egun to call Toby the "menagerie man,"
because of this inordinate love for pets. They said he dreamed every
night of going out to Africa or India, and collecting wild animals for
the various zoological gardens of the country.

Toby's parents allowed him to do about as he pleased. No doubt they
expected to see this present fad run its course, and that some new
notion would eventually displace it. They knew that boys must have a
hobby of some sort. With one it may be a mania for collecting things in
the line of autographs or postage stamps; while another may start to
stuff birds, secure all sorts of eggs, make fishing rods, take pictures
with a modern little kodak camera, or one of dozens of other things that
are apt to appeal to the modern lad.

Toby was afflicted with a bad case of stammering, that of course struck
him harder whenever he chanced to be laboring under excitement. There
were times, however, when Toby surprised his chums by talking as plainly
and steadily as any one of them could do. Though these lapses were but
temporary, and he would fall back into the old miserable rut again, at
least they gave hope that in time the boy might control himself, and
fling off the habit for good.

The four chums had been making ready to spend their Easter holidays in
the woods, so as to have a breath of the open after a severe winter.
Easter came unusually late that year, and the spring had already
advanced very far, so that leaves were beginning to appear on the forest
trees far ahead of the usual time.

Just to get their hands in the boys had started out on this Saturday to
see how the frog supply promised. All of them were exceedingly fond of
fried frogs' legs, which they declared beat any spring chicken ever
hatched. And since there were already thirteen plump white "saddles,"
as the two attached hind-legs are called, in the basket, it began to
look as though something like a feast would follow, at a number of
Carson houses.

While Steve was making his way around the little bayou in the pond,
intent on securing his prize, which promised to excel in size any of
those they had already "dressed," the other three started to talk over
their plans for the little vacation in the woods.

There never were four boys who got more benefit out of an outing than
these Carson lads. They planned for it far in advance, and enjoyed this'
part of the excursion almost as much as the thing itself. Max Hastings
knew so many things in c