XX. OUT OF THE WOODS--CONCLUSION 177

JACK WINTERS' CAMPMATES

CHAPTER I

A GREAT STREAK OF LUCK

"Anybody home?"

"Sure, walk right in, Toby. My latch-string is always out to my chums. I
see you managed to pick up Steve on the way across; but I wager you had
really to pry him loose from that dandy new volume on travel he was
telling me about, because he's such a bookworm."

The two boys who hastened to accept this warm invitation, and enter Jack
Winters' snug "den" were his most particular chums. Those who have been
lucky enough to read the preceding volume of this series[1] will of
course require no introduction to Steve Mullane and Toby Hopkins.
However, as many newcomers may for the first time be making the
acquaintance of the trio in these pages, it might be just as well to
enumerate a few of their leading characteristics, and then we can get
along with our story.

Steve was a pretty husky fellow, a bit slow about making up his mind,
but firm as adamant, once he had convictions. He had proved himself a
wonder as a backstop in the thrilling baseball contests so lately played
with Harmony, the champion team of the county. Indeed, it was due in
great part to his terrific batting, and general field work that the
Chester nine came out of those contests, under Jack Winters' leadership,
with such high honors.

Toby Hopkins was something of a genius in many ways, a nervous sort of a
boy, and really deserving of his familiar nickname of "Hoppy" for short.
All the same, he was game to the core, and would never acknowledge
himself whipped as long as he could draw a decent breath. Toby ardently
admired Jack, and believed there never was another such born leader as
the fellow who had "placed Chester on the map" of outdoor sports.

Jack Winters had not always lived in this same town of Chester. When his
folks came there from an enterprising place, he had been shocked to
discover how little genuine interest the boys seemed to take in
football, baseball, and all such healthy recreations.

Jack had been accustomed to enjoying everything that had a tendency to
arouse a lad's ambition to excel in all healthy exercises calculated to
be of benefit to both mind and body. He soon proved to be the
much-needed "cake of yeast in a pan of dough," as Toby always declared,
for he succeeded in arousing the dormant spirit of sport in the Chester
boys, until finally the mill town discovered that it