"Let's go to bed, then," proposed Tom. "If they come back they can't get in without making a noise that will wake us."
"Bed will be a first rate idea," nodded Dick, "as soon as we have got in some wood and water."
This took barely ten minutes. The same space of time was devoted to building up the fire for the night. Then, well tired, despite all their excitement, all the members of Dick & Co. were soon sound asleep.
It was eight in the morning when the first one of them awoke.
"Well, we got through the night without having any more of either Ripley or Fits," remarked Tom, as he dressed.
"Which is worse?" inquired Dave.
"Mr. Fits, by all means," Dick replied. "We can come very close to thrashing Fred Ripley and his crew. And they can be scared away, too. But Mr. Fits is downright dangerous."
"If all outsiders, intruders and enemies will only keep away from here we can have a splendid time after this," sighed Tom.
"We're going to have a good time, anyway," Dick declared stoutly. "So far, those who have tried to annoy us have succeeded only in furnishing some excitement for us. Although we've been snowbound most of the time here we've had anything but a dull time."
"Is it safe for us all to leave camp at one time?" inquired Greg.