ite unexplored. Some years before a gang of horse thieves
had lived there, and their grass-grown paths were of thrilling
interest, although the boys never quite cared to follow them to the
house where the shooting of the leader had taken place.

Altogether it was a wonderful week, and when they loaded up their boat
and piled their plunder in behind, it was with sad hearts. It was late
Saturday night when they drew up in Mr. Jennings's yard, but to show
that they were thoroughly hardened campers, they slept in the wagon
another night--at least three of them did. Milton shamelessly sneaked
away to his bed, and they did not miss him until morning.

Mrs. Jennings invited them all to breakfast and nobody refused. "Land
o' Goshen," said she, "you eat as if you were starved."

"We are," replied Bert.

"Oh, but it was fun, wasn't it, boys?" cried Lincoln.

"You bet it was. Let's go again next year."

"All right," said Milton; "raise your weapons and swear."

They all lifted their knives in solemn covenant to go again the
following year. But they never did. Of such changeful stuff are the
plans of youth!

DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER

A Thread without a Knot

I

When the assistant in the history department announced to Professor
Endicott his intention of spending several months in Paris to complete
the research work necessary to his doctor's dissertation,[114-1] the
head of the department looked at him with an astonishment so
unflattering in its significance that the younger man laughed aloud.

"You didn't think I had it in me to take it so seriously, did you,
Prof?" he said, with his usual undisturbed and amused perception of the
other's estimate of him. "And you're dead right, too! I'm doing it
because I've got to, that's all. It's borne in on me that you can't
climb up very fast in modern American universities unless you've got a
doctor's degree, and you can't be a Ph.D. without having dug around
some in a European library. I've picked out a subject that needs just
as little of that as any--you know as well as I do that right here in
Illinois I can find out everything that's worth knowing about the early
French explorers of the Mississippi--but three months in the
Archives[114-2] in Paris ought to put a polish on my dissertation that
will make even Columbia and Harvard sit up and blink. Am I right in my
calculations?"

Professor Endicott's thin shoulders executed a resigned shrug. "You are
always right in