The girls had brought a tablecloth with them to spread on the ground, and the entire lunch was placed in this and then wrapped in a newspaper and placed on a flat rock.

"I wonder if the squirrels will bother the lunch?" questioned Fred. They had noted several of the frisky little animals flitting from tree to tree as they walked along.

"The squirrels want nuts. I don't think they care for mustard sandwiches and onion cake," cried Andy. "Gee! but it feels good to be out here," he went on, and, leaping up, he grasped the limb of a low-growing tree and went through the performance generally known as "skinning the cat."

"Oh, Andy, do be careful!" called out his cousin Mary. "First thing you know you'll twist your arms off."

"Oh, I do this every morning before I wake up," answered the fun-loving Rover cheerfully.

"I'll get him down!" cried Randy, and, taking up a handful of dead leaves, he threw them at his twin. Andy promptly gave a swing, let go of the tree, and landed on his brother's shoulders, and both went down to the ground, there to roll over and over, kicking the dead leaves in all directions.

"Hi, you!" cried Jack sternly. "What sort of a ladies' exhibition is this! Get up there before I yank you up!"

"You'll have those beautiful suits ruined," came from Annie Larkins.

The search for the rare ferns then began in earnest, and this led them through the woods and around a great number of sharp rocks and a considerable distance away from where the things to eat had been left.

"Here is one," called Ruth presently, and pointed it out.

The girls had brought trowels with them, and now Jack lost no time in digging up the fern and placing it in the corner of one of the boxes.

Several other plants were located nearby, and all the boys and girls were soon busy. Some of the ferns were quite small, but others were of good size, and all showed up well when grouped together.

"We have a little fernery at home," explained Ruth. "Last winter the plants did not do so well, and these will therefore come in very nicely.

I'm sure my folks will be pleased to see them."

"I suppose Uncle Barney is now living with you, Ruth," said Jack.

"Oh, yes. And he is very thankful for all you Rovers did for him that Winter," answered the girl, referring to the happenings which have been related in detail in "The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island."

"Here is a different kind of fern," announced Martha, a minute later.

"Let me get it for you!" cried Gif, pressing forward to a.s.sist her.

"It's right down there between those big rocks, Gif. Be careful that you don't push one of the stones over on your fingers."

"Don't ruin the whole island getting up one fern, Gif!" exclaimed Andy, as the athletic student pushed away a couple of rocks which prevented his getting at the fern.

There was another rock in the way--one that rested partly over the roots of the fern, which looked like an unusually healthy plant. Gif tugged at this rock and Fred bent forward to a.s.sist him. Then, all of a sudden, the rock came out from the split in which it lay, and both cadets slipped and fell on their backs.

"Oh, do be careful! You'll have one of those rocks on your toes, sure!"

cried Ruth.

She had scarcely spoken when there came a scream from May Powell and Alice Strobell.

"A snake! A snake!"

"He's coming for us!"

"Run! Run, everybody, before the snake bites you!"

Such were some of the cries that rent the air as all of the young people fell back.

A black snake at least three feet long had suddenly appeared from a hollow under the last rock to be dislodged, and this was quickly followed by a second snake equally large.

"Hit 'em, boys! Hit 'em!" exclaimed Jack, as soon as he had recovered from his surprise, and as he spoke he caught up a stone and flung it at the nearest snake.

The action of the oldest Rover boy was quickly seconded by the other cadets, and a dozen or more stones were hurled at the two snakes. One of the reptiles was quickly killed, but the second received only a bruise on its tail, and it switched around angrily and then made a dash toward the fleeing and screaming girls.

"Gee! if we only had a pistol or a gun!" exclaimed Randy.

The snake still left alive was but a few feet from Martha and Ruth when Jack and Spouter hurled two more stones. Each of these reached its mark, and with its back crushed the reptile whipped around on the rocks for a moment more and then lay still.

"Oh, dear! is it dead?" questioned Martha, and her voice trembled a little as she spoke.

"Dead as a doormat," announced her brother, after a hasty examination.

Then he took a stick and, placing it under the reptile, threw the remains from the rocks into the lake. Fred and Andy speedily disposed of the other reptile in the same way.

"Maybe there are more snakes around here!" cried Alice Strobell nervously.

"If there are, I'm sure I don't want to stay here any longer," added Annie Larkins.

"Who would dream of digging up snakes on this island?" murmured Martha.

"Oh, it takes away all the fun of gathering ferns."

"Nevertheless, I am going to get that fern for you," announced Gif.

"But, Gif, there may be more snakes around that hole."

"Well, I'll take a chance. I don't think they are very dangerous, anyhow," answered the athletic cadet.

"Be on your guard, Gif," warned Jack, and then armed himself with several stones, and the other cadets did the same.

Gif approached the spot with caution and began to dig up the fern Martha had wanted. The other boys came quite close, but the girls kept their distance. No other snakes appeared, and soon Gif had the fern, which he took pleasure in presenting to Jack's sister.

"Thank you, Gif," she said politely. "It certainly is a beautiful fern, and I'll do my best to preserve it. But I think every time I look at it I'll remember those snakes."

"Oh, you mustn't mind anything like that, Martha. Why, we've met dozens of little snakes on our tours. I don't believe they'd hurt you."

"Maybe not, Gif; but they're such awful crawly things!"

"I'm afraid I'd die if a snake touched me," added Alice Strobell, with a shudder.

For a while the snake episode put a damper on the outing. But the boys did their best to make the girls forget it, and after a while all were hunting as diligently as before for ferns. They found a varied collection, and took delight in filling the s...o...b..xes with the plants, filling in the tops of the boxes with moss.

"Oh, my! Half-past three already!" declared Ruth presently, as she consulted her pretty little wrist-watch.

"As late as that?" returned Martha.