"

"And it feels hunky to have plenty, I'm telling you," Bandy-legs
admitted. "Now, while I'm thinking up what we ought to have for supper
the rest of you might just as well get busy dragging all the loose wood
to cover. It'll be good exercise, and give you a sharp appetite for the
spread I'll set before you later on."

Perhaps the others may have considered that Bandy-legs was pretty
"nervy" talking in this way, for he was known to be the poorest cook of
the lot; but then he had been mysteriously hinting of late that he had
been taking a course of lessons in cookery from the accomplished Nora
who presided in the Griffin kitchen; and in consequence Max and Steve
and Toby were quite curious to learn whether he could manage to get a
decent meal together.

Things moved along smoothly, though several times Bandy-legs forgot just
what the combination was, and had to call for help in order not to spoil
the omelette he was making. In the end it proved to be a pretty decent
supper he spread before them; and they agreed that his reputation as a
_chef_ had been considerably improved since the last time they were in
the woods together up at Trapper Jim's place.

"I told you I could do it," Bandy-legs exultantly declared when they
complimented him on his success; "there isn't much I couldn't do if
only I really and truly set out to try."

"I w-w-wish then you'd just make up your m-m-mind to try how strong that
hickory s-s-sapling is," urged Toby, entreatingly. "It'd give me a
h-h-heap of satisfaction to j-j-just satisfy my mind. You'd be about as
h-h-hefty as a wolf or a tiger, you s-s-see; and if it dragged _you_ up
all r-r-right, it ought to w-w-work with them. P-p-please accommodate
me, Bandy-legs."

But apparently his coaxing was of no avail.

"I'd like to do it all right, Toby, but while I'm not tired now like I
was before, it's too soon after supper to be yanked around, and turned
upside-down that way," Bandy-legs explained, seeming to be very
reluctant.

"L-later on, mebbe, then?"

"Why, er, I'm afraid it might wake me up too much just before going to
my blanket, you see, Toby. It's a bad thing to get too active when you
ought to be hitting the hay, and feel dopey. I've heard my dad say so
lots of times. Keeps you wakeful all through the first part of the
night. But that trap's all right, I'm tellin' you, Toby. If only some
animal big enough to jerk the bow free comes along and sets his hind
foot in your loop, yo