At first Snap was on the point of shooting, but he hesitated, as he was afraid he might kill the thief. Then it was too late to fire, and he dropped his gun on its strap. He took possession of the sled, turned it around and skated slowly toward where his chum was coming up on a decidedly lively run.
"Did you catch him, Snap?"
"No, but I know who it was—that tramp, Kiddy Leech."
"Is that so! Are all the things here?"
"I don't know."
"Where did he go?"
"Ran for that woods like a frightened deer. I would have fired, only I was afraid of killing him."
"Do you think we ought to go after him? We might be able to trail him in the snow."
"We might try it. He was pretty well scared when he saw me with my shotgun."
Leaving the sled by the river side, both young hunters made their way through the bushes and into the forest. For a short distance they followed the trail with ease. But then they reached a pond containing some clear ice and here the footprints were lost.