And so along about the first of October the School Board wisely concluded that a vacation of some two weeks would do far less harm to the scholars than a continuation of these interruptions.  Besides, the teachers on their part threatened to also strike unless relief came promptly.

Imagine the delight of such fellows as Max, Bandy-legs, Steve and Toby Jucklin, all of whom loved life in the open so much, when they got the chance to further indulge this propensity, especially at the most glorious time of the whole year, when the nut crop was coming on, the trees turning red and yellow from the magical touch of Jack Frost’s cold fingers, with a tang in the air that made a fellow twice as hungry as he ever got in the hot old summer-time.

And then, as though Fate had determined to make this the most wonderful of periods in all their checkered careers, a thing happened that seemed just like one of those old but once much beloved fairy stories.

Perhaps, by listening to the workers exchanging comments as they gather the necessary brush, which later on would be fashioned into a shelter capable of shedding even a moderate amount of rain, we may be able to pick up enough general information to understand the nature of their mission up into the Adirondacks.

Bandy-legs was speaking at the time.  He had a little fault in the way of often showing a disposition to look at the darker side of things; and doubtless being unusually tired, after a hard day’s tramp, with such a heavy pack on his back, had something to do with his spirit of complaining on the present occasion.

“Well, all I can say, fellows,” he remarked, as he carried an armful of the stuff he had been gathering to the spot where Max had already commenced to erect the sides of the squatty shelter by driving stakes into the ground, “is that I hope we haven’t come all the way up here on a reg’lar fool’s errand.  It’d cost Mrs. Hopewell a pretty good sum, and be a real disappointment to her, if after all we didn’t find that good-for-nothing nephew of hers, Roland Chase.  Honest to goodness now, I’m a little inclined to believe he’ll be leading us a wild-goose Chase, if you want my opinion.”

“Oh! l-l-let up, c-c-can’t you, Bandy-legs!” spluttered the indignant Toby, pausing for a minute to wipe the beads of perspiration from his brow, and regain his breath in the bargain.  “You’re g-g-getting to be a regular old g-g-granny, that’s what, with all your d-d-dismal p-p-prophesies.  Tell me, d-d-did we ever f-f-fail yet in anything we undertook?  C-c-course we haven’t.  Right in the start we found all those b-b-bully p-p-pearls in those mussels we g-g-gathered in the Big Sunflower River, and laid away a n-n-nice n-n-nest-egg in bank for the crowd.  Sure we’ll f-f-find Roland Chase; we’ve just g-g-got to, that’s all.”

“All I want to say about it, boys,” observed Max, “is that I admire the grit of the boy.  They told us he was something of a dude, didn’t they, and that his rich uncle was afraid he’d never amount to much anyhow; so what did he do but make a most extraordinary will; at least, everybody who’s heard about that proviso says so.  I heard Judge Perkins say though he guessed the old man knew boys better than most folks, and had taken a wise course to prove whether this Roland had any snap in him or not.”