egs," said Max; "and remember what I told you
about using it. Shoot low, so as to fill their legs full of lead, if you
have to fire at all. And listen to our shouts as we join you, for we
don't want a warm reception from our friends. Get that, both of you?"

Steve and his fellow sentry admitted that they understood what their
directions were to be. Then they went out. The man had been intently
watching all these things as though deeply interested. Since Max had
found the second series of footprints, and thus proved the falsity of
his claim of being alone, Jake Storms, so-called woods guide and trapper
of fur-bearing animals, had relapsed into a sullen silence.

Of course he knew that the game for him was up, so far as attempting to
deceive these wide-awake boys was concerned. Max wondered what thoughts
were teeming through the brain of the man, as he sat there on the bench
before the fire and listened to what passed between his captors. As for
Obed, he cast many eager looks in the direction of the big fellow, and
from the expression on his face Max believed he must be slowly making up
his mind toward some move.

Therefore he was not much surprised to finally see the woods boy sit
down alongside the man, who turned an inquiring face toward him. There
was also a tightening of the muscles around his mouth, just as though he
suspected he was about to be put to a severe test, and would have to
gather his wits in order not to make a false move.

"Look here, Jake Storms, as you say your name is," commenced Obed, once
more either forgetting to speak in his usual woods dialect, or not
thinking it worth while to bother with it any longer, "I want to make
you a proposition. Do you understand what a nice pickle you've got
yourself into by prowling around my fur farm, and evidently trying to
steal my silver black foxes? If we take you down to the nearest
Adirondack town it means you'll likely enough, be sent up as a thief.
How would you like that, tell me?"

"Huh! guess Jake Storms' got a reputation that'd kerry him through, all
right, sonny," muttered the big man, but Max could see that he squirmed
uneasily; likewise Obed must have guessed the truth also, as his next
remarks proved.

"A reputation may be one way or the other, Jake Storms, if that is
really your name, which I doubt very much. Perhaps some people might be
glad to see you again. For one I don't believe for a single minute that
you're a trapper, or that you ever