“It doesn’t pay as well as mining, that’s why,” answered Jack. “Just look at it, we’ve been here nearly two hours, and we’ve got about two dollars’ worth of fish. If the four of us were working at the mine we’d have earned at least eight dollars in that time.”
“This wouldn’t be a bad spot for camping,” suggested Andy.
“Suppose we ride around the lake,” suggested his twin. “There seems to be a trail all the way around.”
The others were willing, and soon the fishing tackle was put away and they were once more on horseback.
At the lower end of the lake they found another stream of water running between a mass of dense brushwood. Here the trail was narrow and the horses had to pick their way, for the spring freshets had thrown the loose stones in all directions.
“Maybe we had better turn back,” came from Fred. “The trail seems to be getting worse instead of better.”
“Oh, I reckon it will be all right on the higher ground,” answered Jack. “When the snows melted last spring I suppose the water was pretty fierce down here where the lake empties.”
Andy and Randy had pushed ahead, and now they disappeared around a bend of the trail. A moment later came a yell.
“Hi! Look out, boys! There’s some wild animal here! He’s up a tree!” came from Andy.
Then came a snarl, followed by a snort of fright from the horse Randy was riding. The next instant something came flying through the leaves of the tree, landing on the horse’s flank.