What Sam said was true. There, gathered around a fire on the opposite side of the pond, were Dan Baxter, Jasper Grinder, and a tall, powerfully built fellow whom they easily guessed was Bill Harney, the guide. They had two sleds with them, and one of these had been unloaded and the camping outfit lay scattered around.
"Well, this is a surprise and no mistake!" was Tom's comment, in a low voice. "If I know anything about it, they must have done some quick traveling."
"I believe they followed the river, at least part of the way," returned the youngest Rover. "I see a pair of skates lying by one of the sleds."
"Do you suppose Dick and Mr. Barrow met them?"
"I don't believe they did. See, they have some rabbits they are going to cook. That accounts for the shots we heard."
Crouching down behind the bushes, the two Rovers watched the other party with interest. A lively conversation was going oh between Dan Baxter and the former teacher of Putnam Hall, but they were too far off to catch anything of what was said.
"What do you propose doing next?" asked Sam, after a pause of several minutes. "It's mighty cold here."
"We may as well retreat, Sam. We don't want to expose ourselves, do we?"
"I don't suppose it would do any good—although I'm not afraid of Baxter, or Grinder either."
"It isn't that. If they know we have arrived here, they will do all they can to locate that treasure first. We want to keep dark and get ahead of them."