Lub grinned, but did not pursue the subject any further. He was soon busily engaged in cooking the fish which had been cleaned and prepared long before.
Luckily they had two good-sized frying-pans with them; for that was one of the occasions where they came in handy. Nothing would do but they must have some bear steak, though Phil warned them they were apt to find it rather tough. Still, who would have the heart to complain about a little thing like that, when the game had fallen to their own rifles, after Lub had gotten in his fine work; certainly none of the Mountain Boys, who had gone through too many episodes along these lines not to accept things as they came, with a laugh and a good word.
That was a bounteous feast, and one to be long remembered. The fish tasted as sweet as shad, and had the same sort of “pitchfork” bones in them too, which must be watched for, and jealousy guarded against. If the bear steak was hard to masticate, at the same time it was a camp dinner, not one served on a damask tablecloth, with cut-glass, and silver, and napkins to boot!
“Well, it’s coming along at last, fellows!” announced X-Ray Tyson, about the time they had finished their meal.
“What’s that you’re referring to?” demanded Ethan; while Lub looked hastily on all sides of him, just as though he half expected to see the mate of his bear standing there on the border of the camp, and sniffing at the odor of cooked meat that still hung around the scene.
“Why, don’t you see ’em trailing down?” demanded X-Ray, who seemed to be quite jubilant over something or other.
“He means it’s commenced to snow!” said Ethan.
“Just what,” the other added, “and if it gets a good move on perhaps to-morrow will see me gliding along on my snow-shoes that I’ve owned nearly a year now, and never had a decent chance to use.”
He made a dive over to where the said articles were hanging, and taking them down proceeded to try them on. The others had seen X-Ray do this so often that it was no novel sight to them.
Phil, who had had considerable experience with snow-shoes, had shown the other some little “wrinkles” in connection with fixing the clumsy contraptions to his feet, so that X-Ray was quite proficient, so far as that part of it went.