The lunch finished, they set off once again, this time going deeper into the woods than ever.
"Listen!" cried Jack presently. "I thought I heard some game stirring."
All came to a halt and listened intently. From a distance they heard a peculiar drumming sound.
"Partridges, I'll bet anything!" cried Randy in a low voice. "Come on, let's see if we can't get some of them."
He led the way over the snow, and the others were not slow in following. They had reached a point where the trees grew sparingly, and where there were a great number of rocks and brushwood.
They could hear a strange fluttering, and then a number of partridges arose in the air some distance in front of them. All took hasty aim and fired, but the game sailed out of sight unharmed.
"That's the time we missed it," observed Jack dismally. "I guess we made too much noise and they heard us."
"Listen!" interrupted Randy. "There is some sort of fight going on ahead."
He was right; and, listening, they made out a strange bark mingled with a snarl and several yelps.
"Let's go ahead and see what it means!" exclaimed Andy, and pushed on, with the others close behind him.