Though the other boys had said nothing about that side of it, they agreed with their leader heartily in his attitude, starting to lay plans at once.
“It looks as if this fellow Jeek has finally decided to get even for killing his dog. He thinks he can chase us back to town by getting all our food—but that’s stealing!” exclaimed Frank. “He has left tracks in the snow, a perfect trail, and we’ll follow it up to the end.”
“When do we start?” asked Lanky, ready to go.
Frank walked again to the door, looked out at the weather, saw the clouds were low again, that it was getting dark, and wondered whether an immediate start were not the best.
“Not at once!” he decided, turning back to the waiting boys. “We have come a long distance on a small amount of food. We have the stuff that was left—that’s that much. And we have the venison. Let’s turn to right now, prepare that deer for the feast, cook it on the fire in here, get our bodies well fit to take care of the trip—and then go after these fellows.”
“But it looks as if a snow might come and cover up the trail,” suggested Paul.
Frank agreed this was right, but the chance had to be taken, since without sustenance they would stand a poor chance of putting up a battle against these men—not necessarily a battle of weapons or of fists, but a battle to outwit them and get their goods once more in their possession.
Though the camping expedition had seemed to be wiped out, though enthusiasm was for a time at a very low ebb, the youthful view of the silver lining behind the blackest of clouds came to their aid. Enthusiasm once more entered their systems, the deer was cut properly after having been skinned, and the quarters allowed to hang for a while in the open to freeze. All the animal heat had disappeared while they brought it across the lake, but they wished to make sure. And a few more hours would do no harm, provided it did not snow.
At mid-afternoon they started the roasting process, one hour later they were feasting around the great broad oaken table, using their fingers where knives and forks had heretofore been in use, but with appetites that had been whetted to a keen edge.
When they had finished their dinner of venison, the boys carefully cleaned up, hid away the remainder of the food which they had brought back from the over-lake expedition, pulled their guns down from the mantel, cleaned them, and made general preparations to follow the trail in the snow.