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--on the Big Woods Trail................................ 11

The Overlanders, arriving at their destination, are told that their guide is busy doing the family washing. Hippy and Hindenburg, the bull pup, make a hit. Emma Dean wishes she had stayed at home. The "untamed" bronco entertains the villagers.

CHAPTER II--THE VOICE OF NATURE.................................. 18

"Why don't yer feed the critter some soothin' syrup?" jeers a villager. Emma reads the message of the hermit thrush. On the way to the "Big Woods." Trouble is threatened at Bisbee's Corners. The Overlanders attacked by roistering lumberjacks.

CHAPTER III--THE CHARGE OF THE JACKS............................. 31

"Out of this, lively!" shouts Tom Gray. The fight in the village street. Hippy and Tom rescue an unfortunate Indian from the jacks. Willy Horse follows and overtakes his rescuers. "You Big Friend--Big Medicine!" The new guide creates a sensation.

CHAPTER IV--A HUMAN TALKING MACHINE.............................. 42

Joe Shafto lays down the law to her charges. Tom Gray admits that he is at fault. Emma announces that some of her ancestors were birds. Hippy advises the guide to eat angel food. A wild beast in the cabin of the forest woman.

CHAPTER V--OVERLANDERS GET A JOLT................................ 53

"A bear! A bear under the table!" Grace Harlowe's companions thrown into panic. Nora puts her foot in a platter of venison. The guide explains that Henry, the bear, is a "watch dog." Hippy and the bear meet in hand-to-hand conflict.

CHAPTER VI--CAMPING UNDER THE GIANT PINES........................ 63

"Sick 'im, Hindenburg!" gasps Hippy. The bull pup saves his master, and Henry gets a beating. Tom shows how to read the forest "blazes." The Overland Riders pitch their first camp in the great forest. Emma gets a message from the air. The lull before the storm.

CHAPTER VII--FELLED BY A MYSTERIOUS BLOW......................... 74

Tom and Grace hearken to warning sounds in the trees. "Quick! Get the girls out!" A rush from an unknown peril. Hippy declares that "Nature is an old fogy." Crashing reverberations are heard in the forest. "Hippy's hurt!" cries Elfreda Briggs.

CHAPTER VIII--THEIR FIRST DISASTER............................... 80

Tom informs his companions that their camp has been wiped out. Building a fire in the rain. Overland girls learn the secrets of the forest. Joe Shafto boxes Hippy's ears. The pet bear is welcomed with a club. A startling assertion.

CHAPTER IX--LUMBERJACKS SEEK REVENGE............................. 91

"The skidway was tampered with!" Overland tents are destroyed. Tom gets a cold welcome. A warning of timber thieves. Lean-tos are built for the night's camp. "How can we go to bed with one side of the house out?" wonders Emma. Awakened by an explosion.

CHAPTER X--MYSTERY IN THE FALL OF A TREE........................ 102

Hippy is assisted down the river bank by a flying tree limb. The camp of the Overlanders again suffers disaster. "Hurry! We've set the woods on fire!" Battling with a forest fire. Hippy wants to dream of food. A disturbing outlook.

CHAPTER XI--THE THREAT OF PEG TATEM............................. 115

Henry sleeps on high. The bear and the bull pup scent trouble. The foreman of Section Forty-three goes trouble-hunting. Settlement is demanded of the Overlanders for the burned trees. "Skip! Get out!" orders Lieutenant Wingate. Peg starts a row.

CHAPTER XII--A SHOT FROM THE FOREST............................. 121

Tom Gray attacked by the lumberman. The jacks take a hand. Hippy uses a firebrand as a weapon. Overlanders badly punished. Shots from the forest shatter Peg's wooden leg. Henry paws his way into the fight. The Overlanders meet a fresh mystery.

CHAPTER XIII--A BLAZED WARNING.................................. 132

Grace Harlowe's party seeks a change of scene. The bent arrow points to danger. The end of a long night's journey through the forest. The mournful wail of a timber wolf carries a meaning to Emma Dean. "Put out that fire!" commands the forest ranger.

CHAPTER XIV--THEIR DAY AT HOME.................................. 143

The caller at the Overland camp grows threatening. Henry sounds a warning growl. Ordered to leave the forest. Emma tells the ranger how to get rid of wolves. "I reckon you haven't heard the last of Peg Tatem."

CHAPTER XV--THE WAY OF THE BIG WOODS............................ 150

Newcomers arouse the apprehensions of the Overland Riders. "Put up yer hands!" comes the stern command. Deputy sheriffs inform the Overlanders that they are under arrest. Joe Shafto fires a warning shot at their annoying callers.

CHAPTER XVI--WILLY HORSE SHOWS THE WAY.......................... 157

Elfreda out-argues the officers of the law. Visitors politely requested to remove themselves. Threats of revenge. Camp is made on the banks of the Little Big Branch. Willy shows the way to the Overlanders' permanent camp.

CHAPTER XVII--IN THE INDIAN TEPEE............................... 173

Willy Horse arrives in a bark canoe. An Indian home is built for the Overland girls. Grace paddles the birch canoe and gets a ducking. Henry investigates the tepee and his nose suffers. A loud halloo arouses the girls from their beauty sleep.

CHAPTER XVIII--THE TRAIL OF THE PIRATES......................... 182

The bull pup keeps bankers' hours. Tom and Hippy seek evidence of timber-thieves and make discoveries. Hippy evolves a great idea. Willy tells Lieutenant Wingate about Chief Iron Toe. Hippy and the Indian go away on an important mission.

CHAPTER XIX--THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL......................... 193

"Bears is better than husbands," declares Joe Shafto. Hippy announces that he has bought a big timber tract. "Don't ask me a question until my stomach begins to function." Willy Horse brings a warning of spies near the camp.

CHAPTER XX--PEACE OR WAR?....................................... 204

Chet Ainsworth arrives at the point of a rifle. The peace of the Overland camp violently disturbed. Hippy admits that he is crazy. Henry gives uninvited guests a scare. "They do get that way sometimes." Overlanders gaze in amazement.

CHAPTER XXI--A WISE OLD OWL..................................... 210

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