He told them just what poles to cut and how to place them, and showed them the best way to put in strips of bark and bind the whole together. By nightfall they had the new roof finished, and all of the boys admitted it was much better than the other roof had been.
CHAPTER XIX
THE FIGHT WITH THE BUCK
Jed Sanborn had promised to remain long enough in the camp to go out on at least one deer hunt with them, and, on the following day, the whole party started out, shutting up the shelter as best they could, so that no wild animals might get inside during their absence.
The snow had ceased to come down. It covered the ground to the depth of a foot and a half on the level and Jed said it was just the right kind of weather for deer.
"If we spot 'em they won't have much chance to git away," he told them, "They can't run in sech deep snow nohow."
Of course they went on their snowshoes. Jed had brought his own along—a pair rather the worse for wear, but on which he covered the snow as rapidly as any of them. He said he had frequently been out on snowshoes for days at a time and they did not bother him in the least. He grinned when Shep took a tumble, but aided the lad to arise without any comment.
The old hunter had seen some deer at a place called Doorknob Valley, a hollow to the southwest of Firefly Lake, and led them in that direction. The trail was by no means an even one, and often they had to force their way through bushes half buried in the snow.
It was noon before they came in sight of Doorknob Valley, with some hills running around one side and a series of cliffs and rough rocks and scrub pines on the other. To the boys' dismay, not a deer was in sight. Snap looked questioningly at the old hunter.
"I think we'll find 'em somewhere around here," said Jed. "Come, follow me, and don't make any noise. I haven't seen a winter yet when there weren't deer in Doorknob Valley."