Morning came at last, and the scouts were up with the break of day. The fires were again attended to, and breakfast started, for the lads knew they would have a hard day’s journey before them.
There was a strong possibility that they would encounter some huge drifts which might block their passage; and it was this that gave Paul the most concern.
It was nearly eleven when they finally sighted the place where the one-time canal merged its waters with the Radway river, forming the connecting link between that waterway and the home stream.
“Looks like an old friend,” asserted Jud, when they had turned off the wider stretch and started to follow the canal.
“But see the snow piles ahead of us, will you?” cried Bobolink in dismay. “We’re going to have some jolly work climbing through those!”
“If you only look,” remarked Paul, “in most cases you’ll find you’re able to go around the hills that bar your way.” 248
It was very much as Paul said, for, as a rule, they were able to find a passage around the huge drifts. Still progress was very tedious, and when the scouts finally reached the river the afternoon was well along.
“Look! will you?” called out Sandy Griggs, exultantly. “The dear old Bushkill is swept as clear as a barn floor, and the ice is gilt-edged!”
“Why!” echoed Bobolink, equally pleased, “our troubles have vanished just like smoke wreaths. We can run all the way home with this nice breeze that’s coming up the river as fair as anything. Whoop! we’re in great luck, fellows!”
Stanhope was reached half an hour before sundown. There were a good many people on the ice, mostly boys and girls, and the coming of the iceboat flotilla created something of a stir. This was considerably augmented when it was learned that the scouts who had gone off on a trip to the snow woods had brought back two vagrants, who were responsible for the fire and the robbery that had recently occurred in the town.