After that several days passed quietly and then came another rain lasting the best part of a night.  To their satisfaction the new cabin did not leak at all, everything remaining as dry inside as before the downpour.

“Now we have a cabin worth having,” was Snap’s comment.  “I hope that rain just leaked in all over Mr. Andrew Felps and his crowd.”

“Oh, don’t mention him!” cried Shep.  “I hate to even hear the name!”

After the rain it was considerably colder and they were not slow in putting on some of the heavier underwear they had brought along.  By the suggestion of Snap they also spent one whole day in cutting firewood and piling it up beside the cabin door.

“There is no telling what we may strike soon,” said Snap.  “If a heavy fall of snow should arrive it wouldn’t be very nice to be caught without a good supply of wood.”

“Oh, we could go out in the snow and cut some,” said Giant.

“Not if it was real deep,” put in Whopper.  “I’d rather have the wood on hand, as Snap says.”

The boys had not forgotten about the deer they had seen, and one somewhat cloudy morning they started across the lake in the rowboat, taking their guns and some provisions along.  They headed directly for the spot where the game had been seen and then hunted for the trail.

“Here it is!” cried Shep, presently.  “And it looks to be fresh.”

“You are right,” answered Snap.  “And that proves that the deer have been here since that heavy rain.  Now, boys, if we follow this trail with care we may be able to bring down something worth while.”

And then they set off to follow the trail, little dreaming of the strange adventure in store for them.

CHAPTER XV

THE CAVE IN THE MOUNTAIN

The opposite shore of the lake was rocky and full of brushwood, and it was rather difficult to follow the deer tracks, which occasionally led directly across the rocks.  Once in a while they would miss the trail and then a grand hunt for prints would be instituted, until the trail was recovered.  They passed over one small hill and then came to a broad hollow, fronting something of a mountain.

“I see some deer!” cried Whopper, pointing with his hand.  “Five or six of ’em.”

The young hunter was right, and all gazed at the game with longing eyes.  The deer were more than a third of a mile away, on the mountainside.

“Let me see,” said Snap, “the wind is blowing from the west.  So we had better make a semicircle and come up on the other side of the game.  If we don’t, the wind will carry our scent to them and they’ll be off like a shot.”

Silently the others followed the directions of their leader, and once again they plunged into the brushwood.  The way was harder than before and more than once they had to halt, not knowing exactly how to proceed.