CHAPTER XVI.
ON THE TRAIL.
The boys were dumfounded by their loss. The theft was a most daring one,and must have been committed within the past few minutes.
"Somebody will wish he had stayed honest," muttered Hamp, vengefully."I'm glad we all have our guns."
"There was only one thief," declared Jerry. "Look! you can see the dimmarks of his snowshoes. Here's where he turned the sleds around."
"And he's taking them back the way they came," added Brick. "In the sameruts, too. He must have hitched them together."
"We'll catch him," said Hamp. "He can't have much of a start. Come on,before it gets dark."
The boys started eagerly along the trail, unmindful of the wealth ofvenison they were leaving behind.
At the end of half a mile they were not in sight of the thief. Jerrybent down and scanned the sled marks.
"Something wrong here," he said. "The trail is no longer double."
The boys tramped up and down the valley, poking behind every rock andinto every clump of bushes and trees. Gradually they became widelyseparated.
Suddenly a loud shout from Hamp drew his companions to him. His searchhad proved successful.
Behind a fringe of bushes, at the very base of the left-hand mountain,the faint ruts again appeared on the snow-crust.
"Now for a stern chase," said Jerry. "Have your guns ready, and don'tmake any noise. This way."
The boys started briskly up the mountain side. Before they had takenmany steps they were agreeably surprised to find a broad and easy paththat followed a zig-zag course toward the summit.
The boys traveled faster. They were almost at the top of the mountainnow. Straight ahead the trail wound narrowly between two steep walls ofrock and timber.
Crack! the angry spit of a rifle echoed among the rocks. The ballwhistled close over the heads of the lads. They instantly dropped downamong the bushes, fearing another shot.
"Let's all fire at once," whispered Hamp.
"No, hold on," cautioned Jerry. "The rascal is safe behind the rocks."
The next instant a deep, growling voice floated down the ravine.
"Keep back, you chaps. The first one as comes a step nearer will get abullet through him."
The boys wisely made no reply. Under cover of the rocks and trees, theycrawled a few yards down the path.
"We're in a hole," said Jerry. "The thief is up there with the sleds."
"What are we going to do about it?" asked Brick.
"Well, we've got to have our traps back," said Jerry, "that's certain.And there's only one way to do it. We must cut down the path as thoughwe were retreating. Then we'll make a detour and lie in wait for therascal and try to take him by surprise."
This plan offered much risk in spite of Jerry's confident words. But abetter course was out of the question.
So the boys rose, and tramped down the winding path, purposely making asmuch noise as possible, to show that they were retreating. Half-way fromthe bottom of the valley the boys turned to the left. They followed therugged mountain side for several hundred yards. Then they mountedstraight to the summit and crossed in safety.
Suddenly Jerry uttered a low cry. He sprang forward and snatched asmall, dark object that was lying in the snow.
"What is it?" exclaimed his companions.
"A tin dipper," was the reply. "It must have fallen off one of thesleds."
Hamp instantly struck a match, and the flame revealed plain sled-marksleading across the valley.
"We're outwitted again," groaned Brick. "This is awful luck."
"Yes; the rascal must have pulled out the minute he heard us go down theravine," said Jerry. "By this time he has a big start."
The situation of the lads was now truly deplorable. Yet their veryhelplessness made it necessary for them to push on.
The trail of the sleds led to an easy pass in the opposite range ofmountains. The boys trudged rapidly through this, and emerged in whatseemed to be a broad, deep valley.
They pushed on for a quarter of a mile. Then they were stopped by a deepand rapid stream, which was frozen along the edge.
But one match was now left. Hamp cautiously lit it, and it was instantlyseen that the thief had turned down the valley.
"We're still on the right track, anyhow," said Jerry. "We can't wellmiss the rascal, either. He'll stick to the stream until he finds aplace to cross."
"He won't find one very soon," declared Hamp. "This is the MallowgashCreek, if I'm not mistaken. It flows into Chesumcook, and it's broad anddeep all the way. It's too swift to freeze."
"I don't see a speck of light ahead," said Brick, as he glanced down thevalley. "The thief must be still traveling."
"And that's what we've got to do," replied Jerry. "Come on."
An hour slipped by, and then another. The boys could hardly drag theiraching feet along. They yearned to drop down and sleep. But they knewthat if they succumbed to the temptation, they would never wake again.
Now the strip of open suddenly faded into a gloomy pine forest that grewto the water's edge. The boys stumbled from side to side among thetrees, and presently came out of the forest into open ground. Somedistance ahead a ray of yellow light was visible.
"At last!" muttered Hamp. "We have run the rascal down."
"Yes; there's his campfire," said Brick. "I hope he's sound asleep."
"Not too fast, you fellows," whispered Jerry. "That light is too steadyfor a fire. But we'll investigate and make sure."
He led the boys softly forward. They were moving off from the stream atan angle now. The roar of the water grew fainter with every step. A fewyards ahead was a copse of tall bushes, which concealed the yellowgleam.
The boys made a detour around them, and the next instant they werefairly blinded by a dazzling glare of light.
Their eyes quickly became accustomed to it, and then they made anunexpected and joyful discovery.
The light shone from a single window in the end of a long, low housethat stood some fifty feet away. The intervening space containedseveral small sheds, and was strewn with felled trees, many of which hadbeen denuded of bark and branches. From the house came gruff voices andan occasional peal of boisterous laughter.
"We've stumbled on a logging camp," exclaimed Jerry. "That thievingrascal must be inside."
"He may be one of them," suggested Hamp. "What are we going to do aboutit?"
"First of all, we'll take a peep," replied Jerry. "I don't believe thethief belongs here. If he does, we'll get square treatment, though.Loggers are mostly honest fellows, if they are a bit rough. Come on."