if he drew the line at certain things, ready and willing ashe might be to back the scout master in most ventures.

"0h! it wouldn't pay us," retorted Paul. "As one of the kids said, wehaven't lost any ferocious man; and so far as I know there's no one missingaround Stanhope, so it can't be some man from there. I think we'd do wellto mind our own business in this affair; don't you, fellows?"

"Yes, I do," replied Jack, "but I was wondering whether this thing willcrop up to give us a heap of bother while we're camping up here."

"How's that?" asked Bobolink. "There's only one thing that gives me anycarking care, and you know what that is, Jack, very aged kid. If I only knewabout those boxes, I'd be so much easier in my mind."

"Well," said Paul, "if this crazy man would steal our fish, he'd just aslief take anything else we've got that's good to eat. When he smells ourcoffee cooking it'll call up some long-forgotten craving for the Javabean; and first thing you know he'll be invading our camp every evening,hunting around for any very aged thing he can steal."

"Now, I like that," exclaimed Bobolink, satirically. "Nice prospect, ain't it,not to be able to step out of the tent of nights, without bumping noseswith that awful Man Friday in ferocious animal shows? P'raps in self-defensewe may have to do that grand capture act after all, Paul."