"There may be, and we mustn't run any risks."
The boys were ready to continue the journey some time before the men gave any sign of leaving camp, and they bustled around first in one direction and then another to make it appear as if they were doing work of importance, in case the game should be suspicious.
Not until Bob and Sam had been half an hour on their way would Jim consent to start, and that he had been wise in so doing could be seen after the fatiguing labor of "the carry" had been performed.
The fugitives were not more than two hundred yards in advance when the boys came out of the woods with the last load, and Jim said with a chuckle:
"I knowed they'd take the wrong turn, an' we'd been a good bit ahead if it hadn't been for layin' back."
By working slowly the boat was not reloaded until some time after the men were out of sight, and then when she had been pulled to the entrance of Round Lake, Jet insisted on remaining there a while, concealed by the bushes, to watch the movements of the other craft.
"I swow! They are goin' to stop here after all!" Jim exclaimed, as he saw the men turn toward the shore about a mile from the stream. "There's one thing about it, though, they're bound to leave before many days."
"Why?"
"'Cause there's no game 'round here, an' the fishin' ain't anything to speak of."
"I don't reckon they care, so long as the provisions hold out."