Dave, now thoroughly awake, slowly arose, a worried expression on his round face.
"Oh, ho, but it is strange," he murmured. "Risky business to be prowling around alone in this wild country."
"You bet!" came from Jack. "Bears, panthers an' wildcats likely to be hidin' behind any rock or thicket."
"Dick isn't the sort of fellow to do such a thing without having some good reason."
"What could it be, Dave?"
"Goodness only knows."
"Confound it! This is worse than the packhorse mystery," grumbled Tim. "Let's yell again, an' if there's no answer some o' us ought to prospect around in a hurry."
A volume of ear-splitting sounds rushed off into space. But neither it nor several others which followed brought forth the slightest response.
The boys looked at each other with worried faces.
"Gee! I don't like this a bit," confessed Bob.