There was a chorus of exclamations from the gathered scouts, when they heard Red express himself in this startling way. Eyes grew round with wonder, and more than one lad almost held his breath, as he waited to catch further particulars of the strange happening that had befallen their two chums during their tramp.

"Where was this at, Oscar?" asked the scout master, quickly, alive to the importance of ascertaining all there was to be made known.

"I think it must have been all of a mile and a half from here, sir," returned Red, who seldom heard his real name mentioned save in school or at home.

"And the way is mighty rough, too, sir," Larry put in, rubbing his chin as if it might pain him somewhat, which action caused Ted to grin, and nod his head.

"Thee you later, Larry," he muttered. "I bet you now, I don't let thith chance get away from me. That boy'th badly hurt, and just won't acknowledge it, but wait till Dr. Ted geth hold of him, that'th what."

"Do you think you can lead us back there, in case we make up our minds to go to-night after supper?" Mr. Garrabrant continued.

"Easy, sir," came the answer, in confident tones. "You see, we made it a point to mark the trail as we came along, by cutting the trunks of trees, and breaking branches so as to catch the eye. Elmer was telling us lately how he did once when lost in the timber in Canada, the 'bush' he called it, and we remembered."

"That's just fine, Oscar," commented the scout master, as though pleased at so great a show of forethought in two of his charges. "It shows what this business is already doing for all of you—teaching you to use your heads at any and all times. That was well done, and I imagine we'll have little or no difficulty in tracing your progress back, even if you are too tired to accompany us, for we will have Elmer along."

"Oh! but I'm bound to go, if I have to drag my game leg behind me," asserted Red. "You see, both of us feel sore over coming away without trying longer to find out what it was groaning so in that cabin, and we want to make good."

"Does it hurt you very much, Red?" asked the solicitous Ted, coming up with a face that seemed marked with feeling.

"Sure it does, Ted," replied the other, promptly, "and I'm going to ask you to rub some liniment on right away. Reckon I just sprained it a little, slipping down the side of the mountain."

"Good for you, Red!" ejaculated the pleased amateur surgeon, as he clasped the other by the arm. "Come right along with me, and I'll fix you up in a jiffy. Only too glad to be of thervice. And Red, you're the only gentleman—" he suddenly paused, gave one smiling look around at the frowning faces of his mates, and then completed his sentence: "who hath applied to me for treatment. I'll never forget this kindneth, never!"

"Hold on!" remarked the scout master. "We must know a little more about this matter before you drag your patient away; though of course we expect him to survive the treatment. Tell us about the lone cabin, Oscar. How did you happen on it?"

"We had turned," Red started to say, "and were heading toward home, when all of a sudden I thought I heard a plain human groan. Larry said he had caught some sort of sound, too. So we began to advance in that direction, going slow-like, because you see we didn't know what sort of trickery we might be up against. Then we caught sight of a cabin that was half hidden among the trees and bushes."

"Ugh!" Larry broke in with, "it just gave us both the creeps, sir, to see how awful lonely the old place looked, run down and neglected like. If Chatz had been along, he'd sure have believed his pet ghost lived there."

"But surely two sensible chaps like you and Oscar wouldn't think of such a thing as that?" remarked Mr. Garrabrant.

"Oh! no, sir," replied Red, after shooting a swift look toward his comrade in misery. "But you see, the groans kept on acomin' out of that window, and we could hear voices too. We didn't hardly now what to do, go on and knock at the door, or hurry back here to report. Larry, he gave me a cold chill, I admit sir, when he just accidentally said that it might be a ease of smallpox in that hut— you know there were some cases this last spring to the north of the Ridge."

"And after talking it over, you decided that the wisest thing to be done was to make your way to camp, and throw the responsibility on my shoulders?" said the scout master. "Well, perhaps it was far better you did this than take chances. I have no doubt but what you might have adopted a different course if you had not had help near by."

"Yes, sir, that's just what I said to Larry—that you'd know best what ought to be done; but that if we were all alone in the region, we'd just have to go up to the door and knock."

"And so you set out to reach camp as fast as you could?" continued Mr. Garrabrant.

"That's what we did sir, and in such a hurry that several times we slipped and barked our shins, while I got a jar when I tumbled."

"Oh! I'll fix that all right, in three thhakes of a lam'th tail, if you'll only come over to my tent," said Ted, tugging at the arm of each returned wanderer.

And unable to resist his urgent plea, they allowed him to lead them away. Later on when they once more appeared, as supper was announced by the assembly call, the pair of wounded scouts admitted that Dr. Ted had indeed done wonders, inasmuch that their pains had miraculously vanished, and they felt able to undertake the rough journey again—after they had broken their fast.

There was much speculation during the meal as to whom Mr. Garrabrant would select to accompany him on his trip. Of course Elmer was a foregone conclusion, as his natural ability along the line of following a blazed trail might come in pat.

But the scout master settled all doubts by announcing toward the close of the meal that he wished Red, Elmer, Arthur, Dr. Ted (in case his services were needed), Jack Armitage and Ty Collins to accompany him.

No one murmured, for they knew it would do no good. Larry started to ask why he had been left out; but Mr. Garrabrant had noted his pallor, and understood that he did not possess the sturdy physique his comrade of the tramp boasted, and on that account had better remain in camp.

Another thing some of the observing lads noticed, and this was the fact that as a rule those selected, outside of Dr. Ted, were the strongest in the troop. Perhaps, then, Mr. Garrabrant might anticipate trouble of some sort, and wished to have a healthy band of scouts at his back, especially since none of them carried arms of any kind—though the scout master really did have a revolver secreted in his bag, which, unseen by any of the boys, he now made sure to hide on his person.

There could be no telling what they might find themselves up against. Rumor had it that certain hard characters at one time made their headquarters somewhere up in the woods around the lakes, and who could say that the lone cabin might not prove to be a nest of yeggmen or hoboes?

"How does your thprain feel; think you can thtand it?" asked Ted of Red, as they got up from around the fire and prepared to sally forth on their mission of mercy.

"If you hadn't reminded me of it just then, I'd sure never have thought I had a game leg," remarked the other. "You're all to the good when it comes to doctoring a fellow, Ted; if only you wouldn't talk so much about sawing off legs and all such awful things."

"Well, I'll be along in ease you feel it again, and I'll make thure to carry a tin of that magic liniment," remarked the ambitious surgeon, as he reentered the tent, to make up a little package of things he thought might come in handy in case they found some one sick in the hut.

Meanwhile, acting on the suggestion of Elmer, the other boys selected such stout canes and cudgels as lay around camp.

"Be prepared!" grinned Lil Artha, as he swung a particularly dangerous looking club around his head until it fairly whistled through the air. "That's the motto of the Boy Scouts, and I reckon it applies in a case of this kind, just as much as when stopping a runaway horse. I'm prepared to give a good account of myself, that's dead certain."

Mr. Garrabrant had fetched out a couple of lanterns, making sure that the oil receptacles were well filled, so that they would last through the journey, going and returning.

"Now we're off, boys," he remarked, with a pleasant smile. "The rest of you stay here and look close after the camp. I've appointed Mark Cummings to serve in my place while I'm gone, and shall expect every scout to pay him just as much respect as though I were present. Lead off, Oscar, we're with you."

Red took up his place at the head of the little bunch. He carried one of the lanterns with which he cast sufficient light ahead to see where he was going.

"First to take you to the seven sentry chestnuts," he said. "We named 'em that, of course, when we came on 'em. The blazed trail commences right there, sir. We didn't think it worth while to do any more slicing of bark after that, because we knew we could easy enough find our way back to that place."

And he did lead the party to the seven chestnuts, with only one or two periods of hesitation, during which he had to puzzle things out.

"There's the first blaze on that oak yonder," he remarked, pointing as he spoke. "We tried to make the marks close enough so as to show by lantern light, because we both had an idea you'd want to come on before morning, sir."

Elmer was at the side of the leader by this time, prepared to lend his experience in case the other ran up against a snag. He took especial note of the general direction in which the numerous blazes seemed to run. And when presently Red confessed that he was "stumped" if he could see where the next mark ought to be, Elmer had them hold up while he walked forward in the quarter where, on general principles, he imagined the blaze should be. And in another minute his soft "cooee" told his comrades that he had, sure enough, found the missing mark.

Many times did Red have to fall back on Elmer to help him out. His blazes had apparently been further apart than he had realized at the time he made them. But the boy who had lived in Canada, and experienced all sorts of frontier life, knew just how to go about making the needed discovery; and in every instance success rewarded his efforts.

"We're getting close to the place now," Red finally announced, as he limped along, refusing to allow Ted the privilege of rubbing his strained leg again, because he did not want to waste the time.

"Then you recognize some of the landmarks?" suggested Mr. Garrabrant.

"Yes, sir, I do that," came the confident reply. "In another five minutes I think we'll be able to see something of that queer cabin that is half hidden in the dense undergrowth."

"Perhaps less than five minutes," remarked Elmer, quietly. "Look yonder, sir, and you'll just catch a glimpse of what seems to be a tiny speck of light. I think that must spring from the window of the hut Red speaks of."

"You are right again, Elmer, as always," replied the scout master, drawing in a long breath. "Now, forward, slowly, boys. Let no one stumble, if it can possibly be avoided; for we do not know what we may be up against. But if there is anyone suffering in that cabin, it is our duty to investigate, no matter what the danger. Elmer, lead the way with me, please."

Cautiously they crept forward, foot by foot. Doubtless many a heart beat faster than ordinary, because there was a certain air of mystery hovering over the whole affair, and they could imagine a dozen separate strange sights that might meet their vision once they peeped into the little window of that isolated cabin.

But no one would ever confess that such a thing as fear tugged at the strings of his heart. Already the discipline they had been under since joining the scout movement was bearing fruit; timidity was put aside with a stern hand, and keeping in a bunch they advanced until presently those in the lead were able to rise up from hands and knees, glueing their eager eyes upon the little opening through which came the light that had guided them to the spot.

And right then and there they heard a groan, so full of suffering and misery that it went straight to the heart of every boy who had been drafted by the scout master to accompany him on this strange night errand.