teddy benson ducked just in time. warned by dick’s cry, the young lad stooped down so quickly that he sprawled on the pine needles that covered the hard earth.

a moment later a lithe, tawny body sprang over teddy, rushed between joe and dick and was lost to sight in the darkness of the small forest.

for a moment after this strange happening, neither of the chums did or said anything. then teddy, who scrambled to his feet, asked his friends:

“did you see what i saw?”

“i saw something—some animal,” replied joe. “but it went past me so fast—like your airplane, teddy—that i don’t know whether it was a dog or a calf.”

22 “it wasn’t a dog,” declared dick.

“how do you know?” asked joe.

“because if it was a dog it would have barked. and it wasn’t a calf.”

“how do you know that?” teddy asked.

“if it was a calf,” reasoned dick, “it would have bleated. besides, what would a farmer’s calf be doing in these woods?”

“i guess you’re right there,” teddy agreed. “of course, a farmer’s calf could have strayed into these woods. but it ran too fast for a calf.”

“and it jumped better than any calf i ever saw,” reported dick. “why, it jumped right over you, teddy.”

“yes, i saw that. i also saw something else.”

“what?” his two chums wanted to know.

teddy benson arose and brushed the dry, brown pine-needles off his clothes. then he looked back into the gully and made sure his white-winged airplane was still in sight. it was so teddy went on:

23 “i saw some horns and they weren’t the kind of horns a calf wears. they were quite different—branching horns, you know.”

“like what?” asked joe.

“like the horns of a deer,” teddy answered. “fellows, i think what scared us was a deer.”

“scared? who’s scared?” asked dick.

“weren’t you?” asked teddy. “i was. and from the way you and joe ducked, i’ll say you were scared, too.”

“well, i was for a second, i guess,” admitted dick. “at first, i thought it was a bobcat.”

“what would a lynx be doing in mason’s woods?” asked joe. “no one ever saw a wild animal in here.”

“then what does teddy mean by talking about a deer?” asked dick. “now i come to think of it, that animal did look something like a deer. it ran and jumped fast enough to be a deer, anyhow. but what would a deer be doing in mason’s woods?”

24 “that’s what we have to find out,” teddy said.

“you mean it might be another of those—those mysteries?” asked joe.

“it might,” admitted teddy. “anyhow, isn’t it queer that we should meet a deer here.”

“i guess that deer—if it was a deer,” said dick, “was as scared as we were. it ran like a streak of light. must have been lying down back of that big rock where teddy’s airplane is. and when we started down it caught our scent, got scared and leaped up to run away.”

“the question is, where did it run?” asked joe, looking off through the dark woods. “it isn’t in sight.”

“maybe we can trail it,” suggested teddy. “but first i’m going to get my plane. then we can look for the deer. if we don’t find it, so much the more mystery.”

“and if we find it the mystery will be solved,” said joe.

25 “maybe not,” spoke teddy. “i don’t see how a deer got in these woods. it might have escaped from a circus. but, as a rule, they don’t carry deer in a circus. they aren’t strange enough animals. and nobody around here keeps deer that i know of.”

the other boys admitted they knew of no deer paddock in oakdale whence the deer might have escaped. the appearance of the deer was a complete mystery.

“but it comes at just the right time,” teddy remarked. “we haven’t any school. we can spend the whole summer solving the deer mystery.”

“unless your folks go away,” said joe.

“i don’t believe we’re going away this year,” teddy said. “my father has to make a business trip and my mother doesn’t feel like going to the country or seashore. so we may stay home. or maybe we might go away in august.”

“that’s what our folks are planning to do,” said joe.

26 “and my mother says she can’t afford to go away,” spoke dick. “so we’re going to stay home.” dick’s mother was a widow.

“well, this is just fine and dandy then,” declared teddy. “we are all going to be around oakdale most of the summer. so we can have plenty of time to solve the mystery.”

“if there is one,” commented joe.

“don’t you call meeting a leaping deer, with horns, in a wood where no deer has been seen since indian days—don’t you call that a mystery?” asked dick.

“yes, i guess i do,” admitted joe.

“it sure is,” agreed teddy. “and as soon as i get my plane we’ll have a start at solving the mystery.”

he left his chums to walk a short distance down the first slope of the gully to where the toy model lay at the foot of a great rock.

“good thing it didn’t smash into the rock,” commented joe.

27 “sure is,” assented dick.

the two watched teddy reach his toy and stoop to pick it up. the tall lad examined his model carefully and joe called:

“is it damaged any?”

“one propeller blade is chipped a bit,” teddy answered. “otherwise it’s all right. i’m lucky.”

“as usual,” chuckled joe. “just like now, when the mystery deer jumped over you instead of through you. well, come on. let’s get back and pick up our planes. we can have another race tomorrow. i’m going to put a bigger propeller on my model.”

“i’m going to use more rubber bands,” declared dick. “see any more deer or other wild animals back of that rock, teddy?”

“no, there are no more here. but that deer was resting here. he had a bed in the leaves. i’d like to know more about him.”

as teddy walked up the little incline from the edge of the gully, carrying his plane,28 there came to his ears and those of his chums the shrill screams of girls.

“help! help!” cried the voices which teddy and his chums knew to be those of lucy benson and margie kelly.