felt he could easily examine both slopes at once; then, when he reached the marsh, he could cut across the intervening hill and follow the other fork down to the point of junction. His journey from Rudolm had made him feel quite like an experienced woodsman already, so that he felt very confident that he had thought of a better plan than Oscar's. He pushed on resolutely and reached the headwaters of the creek about noon. There he ate his lunch, rested a little and then turned gayly to clamber up the hill.
It was a longer and a steeper climb than he had bargained for. More than once he thought he was at the top and even beginning to descend on the other side, only to discover that there was another ascent to be made. He went upward for what seemed to him an endless time, and began to be very weary. At last he reached the summit, but found that the trees were so tall and thick that he could see no distance even from there, and a slight, a very slight doubt began to arise in his mind as to whether he had done the wisest thing in following a plan of his own.
