should not be going up so gradually,
as we have done for the last hour."

When several more miles had been added, the woods thinned out
perceptibly, and when the clearing was sufficient to enable them to get
the first glimpse to the south, Harry remarked:

"Well, there are the mountains, and they seem as far away as when we
left the river. Suppose we follow this ridge to the west. You see, there
is another forest between us and the mountains."

As they advanced the trees were smaller, and there was every evidence
that this was a young forest. There was an abundance of the finest
grass, and here they found immense flocks of beautiful pheasants and
numerous other birds that were unknown to the boys, and it was not long
until they had more than a dozen of different varieties.

"This is getting to be a pretty heavy load," remarked Harry. "I think it
would be a good plan to find a place for the game, and then come back
and take it as we return."

"Yes; we ought to do that. What time do you suppose it is?"

"It must be past noon, and I am pretty hungry. Why not take our
luncheon now?"

"Good idea. Look over to the right. It seems pretty clear there, and the
two large trees there will make a good point to aim for on our way back.
We can use the log there to rest and spread out our luncheon on,"
remarked George, as he pointed to the direction of the trees.

He kept looking in that direction intently, as Harry watched him. "What
do you see?" Harry asked.

"That looks like a hut."

"So it does," replied Harry, excitedly. "It may be only a large rock,
however," he continued.

"No; it doesn't look like a rock to me. Let us move up closer."

The object was fully a thousand feet away, and on a slight crest with
few trees about. It was round-topped, very uneven in its outline, which
gave it the appearance of a large boulder.

The boys approached cautiously, and as they came nearer, another but
smaller object of the same character was noticed to the left.

"That is surely a hut of some kind. See the door at the side of the one
to the left?"

"You may be right, Harry, but this seems to be an out-of-the-way place
for a village or habitation. You know the Professor stated on one
occasion, that even savages were smart enough to plan their homes near
running water, and why they should select this place, when they could
easily find plenty of water not far away, is something I can't
understand."

"Dead sure there is nobo