CHAPTER XXV
THE TWO FOXES
Ordinarily the foxes would have turned and run away, but, with the lake behind them, this was impossible, consequently they showed fight. They came on snapping and snarling viciously and with their teeth gleaming in a manner that made the boys shudder.
Fortunately for the young hunters the distance from the spur of rocks to where the lads stood was over fifty yards, so, as the foxes came rushing on, they had just time enough to shove aside their cameras and bring their shotguns to the front. Snap was the first of the three to bring his weapon into play, and he pulled the trigger when the fox was less than a dozen feet away.
The shot was a fairly good one, for it took the beast just under the breast. The fox gave a yelp of intense pain and dropped back.
The other fox came rushing at the doctor's son. The strap of Shep's gun had become entangled with that of his camera and consequently it was next to impossible for him to bring the weapon into proper play. He fired, but the charge went too high, and the beast continued to come on, until it crouched at his feet, snapping viciously and getting ready to leap at his throat.
It was now that Giant showed his mettle. He, too, had had a little trouble in getting at his gun, but now the weapon was pointed at the fox at Shep's feet. Giant ran closer and pulled the trigger. Bang! went the gun, and the fox received the full charge directly in the left ear. It keeled over, and Giant sent the second charge of his double-barreled weapon into the second fox, and that, too, went down and lay quivering in its death agonies.
It took the young hunters some time to recover from the excitement of the occurrence. The attack of the foxes had come so quickly that it had startled them greatly.
"This ought to be a warning to us—-this and that fight with the wildcats," said Snap. "We ought to be on our guard every minute. We've been lucky so far—-maybe some other time we'll not do so well."
"Don't borrow trouble, Snap," answered the doctor's son. "Yet I agree with you, we must be more careful in the future. Is your camera all right?"
"I think so."
"Then let us take pictures of ourselves with the dead foxes," went on Shep, and this was done, and later the photographs turned out very well.
Having finished with the picture-taking, the boys threw off their clothing and went for a swim in the clear, cool waters of Firefly Lake.
"Say, this is fine!" cried Snap enthusiastically as he splashed the water around. "Makes a fellow feel a year younger, after such a hot tramp as we have had!"
"That's what!" answered the doctor's son. "Look at this!" he added as he made a long dive from a rock beside which he knew the water to be deep.
They dove and swam and splashed around to their hearts' content for a good quarter of an hour, and even had a little race to a snag sticking up from the bottom fifty yards from the rocks. Then Shep said they had better dress and proceed on their way.
They ran out of the lake, shook themselves, and made for the spot whe`e they had left their clothing behind some bushes. Each stared in amazement. The clothing had been left in three heaps; now the garments were strewn around in helter-skelter fashion.
"Somebody has been here!" cried Snap. "Is anything gone?" demanded
Giant. At this all took a hasty inventory of their possessions.
"My shirt is missing!" came from the doctor's son.
"One of my socks is gone," added Giant.
"My belt is gone," came from Snap, "and so is my camera."
"And my gun!" added Shep, looking around to where the weapons had rested against a tree.
"Boys, we have been robbed!"
"What enemy has done this?"
"Can this be the work of the Spink crowd?"
For a minute the talk was lively, and then the boys calmed down a little. Even in their excitement they were glad that nothing more had been taken.
"I don't think the Spink crowd did this," said Snap. "Ham Spink wouldn't stop short of taking everything."
"Exactly my idea of it," answered Giant.
"Whoever it was had a queer idea of what to take," said the doctor's son slowly. "A shirt, a belt, one sock, a camera and a gun. Why in the name of goodness did he take one sock and not the other?"
"He certainly threw things around pretty well," said Giant. "Maybe it was a wild animal," he continued suddenly.
"No wild animal would walk off with a camera and a gun, Giant," returned Snap. "Ha! I have it!" he cried. "That crazy hermit!"
"Maybe you're right," said Shep. "It would be just like such a fellow to do a thing like this."
"And if he did this he must certainly have taken the watch," went on Snap.
"It would seem so."
The boys lost no time in dressing. As it was warm, Shep did not miss his shirt very much, nor did Giant miss his sock. Having no belt, Snap used a piece of stout cord instead.
"The loss of the gun is bad," said the doctor's son as they were finishing their toilet. "For if that crazy fellow has it, it will be so much harder to tackle him."
"That's true," answered Snap. "Maybe he'll shoot himself with it—-if he's so very crazy."
"Oh, we'll not hope that," murmured Giant.
They took the dead foxes and hung them high up in a tree, intending, if possible, to come for them later and turn the meat over to the captured lion. Then they pushed forward in the direction of the rocky waterway that connected the two lakes.
"You'll have to lead," said Snap to the doctor's son. "You've been here before."
"I'll lead as well as I can," was the answer. "But there is no regular trail—-that is, on the other side of the river."
The walking now became very rough, and the three young hunters had to proceed slowly. At times they were in sight of the water, but often their course led them inland for a hundred yards or more.
"These rocks are something fierce!" exclaimed Giant at length, after slipping and sliding several times.
"You beware that you don't twist an ankle," cautioned Snap.
Presently they reached a spot where further progress seemed impossible.
Giant and Snap halted and looked at Shep.
Before them was a little hollow, filled with small stones, and beyond were some shelving rocks with large cracks between. Over the shelving rocks grew heavy masses of vines.
"Don't drag," urged the doctor's son. "It is getting late. The sun will be down in another hour."
"I can't go any faster," panted Giant. All three advanced and tried to climb the shelving rocks by holding on to the vines. Some of these gave way, and the three boys fell back. Then from under the rocks came a strange, hissing sound, followed by a curious rattle.
"What's that?" cried Snap.
"Snakes!" roared the doctor's son. "Back for your lives, fellows!
We have struck a den of rattlesnakes!"