ion from the shelter of his cigar smoke. At this, however, he
came to the aid of his brother-in-law.

"Yes, George is perfectly right, Etta. Burt needs to shift for himself a
bit, and I think the Kennebec trip will be just the thing for him if we
give him a free hand and let him suit himself. I don't want to send him
off to foreign countries all alone."

"Look here, Tom." Mr. Wallace leaned forward and spoke very earnestly.
"That kind of a vacation isn't worth much to a good, healthy boy. He
wants something he has earned, not something that's shoved at him. Make
Burt earn some money while he's having a good time. He'll enjoy it twice
as much. Make him pay his own expenses somewhere; do something that will
repay him, or get busy on some outdoor stunt that will give him
something new and interesting to absorb him. Think it over!"

The conversation ended there for the night. Mr. Wallace was satisfied
that he had sown good seed, however, and went up to Burt's room with a
smile.

"Hello, uncle!" cried the boy, giving up his chair and flinging himself
down on the bed. "Say anything to the folks yet?"

"A little. We'll have to go slow, remember! Now just what do you know
about putting up skins and taking them from their rightful owners?"

"Me? Not a whole lot. Let's see. I helped Critch skin an' mount Chuck
Evan's bulldog, some birds, a weasel--"

"Hold on!" laughed Mr. Wallace. "That's not what I mean. Know anything
about horned animals?"

"No," admitted Burt. "I've read up 'bout 'em though. So's Critch."

"Suppose you had a deer's horns to take off. How'd you do it?"

"Take his skin off by cuttin' straight down the breast to the tail,"
replied Burt promptly. "Make cross-cuts down the inside o' each leg an'
turn him inside out. For the horns you make a cut between 'em, then back
down the neck a little."

"Wouldn't you take his skull?" questioned Mr. Wallace.

"Sure! I forgot that. You'd have to cut between the lids and eye-sockets
down to the lips an' cut these from the bone. For the skull, cut her off
and boil her."

"Pretty good!" commented his uncle. "I guess you've got the knowledge
all right. How'd you do in Africa about the skin?"

"Nothing," grinned Burt. "'Cording to your books you just salt 'em well
and ship 'em to the coast."

"All right!" laughed his uncle. "Get those rabbits done up?"

"You bet!" Burt made a wry face. "We rubbed them with arsenic. That's
about the only stuff that'll hold them in