“It’s your face, Chub,” said Roy. “He has only to look at that to see that you’re a suspicious character. He’s a very intelligent animal, isn’t he, Dick?” “Oh, I don’t know; ’most anybody could size Chub up after a glance at him. Well, if we can’t see any more, suppose we go on about our business and come back later on when the chap’s at home? I’d sure like to get a look inside, fellows.” “Oh, so would I!” cried Harry. “Do you suppose that he’d invite us in if he was here?” “No,” replied Chub, somewhat disgustedly, eying the setter in disfavor. “I’ll bet he’s a regular old bear! A man that’ll have a dog with as suspicious a disposition as that one isn’t going to invite us in to see his old boat.” “A Daniel come to judgment!” exclaimed a deep voice behind them. [Illustration: “‘A Daniel come to judgment!’”] Snip, who had ceased barking for very weariness, broke out again frantically as the boys turned startledly about. At the edge of the wood, a few yards away, stood a big, brown-bearded man viewing them solemnly with his legs apart and his hands thrust into the pockets of a pair of yellow corduroy trousers. I say yellow because they were possibly a little more yellow than they were anything else, but there were many other colors to be found on those trousers; spots of red and blue and green, splashes of brown and white and black, and smears of all the variants possible. Even in his surprise and embarrassment Chub remembered his guess that the owner of the _Jolly Roger_ was a paint salesman, and silently congratulated himself on his acumen. I have said that the man was big, but that doesn’t begin to convey an idea of the impression received by Roy and Dick, Chub and Harry, as they turned and found him there. At first glance he seemed to them the biggest man outside of a museum. He was tall, well above six feet, and more than correspondingly broad, with huge muscles that indicated great strength. He was wonderfully good looking, with a long, straight nose, wide, brown eyes, a heavy head of wavy brown hair and a thick brown beard trimmed to a point. He suggested strength, health, sanity, and kindness. And after the first instant even his intense solemnity of countenance didn’t deceive the campers. For there was a half-hidden twinkle in the brown eyes. The red setter began to bark joyfully and so for a moment the dogs had everything their own way. Then: “Be quiet, Jack,” commanded the man, and the setter dropped obediently to the deck and restricted his manifestations of delight to a frantic wagging of his tail. Snip was not so easily controlled, but Dick grabbed him up and muzzled him with his hand. “Well, here’s the bear,” said the man, still regarding them solemnly. “A big brown bear ready to eat you up. Aren’t you frightened?” “No,” said Harry, “not a bit! That was just some of Chub’s nonsense. He didn’t mean anything.” “You’re sure?” asked the man anxiously. He had a splendid deep voice that made one almost love him at once.