m beginning to
count time."

CHAPTER XV.

A SUCCESSFUL BATTLE.

Hamp and Brick obeyed orders to the letter. Each carried a rifle, a
shotgun and a hunting knife, and each had a pocketful of shells.

The thought of what lay before them lent feverish speed to the boys'
weary feet. Ten minutes of stiff climbing brought them to the top of the
hill. They had taken their snowshoes off, and at present they had no
need of them. Owing to the high wind that prevailed during the storm,
there was not even a sprinkling of snow on the ridge.

They hurried along the rocky pathway, taking good care, however, to
tread on no dry twigs or branches. They could see nothing below them,
owing to the dense foliage. To right and left lay an equally deep and
gloomy ravine.

When the young hunters were a quarter of a mile beyond the spot where
Jerry was waiting, as nearly as they could judge, the top of the hill
suddenly began to drop downward in steep jumps. Then it sloped more
easily, and finally terminated on the brink of a flat, egg-shaped basin,
surrounded by hills.

It was a weird and dreary place, and the boys surveyed it for a moment
with vague feeling of abhorrence. Then they hastily strapped on
their snowshoes, and turned to the mouth of the valley, which was a few
yards to their left. They posted themselves behind rocks, on opposite
sides of the narrow pass. In between lay scrub bushes and the now frozen
bed of the stream.

"Got both your guns loaded?" Hamp called across, in a loud whisper.

"Yes; I'm ready," Brick replied.

His rifle was in his arms, and the shotgun stood beside him.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" he added.

"Not long," answered Hamp. "The thirty-five minutes are surely up by
this time. I'll bet Jerry is stalking the herd."

An interval of waiting dragged slowly by. The boys became fidgety and
restless. They imagined that something had happened to their companion.

Bang! the thunderous roar of a shotgun suddenly reverberated down the
ravine. The boys jumped with surprise, and nervously clutched their
weapons. They gazed eagerly up the valley.

"Now look out," cried Hamp. "They'll be here in a minute. Keep cool, old
fellow, and aim straight."

"I'll do my best," replied Brick. "You take the first one, and I'll pick
out one of the rest."

"All right," Hamp whispered.

Just then a loud halloo was heard up the valley, and a