Chapter 18 Summary

As dawn breaks, the storm blows itself out and the snow begins to fall silently. Billy cannot hear his dogs, but now he hears a search party whooping for the lost hunters. Mr. Kyle, the head of the competition, reports that Grandpa's horses broke loose about midnight and came back to camp. The men have been searching ever since. Now they gather around Grandpa and assure him that there's a very fine doctor among the hunters back at camp. Someone inquires about Billy's dogs and he states that they have treed a coon somewhere and he will need to find them. Mr. Kyle cannot believe the dogs would stay with the tree through a storm, but he tells Billy that he'll need that final coonskin to win the competition. The judge who accompanied Billy's team remarks on the amazing qualities he has seen...