“When shall we get started?” Tim asked.
“I think we ought to light out on the morning after Christmas,” Barry said.
“I don’t know about that,” Kent objected. “We have to buy some provisions and pack our sled, and we won’t want to do that on Christmas. Let’s make it two days after the great holiday.”
The others agreed to this. “As far as I can see, nobody knows why we are going,” Mac said.
“No, I think everyone believes that we are just going off on a camping trip,” said Barry. “That is what we want them to think. After all, we may not learn a thing about the mystery, and in that case our trip will be just a winter camp.”
“But we’ll work like the dickens to get a line on the spook,” promised Kent, as they parted.
Christmas Day was cold and gray, and late in the afternoon it began to snow. For several hours the light flakes fell, and the boys were beginning to worry. If the snow became too deep, their trip would have to be put off, and it looked very much as though the ice on the river would be covered in such a way that skating would be impossible. But the day following the holiday a wind blew the snow into drifts and banks and Kent reported that the river was clear enough to skate on.
Christmas Day passed off quietly, and the boys enjoyed it. There were gifts and family gatherings and a cheery air in general. The next day they busied themselves, preparing to go on their trip. In Kent’s barn there was a wide, low sled, and they began to pack it with supplies and food. Late in the afternoon they stood in a group and surveyed it.
“Guess everything is on there,” Barry said thoughtfully.
“I can’t think of anything else,” Kent admitted.