“And is he a tramp?” asked Russ.

“Well, he did look sort of like that, ragged and dusty.”

“And did he have a ragged coat?” Russ went on.

“I didn’t notice particularly,” answered the gate-man.  “He was pretty much ragged all over, I guess, but I didn’t pay much attention to him, as I was busy.  But he certainly was red-haired.”

“Oh, I do hope he’s got daddy’s papers!” went on Russ.  “Mr. Hurd told us about the lumberman,” he went on, “and we came to see him.”

“Well, you can do that,” said the guard at the gate.  “Just follow this road until you come to the lake.  This lumberman—­I think his name is Mike Gannon—­lives by himself in a little cabin near the place where the new dock is to be built.  He said he was used to living by himself, so the foreman told him he could camp out there.  And there you’ll find him, if he isn’t chopping down trees in the woods.  Just follow this road to the lake.  Will your dog pull you there?”

“Oh, yes, Zip is a good puller,” said Russ.  “He gave us this ride from Lake Sagatook.”

“And he ran after a rabbit!” added Laddie.  “And he might ‘a’ got it, only the bunny went down a hole.”

“They mostly do that when a dog chases ’em,” said the gate-man.  “Well, you just follow the road along until you come to the cabin where the red-haired lumberman lives—­Mike Gannon is his name—­and then you can ask him about the ragged coat and the papers.  Stop and tell me about it on your way out.”

“We will,” promised Russ and Laddie.  Then Russ called to Zip: 

“Gid-dap!”

Up jumped the dog with a bark, as much as to say “Good-bye!” to the gate-man, and down the gravel drive he trotted with the cart.

“He was a nice man, wasn’t he?” observed Laddie.

“Yes, terrible nice,” agreed Russ.  “I hope we find the red-haired lumberman.”

“I forgot to ask him a riddle,” went on Laddie.  “I mean the man at the gate.  But I can ask him one when we go back.”

“If we have time,” Russ said.  “We can’t stay too long, or mother and daddy and Grandma Bell will wonder where we are.”

“That’s so,” agreed Laddie.  “Well, we’ll just find the lumberman and get the papers and take them to daddy.”

Only it was not going to be quite as easy as that, the boys were to learn.

Along the pretty drive, under the trees, they went in the dog-cart.  Pretty soon they came to a part of the road where the little lake came close to the roadway, and, just beyond, was a log cabin.

“There’s where the lumberman lives,” said Russ.

“Yes, I guess he does,” agreed Laddie.

And just then, all of a sudden, Zip saw a cat out in front of the cabin.  With a growl and a bark the dog began to run toward the cat as fast as he could go, pulling the cart after him.

“Whoa!  Whoa!  Stop!” cried Russ.

“Stop!  Stop, Zip!” yelled Laddie.  “Stop!”