Guns and Snowshoes; Or, the Winter Outing of the Young Hunters Part 25

"I don't think he'll bother us any more," said Shep. "He's too much of a coward at heart."

The boys had planned for a day "at home," as Snap put it. They were going to try their hands at cake and candy making, and for dinner were going to have baked turkey, beans and apple sauce. For breakfast Giant and Whopper had prepared some of the fish caught through the ice, and the repast proved a delicious one--quite a relief from the monotony of game.

All of the boys were in exceptionally good humor that day, whistling and singing and "cutting up" generally. Right after breakfast they opened up the Inn to let in some fresh air and during that period of time had a s...o...b..ll match, using as a target a saucepan lid set up on a tree stump at a distance of a hundred feet. Each took ten trials and Snap knocked the lid down seven times, Shep six times and Giant and Whopper each five times. Then the boys got to s...o...b..lling each other, running round the shelter for protection, and at last Giant followed Shep inside, each carrying a chunk of snow.

"Hi! that won't do!" sang out the leader of the club. "No snow allowed inside. Come out, or I'll fine you each five sticks of wood." Which meant that each culprit would have to go out into the woods and chop down five fair sized sticks for firewood. This was a system of fines Snap had inst.i.tuted and it seemed to work very well.

"No wood chopping in mine," called out Giant, and threw his snow outside. Whopper attempted to do the same, but the chunk fell and spread all over one of the couches.

"Whopper you are fined five sticks, and you must at once clean the couch, before the snow melts," said Snap.

"Just my luck," grumbled Whopper. "Every time I start out for fun I end up with a funeral!" Yet he set to work willingly, whistling as merrily as ever.

The sport at an end, all of the boys set to work, cake and candy making. They cracked some of the nuts taken from the squirrels' hiding places and then while Snap and Giant made a big nut cake, Shep and Whopper made nut candy. The boys had learned the work at home (for camp purposes) and the results were decidedly appetizing. In the meantime the turkey was roasting, and then Snap and Shep peeled some apples for apple sauce.

"Listen!" cried Whopper. "Am I mistaken, or did I hear a whistle?"

All listened and from a distance heard a clear, sharp whistle, thrice repeated. They knew that signal well, and all rushed to the doorway of the shelter, getting in a jam in consequence.

"I'm the one to get out ahead!" cried the Giant, and the small form slipped deftly between the others. "Hullo, Jed Sanborn! How are you?"

"Hullo, yourself!" came from off the ice of the lake, as the well-known old hunter strode forward. "Thought I'd find you to hum--by the look of the smoke from your chimbley."

"Where did you come from, Fairview?"

"Yes,--got letters fer all of you."

"Oh, letters!" was the cry, and then all the young hunters rushed forward to shake hands and escort the old hunter into the shelter. Jed Sanborn looked around in perplexity.

"Why, say, this ain't the camp I expected," he stammered.

"The other was burnt down when we got here," answered Snap.

"Burnt down? 'T wasn't burnt down when I was here last, lad."

"So you told us. It must have been burnt down after that. The work of some enemy," put in Shep.

"You don't suspect Felps, do you?"

"Either he or the Ham Spink crowd," answered Whopper.

"Humph! Dog mean, wasn't it? Some fellers is too mean to live. Say, that turkey smells good. Ain't starvin' none, eh?"

"Not a bit of it," declared Giant. "We've got more than enough."

"Then kin I get dinner?"

"A dozen of them!" cried Snap.

They made Jed Sanborn make himself at home, and then read with pleasure the letters. All was going along well at Fairview, and the boys were cautioned to take good care of themselves.

"We must send letters in return," said Shep, and this was agreed to instantly, and the communications were pencilled that afternoon.

Jed Sanborn had quite some news to tell, and he listened with interest to the tale the young hunters had to relate about their various quests of game. His brow darkened when they related their experience with Kiddy Leech.

"Sech rascals ought to be run out o' the deestrict," he observed. "An'

I'd like the job of runnin' 'em out. I hope he doesn't bother you again."

It was one o'clock when the Gun Club and their guest sat down to their turkey dinner. All took their time over the repast, and as a consequence the meal was not finished until some time after two. Then they took it easy, while Jed Sanborn told them a story about a bear hunt, and how he had once gone fis.h.i.+ng on the St. Lawrence and got caught in the rapids.

"It's snowing again!" called out Shep, who chanced to go out, to bring in some more firewood. "Coming down pretty thick, too, I can tell you!"

"I allowed it was going to snow before nightfall," answered Jed Sanborn. "I'll take a look at the sky myself."

As a man who spent nearly all of his life out of doors, he was keenly interested in the weather at all times. He studied the sky carefully for several minutes and then shook his head.

"What do you think?" was Whopper's query. "Going to snow all night, I reckon--an' putty good too."

On account of the snow, it grew dark rapidly, and they had to stir up the fire for light as well as for warmth. Jed had brought with him a small bag of corn for popping, and also a popper, something Shep had meant to bring but had forgotten. While some of the boys cleared away what was left of the meal, Giant and the old hunter popped a pan full of corn, and of this and the cake, candy, and apples they made, later on, what they termed supper.

"My! but it is snowing to beat the cars!" exclaimed Whopper, as he looked out of the shelter before retiring. "Can't see the end of your nose. I'll bet the snow will be eight or ten feet high by morning."

The evening was spent in playing various games and in singing some of the home songs. The boys could sing fairly well and Jed Sanborn listened with pleasure.

"Wish I could sing myself," he said. "But I ain't got no more voice nor a black crow."

At last it came time to turn in, and they provided the old hunter with a comfortable corner. The fire was fixed for the night, and presently all went to sleep, little thinking of the excitement so close at hand.

CHAPTER XVIII

AN UNEXPECTED PERIL

The snow continued to come down thickly. The weather had moderated to a great extent and this made the snow heavy and clinging. It came down on the shelter steadily until the top of Birch Tree Inn resembled the top of some large sugar-coated cake.

The roof of the shelter was not as strong as it should have been, for the young hunters were amateurs in the construction of such an affair.

It held up bravely until the weight of snow became too heavy, and then it began to bend lower and lower and commenced to snap and crack, as one tree after another gave way.

The boys and the old hunter slept on, unconscious of their danger, until an extra loud crack awoke Whopper. The lad sat up, looked around him and listened. Then came another snap.

"Must be a log on the fire," said Whopper to himself. "But it didn't seem to come from there. Perhaps--Oh!"

Whopper heard a crack directly over his head, then down came a heap of snow that all but buried him.

"Hi! Wake up, everybody!" he yelled, in alarm. "The roof is coming down!"