"That suits me!" Tommy declared, "and I know it'll suit George and
Sandy, too! There'll be a lot of fun in tramping about."

"Then why not make a trip to the range of hills right now?" asked
Will. "We can be back long before night."

"I don't know about that," replied Thede who had been listening to
the conversation without speaking. "It's a long way over to the
hills and the snow's deep."

"Then I'll tell you what we'll do!" Tommy exclaimed excitedly.
"We'll get a lot of game and send you back with it, and you tell
the boys that if we don't return tonight, we'll be camping in some
of those caverns in the hills."

"I thought you'd be ready for another runaway night excursion!"
laughed Will.

"I suppose I don't run away when I'm with you!" commented Tommy.

Will only laughed, and the boys began the collection of rabbits and
squirrels and ducks until Thede was pretty well loaded down. They
all walked along together until they came to where it would be
necessary to part company because of the different directions to be
taken.

There Will and Tommy turned toward the south while Thede kept
straight on toward the cottage on the island in the swamp.

"There's one thing we forgot," Tommy suggested as the boys tramped
laboriously through the snow. "We forgot to bring along anything
to eat!"

"Yes, we did!" laughed Will. "Don't you think I'll ever start out
on a tramp with you without plenty of provisions."

The boy opened his heavy coat and revealed inside pockets packed
with sandwiches made of venison steak and bread, with now and then
a sandwich composed of stewed meat and griddle cakes, for variety.

"We won't have to go home tonight, now, will we?" laughed Tommy.

"In Chicago," Will began, "we had a boy in our office we used to
call The-Young-Man-Afraid-Of-His-Bed. You must be related to him,
for I have never known you to go to bed without objecting, or to
get up without thinking how much time you had wasted!"

"Never you mind me!" replied Tommy. "You wait till you get into
some of those caverns in the hills and build a roaring fire, and
I'll show you that you're not the only boy that can provide
provisions."

"You mustn't do any shooting over there!" warned Will. "We might
as well go in quest of the Little Brass God with a band!"

"That's a fact!" agreed Tommy in a discouraged tone.

The boys first visited the cave where George had seen the Little
Brass God grinning down from the wall. There s