too large for us. That would simply make more
trouble for us."

Snap's proposal was considered a wise one.

Soon the young hunters had poled the raft from shore and then
they started to propel it across the lake. Two of the boys had
rude paddles and the others cedar branches. The progress made
was not great but it was sure, and they were content.

It was pitch dark when the rude raft struck the opposite shore
of Lake Narsac. They came in among some brushwood and landed
without great difficulty. They donned their socks and shoes, put
on their coats, and slung their guns across their backs.

"We'll tie up the raft," said Snap. "For all we know we may have
to come back to it."

"Oh, I hope not!" murmured Giant.

With extreme caution they picked their way among the trees and
bushes and across the rough rocks. Once Giant rolled over and over
down some of the slanting rocks and would have got a ducking in the
lake had not Snap stopped him just in time.

"Be careful," whispered the leader of the club.

"Don't let go of one footing until you are sure of the next."

They covered a distance of two hundred yards, when Snap called a halt.

"What now?" questioned Shep.

"I see a small campfire---through yonder trees."

"Then there is a party here beyond a doubt!" cried Whopper excitedly.

"You fellows wait here and I'll crawl forward and investigate,"
went on Snap. "It may pay us to go at this as quietly as possible."

"Don't get into trouble," warned the doctor's son.

"If I do you'll hear of it quick enough," answered Snap.

Then with great caution he crawled through the brushwood in the
direction of the distant campfire.

CHAPTER XXII

A LIVELY TIME IN THE DARK

Slowly but surely Snap got closer to the campfire, which was built
in a little hollow and screened from the lake by a wall of rocks.

"They built the fire there so that we couldn't see it from across
the lake," reasoned the young hunter, and he was right.

Presently he was near enough to make out six forms around the
fire. Then he recognized Ham Spink, Carl Dudder, Jack Voss, and
some other of the lads of the town who usually went with Ham and
Carl. One boy, named Ike Akley, was a ne'er-do-well, who had
once set a barn on fire and burned up two cows. For this he had
been locked up, but his father had procured his release by paying
heavy damages.

The crowd around the campfire were eating supper and talking in
such low tones