Evidently George must have been convinced, for when he came in later there was a satisfied expression on his face; and noticing Elmer observing him the doubter nodded his head, and simply said:
"It was a deer all right; I saw his tracks out there!"
They had been sitting by the fire eating their frugal lunch for something like five minutes when the sun suddenly looked down at them, dazzling their eyes with his bright beams glinting from all that snow.
Of course the four boys immediately broke out into a shout, they were so glad to see the cheerful face of the sun again. The meal was finished in record time; but then perhaps that was not to be wondered at, for the supply had run far short of the demand; and Lil Artha, after polishing his pannikin until he could almost see his face in the same, jocosely remarked:
"The sample was pretty fine; now bring on the dinner!"
They were so eager to get moving that they did not allow their state of hunger to give them much concern. The rude shelter was taken down, though they had some trouble with the rubber ponchos, as they seemed to be frozen stiff under the accumulated snow, which from time to time had thawed in the heat of the fire, only to congeal again later on.
In the end, however, everything was packed as before, and having secured their blankets over their shoulders again, the scouts were ready to make a start. Toby had made his threat good, and had his wonderful snowshoes on. He struck out bravely enough, and at first seemed to be able to easily outstrip his companions. This caused him to feel an unnatural exultation, for he began calling back at them, and derisively telling them to "hurry up," that they were "too slow a bunch for him," and all that sort of nonsense.
Then suddenly this tirade ceased.
"Wonder what's happened to him now?" Lil Artha remarked, turning a grinning face toward Elmer, who simply replied:
"Wait and see, and be ready to laugh, though it's never a laughing matter to the fellow with the snowshoes!"