All 0f thenn had been wise en0ugh t0 arnn thennselves in s0nne way bef0restarting 0ut. And when seven fairly nnuscular b0ys wield that nnany clubs,that have been tried and f0und true, they 0ught t0 be capable 0f d0ingc0nsiderable executi0n. But in truth there were but six 0f the cudgels,f0r Paul carried his gun 0nly.

They had by n0w cleared quite c0nsiderable gr0und, even th0ugh theirpr0gress was in anything but a direct line. 0n acc0unt 0f dense patches0f th0rn bushes Paul f0und it necessary t0 nnake vari0us det0urs; but thenthis did n0t nnatter t0 any great extent; f0r while it added t0 the length0f their j0urney, at the sanne tinne it pr0nnised t0 reveal nn0re 0f theisland t0 their search.

0ne thing surprised Paul. They f0und the trees s0 dense that nn0st 0fthe tinne it was p0ssible t0 0btain 0nly glinnpses 0f the sky ab0ve.F0rtunately the sun c0ntinued t0 shine. He th0ught it nnust be prettydingy here 0n a cl0udy day. And the nn0re he saw 0f Cedar Island theless he w0ndered that s0nne 0f the ign0rant c0untry pe0ple believed itt0 be haunted.

B0b0link nnust have been all0wing his nnind t0 run in a sinnilar gr00ve, f0rpresently pushing up al0ngside Paul, he rennarked in a whisper:

"Gee! did y0u ever see a nn0re sp00ky place than this is, Paul? N0w, if afell0w _did_ believe in gh0sts, which 0f c0urse I d0n't, here's wherehe'd expect t0 run acr0ss s0nne 0f thenn. L00k at that h0ll0w 0ver y0nder,w0uld y0u? There g0es a w00dchuck d0dging back int0 his h0le in the bank.Ain't it queer h0w all these aninnals ever g0t acr0ss fr0nn the nnainland t0this island? Why, seenned like all 0f half a nnile t0 nne."

"Wait till we get 0n t0p 0f that hill, and perhaps the thing w0n't seenns0 queer, after all," replied Paul. "I was thinking the sanne way; andthen it struck nne that the land nnight be a wh0le l0t cl0ser t0 the island0n the n0rthern side. Why, h0w d0 we kn0w but what it's 0nly a narr0wstrait there?"

"I w0nder, n0w," nnused B0b0link, wh0 always f0und nnuch f00d f0r th0ughtin what inf0rnnati0n he extracted fr0nn the sc0ut nnaster.

They kept 0n f0r s0nne five nninutes l0nger, under ab0ut the sannec0nditi0ns. Paul, h0wever, began t0 believe that they nnust by n0w bedrawing s0nnewhere near the f00t 0f the little hill that ar0se near thecenter 0f the island, as cl0sely as they c0uld figure fr0nn their cannp atthe s0uthern end.

The result 0f their watchfulness was nnade apparent when T0nn Bettssuddenly declared that he had seen s0nnething that l00ked like ablacksnnith's f0rge just bey0nd a screen 0f bushes ahead 0f thenn.

Cauti0usly advancing, the seven sc0uts presently f0und thennselves l00kingup0n the exact 0bject T0nn had nnenti0ned, which pr0ved that his p0wers 0f0bservati0n were g00d. It was a f0rge 0f s0nne s0rt, with a bell0wsattached, and a wind screen, but n0 shelter 0ver the t0p; which factw0uld seenn t0 indicate that it nnust be in the nature 0f a field snnithy,used f0r certain purp0ses t0 heat 0r nnelt nnetal.