Behind them the lake was broad, but before them it narrowed. Barry could now see the Bronson cabin and beyond it the roof of the lodge. His heart beat faster, and unconsciously he skated on with increased speed. They were close to the scene of the mysterious events that had interested him so much.
He joined the others, and they were soon at the bank before the Bronson cabin. Taking off their skates, they walked up the slope to this plain little log house, but their eyes were on the big hunting lodge. It stood on a bluff and could be approached only in a roundabout way from the lake, up the sides of the slopes and not from the front.
“There it is, the house of mystery,” cried Tim, as they took in the length of the low log lodge building.
“It looks cold and deserted,” Mac offered. “Doesn’t look as though it has any spooks around it at this time of year. Bet you a doughnut we don’t learn a thing.”
“That’s a mighty poor spirit to start our hunt with,” Barry objected, as he felt in his pocket for the key to the Bronson cabin.
Up to the moment they had paid no attention to the cabin in which they were going to live, but now, as Barry unlocked the door, they scanned it with interest. It was nearly square and was made of rough hewed logs. It appeared to be very old, and there was only one small window to the left of the door. A rock chimney pushed its way through the roof.
“We’ll like this place when we get used to it,” Kent predicted.
Barry pushed the door open, and they entered. There was a large general room, and a small lean-to which served as a kitchen. A single bed with sooty covers was pushed up against the wall on one side of the room. A wide fireplace with rusty andirons in it showed at the back of the cabin room. Everything was dirty and dreary-looking.
“Hasn’t been used for some time,” Tim commented, as they stood and looked around.
“No,” Barry admitted. “Dad said it hadn’t. We’ll have a lot of cleaning and fixing to do. Also, we’ll have to sleep on the floor in our sleeping bags, as there is only one bed in the place, and it doesn’t look very inviting. Well, how about it? Shall we go to work?”