JERRY MAKES A GUESS
"Frank, what about the other wagon?" asked Will.
"Well, what about it?"
"Suppose it got caught the same way I did, and the horses were dragged down?"
"But it won't, all right, depend on that. In the first place, you didn't try to cross at the regular ford, but wandered downstream a bit, you see. Then, again, I mean to leave a notice fastened to a stick right here in the road, warning Adolphus against turning aside. I've tested the ford, and it's safe," was Frank's reply.
The wagon was taken over without any accident. Then they started afresh for the upper regions, where that jewel of a lake nestled in the heart of the mountains, awaiting their coming.
"It's a much longer journey than I thought," admitted Frank, an hour later, as, having climbed the ascent, they were winding in and out among the heavy forest.
"And a harder pull than I dreamed of. Peter is the boss horse, for all his wheezing and grunting," declared Bluff.
"I'll never forget what he did for me!" exclaimed Will, who had been feeding the old animal on lumps of sugar at intervals for the last hour, until Frank forbade him to keep it up longer, lest he founder the beast with kindness.
"Well, that ought to pay us for all we've endured!" cried Jerry, pointing.