bang! went both pieces, one directly after the other.
The muskrats gave a leap upward and fell with a splash into the stream.

"We hit them, that's certain," said the doctor's son. "But they may
get away."

Eagerly the boys rowed up to the spot where the muskrats had sat.
Around the rocks the clear water was churned up into mud. But on
the surface floated the two bodies of the creatures.

"I don't know what we are going to do with them," said Snap. "The
skins are not very good this time of year."

"I couldn't resist bringing one of 'em down," said Shep.

"Just the way I felt," added Giant.

They continued on their way, and a few minutes later came to something
of a cleared spot along the watercourse. Here Snap leaped up, shotgun
in hand.

"Here's our chance, fellows!" he whispered. "All together."

He pointed to some low trees beyond the clearing. The branches
were thick with quail. All understood and took up their firearms.

"I'll shoot high, Shep can shoot low, Giant to the left and Whopper
to the right," commanded the leader of the club. "All ready?"

"Yes," was the low answer, and the four weapons went off almost as
one piece. There was a great fluttering in the trees and five quail
were seen to drop. Then two others flew around in a fashion that
told plainly they were seriously wounded.

"Come on, we must get them!" cried Giant, and leaped forward. As the
two wounded birds flew close together he blazed away a second time,
and the game dropped like a stone. The rest of the quail were now out
of sight.

"Seven quail!" cried Snap, enthusiastically. "I don't call that half
bad."

"I call it very good," declared the doctor's son. "To-morrow we can
have quail on toast."

"Where are you going to get the toast?" questioned Whopper.

"Well, we'll have quail on crackers then," put in Giant.

Stowing the quail away in the bow of the boat, they went on through
the gathering darkness. The sun had gone down over the hills in the
west, casting long shadows across the little watercourse.

"It will be pretty dark by the time we reach Firefly Lake," said
Snap, and he was right. It was cloudy too, and a stiff breeze from
the east had begun to blow.

"We'll have to take care how we pitch our tent to-night," was
Whopper's comment. "Unless I miss my guess, we'll have rain by
to-morrow morning."

"Oh, don't say that!" cried Giant. "I don't want it to rain yet."

"It won't hold off for you or any