“You’re certainly suspicious!” laughed the other. “But I give you my word, Sam, that if I find anything for you it will be real work and well worth the pay. Here we are, with four minutes to spare. By the way, how about funds? All right that way, are you?”
“Quite sure? Glad to lend you a few dollars. You can return it when you reach camp, you know.”
The car swept up to the platform and they jumped out, Sam with his battered valise. By the time he had purchased his ticket to Norrence the train was bustling in. Mr. York went to the car-steps with him and shook hands there.
“Good-bye, Sam. Take care of yourself, and let me hear from you, please. I certainly enjoyed having you with me, old man, and next summer, if we can fix it, you must come up again. Good-bye! Try throwing from your ear and shorten your swing!”
Sam’s own farewells were drowned by Mr. York’s and abruptly cut short by the sudden starting of the train, but he managed a more or less coherent speech of thanks before he got beyond hearing. The last he saw of Mr. York was that gentleman standing beside his car evoking excruciating blasts on the electric horn with one hand and waving farewell with the other.
Before dark Sam had found the encampment outside Norrence and was eating a belated supper. The following three days were pleasant ones. They broke camp every morning after an early breakfast, fixed their packs, and hiked until an hour before noon. Then came a three-hour rest by the road, with dinner, and at about two they were off again. They did about eighteen miles a day, ate ravenously, slept like logs, and reached Indian Lake the evening of the fourth day after leaving Mount Placid, a little footsore but only healthily tired. Kitty-Bett had a hot supper awaiting them and they more than did justice to it.
Sam found a letter awaiting him from Tom Pollock. As it was short and concise we may as well quote it in full. “Dear Sam,” wrote Tom, “when are you coming home? The reason I want to know is that Lynton is to play us here on the sixteenth. She beat us the first game and we beat her last Saturday, 5 to 1, and we’re going to play off the tie. We want you to catch for us. I looked up that letter from Mr. Langham and it said the camp ran to September 13th. If that’s so you’ll be back here by Thursday, I guess. Let me know if you will and if you’ll play Saturday. All well here and I’m very busy. Sid is kicking his heels against the counter as I write this and wants to be remembered. Yours as ever,