"It's queer that he'd come to a place like this," was Whopper's comment.
"Maybe he thinks it is best to keep in hiding, at least for the present."
"But why doesn't he go elsewhere?"
"He may be afraid to show himself in town, or at a railroad station."
The matter was talked over for an hour, and then it was decided to visit the old cottage as early as possible on the following morning.
"And let us take our guns," declared Snap. "And we'll take a rope, too—-in case we have to tie him up."
The boys could scarcely sleep that night, so excited were they over the prospect ahead. All of them were up at dawn and procured breakfast as quickly as they could. Then the game-bags were filled with provisions, the guns were overhauled, and Snap got the rope he had mentioned.
"Now I guess we are ready," said Shep.
"Wait till I kick out the fire," said Whopper. "Don't want the place to burn up while we are away."
The fire extinguished, they set off on their journey and were soon a goodly distance from the lake. The snow had disappeared and the day promised to be an unusually warm one. They did not look for any game, and when a rabbit crossed their path nobody shot at it.