“Can you blame the little shaver?” said Lub, quickly; “like as not it’s been a long spell since he’s seen such grub as we put before him, and plenty of it at that. Up here the guides are in the habit of taking what they call pot-luck; one day plenty of meat on hand, and another time the pot is pretty nearly empty.”
“X-Ray, don’t you want to come out with me for a short time?” asked Phil as he got on his feet.
“Sure I do,” the other replied, without the slightest hesitation in his manner or speech; “what’s doing now, Phil?”
“Oh! you remember I said I had found several places where certain small fur-bearing animals live. An old trapper would say they ‘use’ the ground where their tracks show. Well, I want to get some flashlight pictures of the same, and it’s to lay my trap that I’m going out now.”
“Glad you don’t think of going alone, Phil,” remarked Lub, seriously.
“Why, do you think I might run up against a wolf pack, and have to climb a tree to save myself from their teeth?” laughed Phil, as he slung the camera over his shoulder, and then picked up his repeating rifle.
“Well, it wasn’t so much that as the chance of your meeting some of the ugly crowd from the other camp that made me say what I did,” Lub continued. “Any lot of people who could get down so low as to try and burn a party of boys out of their shack, just for petty spite, would be capable of doing pretty nearly anything.”
At that both Phil and Ethan laughed loudly.
“Make your mind easy about that millionaire and his party!” exclaimed the latter, “they’ve had enough experience with the Terrible Baylay to do them a life-time. I rather think they’ll be afraid to venture far away from their old camp the rest of the time they’re up here. Fact is, it wouldn’t surprise me a whit if they packed up and vacated inside of twenty-four hours.”
“And you’re saying just what was in my mind, too, Ethan,” Phil added. “Not one of those three wealthy men could be tempted to get away from the fire this night; and I rather think they’ll take a dislike to the whole neighborhood. They haven’t been very lucky since coming here.”