V THE MAN AT THE CABIN 239

XXV TWO DEER 249

XXVI STARTLING NEWS 257

XXVII WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT 266

XXVIII DELLA FORD'S STATEMENT 275

XXIX THE BIG BEAR 284

XXX GOOD NEWS--CONCLUSION 295

ILLUSTRATIONS

Out came a kettle, a frying-pan, some knives
and forks (Page 293) _Frontispiece_

FACING
PAGE

Dave caught her under the arms, and, treading water,
brought both her and himself to the surface 24

Then, as Dave went after him, he broke into a run 64

And then all the young folks fell to eating with great
gusto 102

"Hello! hello! Where are you going?" 154

"It's a snake, and a big one!" 180

"You just said that I was not Dave Porter. What
do you mean by that?" 202

Crack! Bang! The two pieces rang out in quick
succession 254

DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP

CHAPTER I

THE BOYS ON SHIPBOARD

"Phil, your father seems to be a good deal worried this morning. I hope
it isn't on account of the way we cut up on this ship last evening."

"Not at all, Dave," returned Phil Lawrence. "I don't believe he noticed
our monkey-shines. He is worried over the letter he received in the mail
we got at our last stopping-place."

"No bad news I hope?" said Roger Morr, another one of the group of boys
seated on the forward deck of a small coastwise steamer.

"Well, I think it is rather bad news," answered the son of the vessel's
owner. "Poor dad stands to lose between twenty and thirty thousand
dollars."

"Twenty or thirty thousand dollars!" exclaimed Dave Porter. "Why, how
can that be, Phil?"

"Did he make a bad investment?" asked Ben Basswood, another youth of the
group.

"You can hardly call it a bad investment, Ben," returned Phil. "Buying
the land was all right enough in the first place. It's trying to get rid
of it that's the sticker."

"You are talking in riddles, Phil," said Roger Morr. "Won't you
explain?"

"Maybe Phil doesn't care to explain," broke in Dave P