I can see what lots of fun we will have with it up in
the woods. How are you going to tell Mr. Gordon that we hiked out of
here, and headed due west from this point?"

"Oh!" answered Paul, readily enough, "I might use just the letter W; but
you see that wouldn't do for an Indian, who doesn't know what it means.
To him west means the setting sun, just as east is signified by its
rising, and noon by an overhead disc. So suppose I draw a rude hand,
with the finger pointing toward a sun that is half down behind a line?
Wouldn't that be apt to tell him we went west from here?"

"Why, dead sure. He couldn't mistake that. The level line I take it is
meant for the horizon?" Jud continued, deeply impressed by the
simplicity of this method of communicating between separated friends.

"Yes. Well, now he knows which way we've gone. We don't know ourselves
just how far we expect to hike this afternoon. It may be only a mile,
and it may be two. But we want to tell him that we mean to go into camp,
and that the setting sun will find us with our tents up, and a fire
burning."

Paul, while speaking, started to once more make some marks on the
balance of the smooth bark, which he had himself peeled from a nearby
birch.

"There," he presently declared, holding the pad up, "you see how I've
made the camp. The tents are set, supper cooking, and just twenty-one
little marks tell that so many soldiers are around the fire, all but
three who stand guard. And in beyond, the sun is going down, almost out
of sight in fact. No trouble about such a simple story, eh, Jud?"

"It's as plain as a book, plainer than most I've ever read. No getting
mixed up in such a story. But I'm wondering what that big circle close
to the camp means?" and Jud pointed as he spoke.

"Oh! I'm glad you spoke. Mr. Gordon himself might well wonder what that
was, for I left out the most important part. Now watch, and tell me if
you can hit it," with which remark Paul made several tiny dashes with
his pencil.

Jud gave an exclamation of delight.

"Boats--real Injun bark canoes, as sure as you live!" he observed.

"And boats don't run on dry land as a rule, do they, Jud?" Paul went on.

"Well, not so you could notice. That circle then, must be our lake, or
pond, we ain't so sure which, yet. The story is now complete, Paul from
start to finish. But sometimes it must be hard to tell things that
happened."

"That's where the fun comes in," Paul continued; "lots of ha