"I'd like to stay _here_ forever." Colin stretched himself upon a bank of moss, his mind going back to the explorer's longing, to the wood-hunger which had consumed him, as he lay upon the fragrant marsh-grass some hours before. He was getting his wish now--and not everybody gets that without having to pay for it. "The trees look kind o' fatherly an' protecting; don't they?" he murmured lazily. Yes, here one felt admitted to the companionship of those noble trees,--the greatest story-tellers that ever were, when one listens and interprets their conversations with the breeze. A "Hurrah for the woods!" was on every tongue as the boys chewed a berry or smoked a pearly orchid pipe. Moods changed a little as they took up their wandering again and presently waded, single file, through a jungle of bushes, scrub oak, dwarf pine, pigmy cedar and birch, laced with brambles. Here the trees overhead were of less magnitude and the tall leafy undergrowth foamed about their ears, giving them somewhat the distracted feeling of being cast away on a trackless sea--each sequestered in his own little boat--with emerald billows shutting out all view of port. "Three cheers! We're almost through with this jungle. I guess we're coming to more open ground again--none too soon, either!" cried Leon who led, with his dog. "Shouldn't wonder if we were approaching a swamp: it may be Big Swamp, as the men call that great alder-swamp that's all spongy in parts and dotted with deep bog-holes, where one might sink out of sight quick! "For goodness' sake! look at the crows," he whooped three minutes later, as, leaving the wavy undergrowth behind, he plunged out on a mossy slope strewn with an occasional boulder. "_The crows!_ What do you suppose they're after? They're teasing something! 'Hollering' at something!" The same amazed exclamation broke from his companions' lips. Halfway down the slope was an old and leafy chestnut tree. Around this the crows were circling, now alighting on the branches, now fluttering off again on sloping sable wing, their yellow beaks gleaming. A cawing din filled the air, with an occasional loud "Quock!" of alarm or indignation. "They're teasing something--perhaps it's a squirrel! I've seen them do that before; they're regular pests!" exclaimed Leon, inconsistently finding fault with the crows for being birds of the same feather with himself. "Whew! there's something doing here. Let's see what it is!" Nixon was equally excited. With the terrier scampering ahead, the four boys set off at a run toward the crow-infested tree. "I believe there's something--some animal--hidden in the hollow between the branches!" Leon gave vent to a low shout, his brown eyes yellow with excitement. "It's round that the crows are hovering!"