In a few minutes more the other four boys came in with Snadder and Blinky.
“Fellows,” said Frank, “we’ll divide up this stuff so that four can carry all of it, and the other four will carry their guns to guard our prisoners. We’ll close up this place and take these fellows to our camp. From there we start to-morrow morning for Columbia.”
Jeek watched the preparations progress, the ugly, malevolent expression never leaving his face.
When all was ready Frank gave the order to proceed, the five prisoners were lined up ahead of them and told to take the lake trail toward the Parsons’ camp.
It was almost dusk, but Frank knew that the white of the snow would give them plenty of light to see the men in front of them as they trudged forward along the trail.
Just exactly thirty minutes brought them to their own camp where a fire was hastily started, the lamps hung back and lighted, the boys pulling out the pieces of venison they had carefully hidden, preparing for an evening meal.
“Sorry that we cannot let our prisoners have any of this,” Frank said to the five men. “But we have barely enough for ourselves. Besides, you took enough of our food to balance this.”
The five men had been tied at the feet after the arrival at the boys’ camp, and they were allowed to lie in whatever positions they could assume, while the eight boys went on merrily with their meal, cleaned away all the dishes, and sat about the roaring fire.
“This spoils our camp, fellows,” Lanky remarked as there came a lull in the conversation. “I wanted to try to get that big moose bull, but there isn’t a chance now. We’ve got to take these fellows to Columbia and we won’t feel like coming back.”
Paul said that he was satisfied because he had gotten a good picture of the giant bull moose making short shrift of another bull moose.