Neither of the boys was a coward, however; and, now that they knew what had disturbed them, they climbed manfully back to their bunk and pulled the blankets over their heads, determined to pay no more attention to their strange bed-fellows.
“Say, Tom, those lads are all right,” said Ben, addressing the blanketed figure beside him.
“Looks like they’d make good,” was the sleepy reply.
II
A WILD RIDE
With the first gleam of daylight Ben was astir cooking breakfast. Awakened by the noise, the boys dressed and jumped from the bunk to join him.
“Listen to that,” he cried, as a weird, trembling laugh sounded from the water. “That’s a loon; and if you fellows will sneak down to the shore of the lake you’ll get a peep at him.”
The boys ran outside and made their way quietly down the trail toward the lake, which they could see shimmering brightly between the tree-trunks.
The call was repeated, and, reaching a group of white birches growing at the edge of the water, they parted the branches and looked eagerly out. A great white mist was curling up from the water, and for some time they could see nothing more. Then George pointed excitedly out toward the center of the lake, and, following the direction with his eyes, Ed saw a large, dark bird with a white circle about its neck swimming leisurely along. Every few minutes it uttered a wild, tremulous laugh, and the lads endeavored to imitate it without success. They watched the loon while it swam about and dove beneath the water, until it finally disappeared from view.
Then they sat on a moss-grown log and looked across the great blue expanse of water to the opposite wooded shore, which rose to form a pine-topped mountain. They saw the sun rise over this mountain in golden splendor, and shed its rays on lake and forest. A big fish jumped into the air and returned to the water with a noisy splash. They instantly nudged each other in delightful anticipation of the sport in store for them with rod and reel.