"Well, the question is not an immediately pressing one," said Jack. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us yet, and we've got plenty of game and plenty of bread stuffs in camp."
"Plenty of game, yes," said the Doctor. "But as for bread stuffs, I don't think we have more than a peck or so left."
The next morning Tom, in his "prowlings" found two big bags of corn and rye meal lying there under the bluff. "It's a case of bread cast upon the waters returning to us after many days," said Tom.
CHAPTER XXVIII
The Capture of Camp Venture
Tom had miscalculated the weather, misled as every body is apt to be by the calendar. As he had not at all anticipated, the softness of early March presently gave way to a severe cold wave, which not only put an end to the spring rains, but stopped the melting of the snow upon the mountains and dried up those torrents that had alone blocked the way down the mountain since the great snowdrift barriers had disappeared.
"I take it all back, fellows," he said, one night. "I didn't look for such weather as this in March. But any how any fellow in the party can go down the mountain now. Whether he ever gets back again or not is a question not easily determined. A very little thaw would make that impossible."
"My view," said the Doctor, "is that we'd better not risk it. This cold weather simply cannot last long at this season of the year, and we can't spare any boy from our company. We have two bags of meal in camp—enough to last us three or four weeks—and of course Tom's gun will provide us with meat. It seems to me it would be exceedingly unwise to send any one of our number down the mountain and not only unwise but wholly unnecessary. What do you think, boys?"
Every boy in the party shared the Doctor's opinion, and so it was decided not to send one of the company down the mountain at this time, although the weather conditions were especially favorable for the moment at least. They proved also to be favorable to something else.