he woods beyond Bear Mountain."

"Sure thing," added Felix, instantly; "I've heard my folks talking
about him lots of times. He does a little trapping, they say, but
spends most of his time studying animated nature. He knows every animal
that ever lived on this continent, and the birds and insects too, I
reckon. He's as smart as they make 'em, and used to be a college
professor some people say, even if he does talk a little rough now."

For some reason all of them were feeling more or less interest in the
man who walked with a cane. Perhaps this arose from the fact that of
late they had become enthusiastic over everything connected with
woodcraft. And the fact that Mr. Henderson was acquainted with a
thousand secrets about the interesting things to be discovered in the
Great Outdoors appealed strongly to them.

"These are my chums, Mr. Henderson," said Tom, when the others came up;
and as the name of each one was mentioned the hermit of Bear Mountain
grasped his hand, giving a squeeze that made some of the boys wince.

"I'm glad to meet you all," he said, heartily. "It was worth being
attacked by that lot of rowdies just to get acquainted with such a fine
lot of boys. And I want to say that you gave them all the punishment
they deserved. I counted hits until I lost all track of the number."

"Yes," said Felix, with a grin on his freckled face; "they're rubbing
many a sore spot right now, I reckon. Josh here, who's our star pitcher
on the nine, never wasted a single ball. And I could hear the same
fairly whistle through the air."

"Gosh all hemlock! Felix," objected the boy mentioned, "you're
stretching things pretty wide, aren't you? Now I guess the rest
of you did your share in the good work, just as much as I."

"All the same I'm thankful for your coming to my assistance," said
Mr. Henderson. "My rheumatism kept me from being as spry in dodging
their cannonade as I might have been some years ago. And one ball
that broke against that tree had a stone inside it, I'm sorry to
say. We would have called that unsportsmanlike in my young days."

"Only the meanest kind of a fellow would descend to such a trick!"
exclaimed the indignant Josh; "but then Tony Pollock and his crowd
are ready to do anything low-down and crooked. They'll never be
able to join our scout troop, after we get it started."

"What's that you are saying?" asked the old man, showing sudden
interest.

"Why, you see, sir," explained Josh, always r