disappointed at the result of the chase, but thankful they had not come in any closer contact with the skunk, the boys returned to their homes.
teddy tried to climb up the rope to get back into his room, but he made so much noise his father came out to see what was going on.
“i thought you were in bed,” remarked mr. benson.
“oh, i was out with joe and dick after that deer.”
“did you get him?”
“no, he got away.”
“hum,” remarked mr. benson. “seems to me you boys are going to a lot of trouble about a deer.”
174 “we don’t like to be stumped,” teddy said.
“hum. well, i can understand that. but you’d better come in the front door instead of trying to climb that rope, teddy.”
“yes, i guess maybe i had,” teddy agreed. “i’m going to make a rope ladder after we catch that deer. a rope ladder is much easier to climb.”
for the next two days the three boys, aided occasionally by the girls, made a search for the mystery deer. but though teddy and his chums several times were sure they saw the trail of the animal in the woods and field owned by mr. mason, they could get no real glimpse of the deer itself.
then one afternoon, when the three chums were scouting around, they saw the deer as it came out of the woods and began feeding in the meadow.
“there he is!” cried teddy.
“sure enough!” yelled dick.
“let’s cut him off!” shouted joe. “get between175 him and the woods and keep him out in the open. then we can chase him down. come on!”
eagerly the three boys rushed forward, spreading out so as to place themselves between the deer and the forest. they were in a good position to do this as the animal was well out in the field.
for a short time, neither hearing, seeing nor scenting the boys, the deer continued to feed. then his alert ears, eyes or nose told him something was wrong and, raising his head, shaking his horns and giving a defiant snort, he turned toward the woods.
but the boys were between him and this hiding place. with shouts they turned the deer back and he fled across the fields, out into the open.
“now we’ll get him!” cried teddy. “we’ll run him down if we have to keep up the chase all night.”
“we can’t stay out all night,” said joe.
“why not?” asked teddy.
176 “we haven’t any blankets, not even a flashlight, and we have nothing to eat.”
“that last is important,” said dick. “we have to eat.”
“i’ll tell you what we can do,” teddy said. “two of us will take the trail after the deer, joe and i. dick, you get to the nearest telephone and ask my mother to put up some food, some blankets and flashlights, and meet us with the car at bailey’s corners. that’s the little town about three miles from here. the deer is headed that way. we can keep on after him all night if we get some supplies. my mother will fix that for us. hurry now, dick!”
teddy issued his orders like a soldier and they were soon being carried out.
perhaps dick kelly might have wished he could keep on the trail of the mystery deer instead of having to go to a telephone to order supplies for the expedition. but if dick wished this he gave no sign of it.
“all right, teddy,” he answered. “i’ll177 go telephone your mother to bring our stuff to bailey’s corners. do you think she will?”
“of course she will,” teddy declared. “she knows how much we want to capture this deer and solve the mystery.”
“all right,” said dick. he set off on the run for the nearest telephone. teddy and joe raced after the deer. the animal was now evidently heading for open places instead of toward the woods.
“we have a good chance to catch him,” panted teddy as he trotted along beside joe.
“do you think so?”
“sure!” teddy declared. “this is the best chance we’ve had yet. come on! step on it!”
teddy and his chum were good runners. they often had taken part in cross-country races and this practice helped them to make good speed now. they had lost sight of the deer for the moment. but in a short time after taking the trail teddy shouted:
“there he goes! straight toward bailey’s corners!”
178 “and he isn’t going very fast,” said joe.
the deer might not have been going as fast as he could run. but still he managed to keep well ahead of the two boys. perhaps, the animal knew, also, he could “step on it,” when the need came.
but the sight of the animal gave teddy and joe new hope and they somewhat increased their speed hoping to catch up to the deer before it reached bailey’s corners.
this was a small settlement, about three miles from mason’s woods and meadow, and about half way between another large patch of woodland which had been taken over by the state as a forest park.
“if the deer gets into oak forest,” said teddy, “we’ll never be able to trail him. it’s too big a stretch of woods.”
“that’s right,” agreed joe. “we must capture him before he gets there.”
so they continued the chase.
meanwhile dick had reached a farmhouse where there was a telephone. his arrival,179 somewhat out of breath and excited, caused a little stir in the house. mrs. nixon, the farmer’s wife, who was the only one at home, gave dick permission to use the telephone. she could not help hearing what he said to teddy’s mother.
at first dick was so excited he could hardly talk straight. it was not surprising, therefore, that mrs. benson did not quite understand all dick said nor what he wanted.
“is this a joke?” she asked. “teddy, you and joe wanting me to bring you things for a night camp?”
“no, it isn’t a joke,” dick said. “we are really on the deer’s trail. we’ll catch him this time.”
“well, all right,” said mrs. benson after a short pause, “i will put some camping things for you boys in the car and bring them to you. but please tell teddy to be careful.”
“i will,” promised dick. “but you can tell him yourself, mrs. benson. teddy and joe are going to wait for you and me at180 bailey’s corners. you can pick me up here, can’t you?”
“why, yes, dick. i can do that,” said teddy’s mother. “that will be best. well, i’ll get ready right away.”
“oh, mrs. benson!” called dick into the telephone.
“yes, what is it, dick?”
“you won’t forget to put in some flashlights, will you?”
“i’ll put them in with the blankets and other things for a temporary camp.”
“and one other thing, mrs. benson.”
“what is it, dick?”
“you won’t forget to put in something to eat, will you, please?”
“oh, no,” laughed teddy’s mother. “i won’t forget that. i’ll put that in the car first of all. now you stay at the nixon farm until i get there.”
“yes’m,” said dick.
“land sakes!” exclaimed mrs. nixon as dick turned from the telephone. “what’s181 all this? you must excuse me,” she went on, “but i couldn’t help hearing what you were saying to mrs. benson. so it’s been a deer that’s been rampaging around in my garden, eh?”
“has that deer been around here?” asked dick eagerly.
“some sort of a critter has,” stated the farmer’s wife. “two or three nights ago it got into our melon patch and did a lot of damage. we didn’t exactly know what sort of an animal it was. but it must be the deer you’re talking about.”
“it got in mrs. traddle’s garden, too,” dick said. he gave a short account of the animal, and mrs. nixon said:
“this must be the critter that cowboy fellow is after.”
“was there a cowboy here after the deer?” asked dick, now more excited than before.
“yes, there was, a couple of days ago,” replied mrs. nixon. “at least, he said he was a cowboy and he was looking for a lost deer.182 that was before our melon patch was raided. and i didn’t think any more about it until now when i heard you talk to mrs. benson.”
“what sort of a cowboy was he?” asked dick. “did he have stars on his heels?”
“stars on his heels? why, how you talk!” exclaimed the farmer’s wife. “i never heard of such a thing! stars on his heels!”
“i mean did he have heel plates with stars on them?”
“i don’t know,” said mrs. nixon. “but when i told him i hadn’t seen a deer he went away. he took a short cut across my flower beds, too. but i must say he didn’t step on any.”
“has it rained since then?” asked dick.
“rained? what’s that got to do with it? no, it hasn’t.”
dick ran to where he could see several beds of flowers at the side of the house. anxiously he bent over to look at the soft ground.
“yes, it’s the same cowboy!” he exclaimed. “i can see the marks of his star heel plates.183 that’s why i asked if it had rained. rain would have washed them away. but they are plain yet.”
“land sakes!” exclaimed mrs. nixon. “what you boys don’t do!”
“did this cowboy have a lasso?” asked dick.
“i didn’t notice it if he had,” said mrs. nixon.
“and did he say why he was looking for a deer?” asked dick.
“no, he didn’t say that. i probably would have asked him more about the critter only i was busy. and up to then our melon patch hadn’t been raided.
“now you’d better sit down and rest until mrs. benson gets here. and wouldn’t you like a nice glass of cool milk and some molasses cookies?”
“yes’m, i would,” said dick. “thanks a lot.”
he had finished his little lunch, and was telling mrs. nixon more about the hunt for184 the mystery deer, when mrs. benson drove into the yard. the auto contained blankets, food and other items needed for the night camp teddy had planned on.
after a brief talk with mrs. nixon and dick, mrs. benson, with dick on the seat beside her, started for bailey’s corners. there they found teddy and joe had just arrived.
“thanks a lot, mother, for helping this way,” teddy panted.
“i think you boys are rather silly to make this fuss and take all this trouble about a deer,” said mrs. benson, smiling.
“oh, we just can’t let this deer beat us at the mystery game!” teddy exclaimed. “we can’t have our mystery club beaten!”
in a short time each boy had made up his bundle of blanket, food and other things in readiness to again take the trail after the deer. it was not the first time they had gone on hikes and spent the night in the open without a tent.
185 “are you sure there is plenty to eat,” teddy asked his mother as the three chums were about to start off.
“i put in all i thought you could carry,” she answered. “after all, you won’t be out more than one night, will you?”
“i guess not,” teddy replied. “if we can’t capture the deer between now and tomorrow noon, we’ll come back home.”
“and try over again,” said joe.
“yes!” teddy agreed.
dick was lifting his pack. a satisfied look came over his face as he noted the packages of food inside the blanket roll.
bidding mrs. benson good-bye, the boys started off again. they had to go a bit slower now because of the camping packs they carried.
they made their way through the little village. on inquiring of several farmers they learned the deer was still out in the open. it had been seen crossing several fields.
on and on the boys continued. the afternoon186 passed. they had stopped for a little lunch. they had one distant glimpse of the deer and then the animal had disappeared.
“but he is still going straight away from us,” teddy said. “if we can come up to him before he gets to oak forest we have a chance.”
the boys hurried on, but their pace was slower now. teddy was tiring and so were his chums. it was getting dusk.
“fellows,” said teddy suddenly, “we can’t go on any farther. let’s make a night camp here!”
