Together, without conversation, Leeds and I made for the head of the trail at the edge of the woods, giving the curving paths a miss. Dawn had come and was going; it was getting close to sunrise. The breeze was down and the birds were up, telling about it. The pace Leeds set, up the long easy slope and down the level stretch, was not quite up to his previous performances, which suited me fine. I was not in a racing mood, even to get to a bed.

Suddenly Leeds halted, and I came abreast of him. In the trail, thirty paces ahead, a man was getting up from his hands and knees to face us. He called,

“Hold it! Who are you?

We told him.

“Well, he said, “you'll have to keep off this section of trail. Go around.

We're just starting on it. Bright and early!

We asked how far, and he said about three hundred yards, to where a man had started at the other end. We stepped off the trail, to the right into the rough, and got slowed down, though the woods were fairly clean. After a couple of minutes of that I asked Leeds if he would know the spot, and he said he would. j^

Soon he stopped, and I joined him. I would have Known it myself, with the help of a rope they had stretched from tree to tree, making a large semi-circle. We went up to the rope and stood looking.

“Where's Hebe? I asked.

“They had to come for me to get her. She's in Nobby's kennel. He won't be needing it. They took him away.

We agreed, without putting it in words, that there was nothing there we wanted, and resumed our way through the woods, keeping off the trail until we reached the scientist at the far end of the forbidden section, who not only challenged us but had to be persuaded that we weren't a pair of bloodthirsty liars. Finally he was big-hearted enough to let us go on.