Then, after putting up their
tents, they began taking the structure down, log by log.
On the third day they found what they sought in the heart of a
rotten log. Antoine had hidden it in a secure place. Will had no
difficulty in opening the belly of the little image, and there he
found the last will of Simon Tupper, bequeathing his entire
property to Frederick Tupper.
"That settles the case, boys, so far as we are concerned," Will
said, "and I think we'd better be getting back to Chicago in order
to straighten things out."
"You talk about getting back to Chicago like we could take the
elevated and get there in an hour!" laughed Sandy. "I guess that
you forget that we've got three hundred miles of wilderness to
travel before we reach the railroad station!"
"Well, we've got our canoes, haven't we?" asked Tommy.
"Yes," Will answered, "and if we want to use the canoes, we'll have
to wait until the river opens in the spring. We can get out on the
ice all right, I guess."
At the end of two weeks the boys found themselves at a way station
on the Canadian Pacific road. After that it did not take them long
to reach Chicago. During the trip down they had rather enjoyed the
hunting and fishing. Once or twice they had caught sight of a man
whom they believed to be the guide the East Indian had secured, but
after a time the man disappeared entirely and was seen no more.
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