obably he was
telling her about the surprise she gave him in that last letter when
revealing what she had done with his wonderful hunting-knife.

Now that they were home again, with vacation nearing an end, the boys
would not have so much time to indulge in their pastimes on the lake, so
that they were keen to make hay while the sun shone. Consequently, they
fairly haunted the lake, and the canoes were in use every day from that
time on. Nor were they alone in this love of the open, for many an
evening each canoe had its complement of fair ones, whose sweet voices
blended with those of the four outdoor chums as they paddled in the
moonlight over the rippling water.

College was ahead of them, but as they expected to keep together still,
the Outdoor Club was not to be disbanded by any means. Often in future
days they expected to once more sit around a campfire in company,
enjoying the delights of an outing, and recalling many of the wonderful
experiences that came their way in days that were past.

And there, written down in Frank's diary, or logbook, were the accounts
of their first camp above the loggers' settlement, at the head of the
lake; the one on Wildcat Island; then the third, among the Sunset
Mountains, when they solved the mystery of Oak Ridge's ghost; and also
their wonderful cruise down a Florida river and along the border of the
great Mexican Gulf; while this journey to the cattle ranch of Mr. Mabie,
in the wilderness of the Northwest, would complete the list.

How many times, as they read of these exploits, and surveyed the
splendid pictures Will had secured during their various campaigns, would
the scenes of the happy past come before their mental vision! They could
hardly expect to equal these glorious days in the times to come, but no
one who knew their love for the open would dare predict that the Outdoor
Club would cease to exist with the going to college of its four members.

Perchance they may yet have other camps in strange places, and perhaps
it may be our pleasant duty to chronicle the happenings of the four
chums when again they erect their tents, or it may be, paddle their
canoes on other waters.

Wherever they go, and in whatever line of business they may find their
life work, it can be taken for granted that the lessons learned when
living this life of self-reliance in the open must always prove of the
greatest value to The Outdoor Chums.

THE END

End of the Project Gutenb