“I’ve retired, thank you!” came from under the pines. “I say, let us call it off!” And then the snowballing came to an end. Joe was not hurt, nor had anybody else suffered during the exciting contest.
The boys worked so hard the first day building the shelter that in the morning every back was stiff. When Harry arose it was all he could do to straighten up.
“I’ll be glad when the job is finished,” he grumbled. “A little of that sort of thing goes a great way.”
“Think of how our forefathers used to build their log cabins,” said Bart. “We can be thankful we don’t live in such days.”
“And don’t have any Indians hanging around ready to scalp us,” put in Fred.
“Sure, an’ I’d run for me life if I seen an Indian,” said Teddy, and this caused a laugh.
Bart and Link had brought a fair supply of provisions with them, but Teddy had brought nothing, so it was felt by all in the camp that they must be sparing with their things.
“We’ll have to go out on another hunt to-morrow,” said old Runnell. “We don’t want to live on just deer and bear meat.”
The split in the rock had been cleaned out, and on the evening of the second day a fire was started in the rear of the new shelter. There was a fine draught and every bit of the smoke went up the split without any trouble.
“This looks more like home,” said Harry, after the fire had begun to warm them up. “A camp isn’t a camp at all unless one has a good fire. Even in the summer time a fellow likes to look at the blaze.”