"There they go!" screamed Whopper just then, and he spoke the truth, the rabbits had discovered the hunters and were making mighty bounds to gain the thickets beyond lake shore.
All the boys with shotguns blazed away, and four of the rabbits dropped in their tracks. Another went limping along painfully and Snap caught it with case. But there was no time for a second shot.
"Well, that's not so bad, for a start," observed Giant, as they took up their game.
"If I hadn't yelled you'd have lost the bunch," said Whopper. "Why, I was most tempted to bring one down with the rifle."
CHAPTER IX
INTO A HOLE AND OUT
Inside of an hour the young hunters had passed to the extreme end of the lake and were coning down on the other side.
"Here is where the Ham Spink crowd stole our boat," said Snap, indicating the spot.
"Phew! and what a time we did have on the lake afterwards," was Whopper's comment. "Say, I can't understand yet why some of us weren't drowned."
"Don't make so much noise," said Shep. "We'll never get any game if you keep on talking."