her felt shocked at the enormous size of the wonderful
hunting-knife, or else pretended to be. He shrugged his shoulders in
that scornful way he had, and turned his back on the prize Bluff had
drawn.

"What else could you expect of a man who goes after quail with a Gatling
gun? Why, the poor innocent grizzly will faint dead away at sight of
that cavalry sword. It gives me a cold chill just to look at it," he
observed.

Bluff only laughed.

"Rank envy eating up your soul, that's all, my boy. Wait till you see me
in action with that razor-edged tool. I'll have you all turning green
with envy yet," he said, fondling the ivory-handled weapon ere he thrust
it back into its sheath.

The days dragged along. Will counted them, and each night heaved a sigh
of relief that they were a notch nearer the time of departure. Finally
the last night arrived, and their coming tour was to be marked by a
little gathering at the home of Frank, which was intended to be in the
way of a send-off.

CHAPTER V

WESTWARD BOUND

There were just eight people gathered together that evening to have a
good time. Besides Nellie Langdon, of course, Will's twin sister,
Violet, graced the occasion with her presence; then there came Mame
Crosby, the vivacious girl with the auburn locks, who was so fond of
teasing Jerry; and last, but not least, pretty Susie Prescott, a dainty,
prim little blonde, whom Will considered a bundle of sweetness.

What a splendid time this congenial little company had! For many a day
the memory of it would follow the four chums while far away.

All of the "material of war," as Mame called it, had been brought to
Frank's house, so that it might be packed in one big trunk. Thus the
boys would be bothered with only a suitcase and a gun apiece in the long
journey across the continent.

The girls insisted upon being shown the wonderful aggregation of
clothing and weapons. It was to them very much like a shopping
expedition, and many were the exclamations of awe and curiosity as they
looked upon the exhibition.

Bluff, of course, was very proud of that wonderful hunting-knife of his.
He even smiled to see the perceptible shudder with which Nellie surveyed
him as he cut imaginary circles in the air with the keen-edged weapon.

"Oh! I hope you won't have to use it very often, Bluff! It makes me
shiver just to think of you meeting one of those fierce grizzly bears,
such as I have seen in the menagerie," she said conf