The wagon having passed on out of hearing, Dan shouldered his rifle and started toward the landing.  While he was skulking through the woods at the lower end of the field, he stopped in a fence corner long enough to see David and his two friends transfer another good-sized catch from one of the traps to the coop in the wagon.  The sight encouraged him greatly.  If David’s good luck would only continue for just one week, the fifty dozen birds would certainly be captured, and Dan would stand a chance of making a small fortune.  It was not so very small either in his estimation.  His share would be seventy-five dollars—­his father had told him so—­and that would make a larger pile of greenbacks than Dan had ever seen at one time in his life.  With it he was sure he could buy a new gun as fine as the one Don Gordon owned (he would not have believed it if any one had told him that that little breech-loader cost a hundred and twenty-five dollars in gold), a jointed fish-pole, and some good clothes to wear to church; and when he had purchased all these nice things, he hoped to have enough left to buy a circus-horse like Don’s, and perhaps a sail-boat also.  Godfrey, for reasons of his own, had held out these grand ideas to him during one of their interviews, and Dan, being unable to figure the matter out for himself, believed all his father told him.

Having seen the second catch put into the coop, Dan started toward the landing again.  It was mail day, and consequently there was a larger number of loafers about the post-office than there usually was.  Among them were Lester Brigham and Bob Owens, who seemed to be very much interested in something that was fastened to the bulletin-board in the store.  Having nothing better to do just then Dan walked up behind them, and looking over their shoulders spelled out with much difficulty the following—­

“NOTICE.

“Ten Dollars Reward.

“Strayed or stolen, my black-and-white pointer, Dandy.  I will pay the above reward for his safe return, and ask no questions; or I will give Five Dollars for any information that will lead to his recovery.

“DONALD GORDON.”

“I am glad he has lost him, and I hope he will never see him again,” said Bob, spitefully.  “If I knew where he was, I wouldn’t tell him for five times five dollars.”

“What does he want him back for, anyhow?” said Lester.  “Don is assisting in shipping quails out of the country, and the first thing he knows the dog will be of no use to him.”

Dan did not waste five minutes in loafing about the store after that.  Here was something he had been waiting for ever since he stole the pointer.  The owner had offered a heavy reward for his safe return—­it was twice as much as Godfrey said they ought to have—­and the next thing to be settled was, how to obtain the money, without facing Don Gordon.  This was a question over which Dan had often bothered his few brains, but without finding any way of answering it.  Something must be determined upon now, however, for there was a nice little sum of money at stake.