"Then we'll stay. Squirrels for supper, a soft bed of leaves, and a fire to drive away the frost. What else does a fellow want?"
"I'll bring Bounce to the camp," said Martin, blowing a loud blast on his horn.
A deep bark answered the echoes, and soon the faithful dog stood panting at the side of the young huntsmen.
"Why didn't you bring the deer this way, old fellow?" asked Owen.
Bounce shook his head, as if to say that he did his best, but could not succeed.
"Well, come on. You've worked hard, and shall have a good supper," said Martin, as the two boys set to work to prepare for the evening meal.
A large pile of wood was collected, and a fire was started against the trunk of a beech, which stretched its thick branches on all sides, forming a natural tent. Martin constructed two cups with the leaves of a paw-paw-tree, and filled them with clear water from a brook near at hand. Owen had the squirrels dressed in a jiffy. One was suspended over the fire by a green twig, while the other was wrapped in damp paper and placed under the live coals to roast. Thus, two different dishes were prepared from the same meat. They had also some dry bread left from their luncheon. Uninviting as their repast may seem to some, to them it was more savory than the most tempting viands, having, as it did, the true Spartan seasoning. Bounce and Frisk were not forgotten. They shared in the day's spoil, and gnawed at the bones until far into the night.
Owen and Martin now collected a large heap of leaves before the fire, and placed their rifles near by in readiness to receive any wildcat which chanced to be attracted by the light.
Their last and most important duty was that which every Christian performs before retiring to rest. Our young friends had pious parents; they had lived in an atmosphere of simple but deep faith, and would have considered it almost a crime to neglect their morning or evening prayers. There, then, they prayed; at night, and in the stillness of a forest, where giant trees stretched out their branches like the arches of some great cathedral, and where all around was hushed in holy silence.
"I do believe it's going to rain," said Martin, catching a glimpse of the clouds through a rift in the trees as he lay down upon his rustic bed.