"Now he won't go thirsty for a long time," said Shep.
They cooked themselves a good breakfast and a little later set off across the hills in the direction of the end of Firefly Lake. It was their purpose to get to the lake by noon if possible, and then strike out along the rocky watercourse leading to Lake Cameron.
"We'll have to be careful how we tackle that hermit," said the doctor's son. "He may be the craziest kind of a lunatic."
"I've got an idea," said Snap. "Wouldn't it be a good idea to wait until night and then crawl up to the cabin while he is asleep?"
"It may be—-if he didn't take us for robbers and act worse than ever."
"Why not try him in the daytime first, and then, if you can't get the watch, go back at night?" said Giant.
"He may prowl around at night," suggested Shep. "And, remember, he may not have the watch at all—-it's all guesswork."
It was an exceedingly warm day, and when it was near noon all three of the young hunters were glad enough to lie down in the shade and rest. Game appeared to be as scarce as the day before and all they shot were some rabbits and one squirrel.
"We've got to do better than this before we go home," said Shep.
"If we only knew what had become of that bear!" sighed Snap.