“I don’t know,” was the reply. “He was only there for a couple of seconds. He had savage, black eyes, and no mustache or beard. The fire shone right on him.”
“Well, we’ve got to investigate this thing,” declared Jerry. “Come on, fellows.”
They delayed enough to get their guns and to light a lantern. Then they boldly climbed the bank of the ravine, and poked about among the trees.
But not a trace of the intruder could be found. There were no footprints on the few bare patches of snow.
“Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?” asked Jerry.
“Not a bit of it,” replied Hamp, indignantly. “I saw the face as plainly as I see yours now.”
The boys listened in silence for a moment, and then they made another short search. In all directions were dense thickets of undergrowth. Through this a man on snowshoes might easily have fled without leaving a trail.
“We may as well go back,” said Jerry. “We can’t find the spy, whoever he was.”
For the next half-hour nothing else was talked about. Hamp was positive that he had seen the face, and his companions believed him. All were uneasy and scared. They knew that had the stranger been an honest man he would have shown himself. His spying actions and hasty flight seemed to indicate some evil design.
“We’ll have to be on the watch, that’s all,” said Hamp. “The fellow was probably looking for a chance to steal something.”