The rest of the night pa.s.sed without anything unusual happening.

Early in the morning Whopper and Giant appeared and were told of what had occurred.

"Served 'em right," cried Giant. "Oh, I wish I had seen them,"

he added, with a broad grin.

"I don't think they'll try any such game again in a thousand years,"

said Whopper.

"Make it a million, Whopper," added the doctor's son.

Whopper and Giant had had breakfast and said good-bye to their folks and now Snap and Shep went off to get something to eat. By nine o'clock they returned and said they were ready for the start.

The others already had the boat out and the outfit properly stored on board.

"All ready?" called out Snap, who was looked upon as the leader of the club.

"All ready," came from the others.

"Sure we haven't left anything behind---salt, mustard, vinegar, or canned soft-soap?"

"Maybe Whopper's left his shaving outfit behind," suggested Giant.

"Humph!" muttered the youth mentioned. "Be sure and take Giant's hobby horse with you." And then there was a general laugh, in the midst of which Snap shoved off from the boathouse dock.

It was arranged that Shep and Whopper should row for the first few miles and then be relieved by Snap and Giant. A number of boys had come down to the dock to see them off. There was a general shouting.

"Hope you have a good time!"

"Be sure and bring back plenty of game!"

"Say, if you see that ghost up to Lake Narsac give him my regards!"

"I wouldn't go up to that locality for a farm! You'll be sure to get into trouble. Every spot up there is alive with snakes."

"I'll bet they won't go any further than Lake Cameron or Firefly Lake," said one boy, who was a chum to Ham and Carl.

"It's Lake Narsac or bust!" cried Snap.

"Huh! I'll believe it when I see it," returned the boy on sh.o.r.e.

"Don't worry, you'll never get there, Jack Voss," said a man standing by. "You are too much of a coward."

"Won't I?" answered Jack Voss. "A lot of us are going up to Lake Narsac in a few days, or next week."

"Who?"

"Never mind. We are going and that's enough," answered Jack Voss.

"I ain't afraid of that ghost---or of snakes either," he added.

"There they go!" shouted Joe Bright, enthusiastically. "Hurrah for the young hunters of the lake!"

"Hurrah!" shouted several and waved their hands and handkerchiefs.

Those in the rowboat waved in return. Then Shep and Whopper bent to the oars; and the summer outing was begun. Little did the young hunters realize how many strange adventures were in store for them.

CHAPTER IX

THE FIRST DAY OF THE OUTING

As my old readers know, the distance to Lake Cameron in an air line was about ten miles, but the river was a winding one and this added three miles to the journey. Beyond the town the banks of the stream were lined with farms, orchards and patches of dense woods, a beautiful outlook and one which the boys thoroughly enjoyed as they rowed along. They pa.s.sed Simon Lundy's farm---where they had once had such a curious happening when after apples, as related in "_Four Boy Hunters_," and then continued along under the overhanging branches of some willows, where it was shady and cool.

"Do you think Jack Voss spoke the truth when he said he was going to Lake Narsac?" queried Shep, after he had turned his oars over to Snap.

"It may be true---although Jack knows how to blow," answered Snap.

"If he goes out it will most likely be with Ham and Carl and that crowd," put in Whopper. "They always travel together."

"I'd like to know how Ham and Carl feel this morning, cried Giant.

"Most likely pasty," answered the doctor's son, and this made the others laugh.

"If that crowd should take it into their heads to go to Lake Narsac I hope they don't camp near us," went on Snap, after a pause.

"They'll try to bother us all they can, you can rest a.s.sured, of that," said Whopper. "They seem to live for nothing else."

"Well, we can give them as good as they send, can't we?" asked Giant.

"I'm not afraid of 'em."

"Of course we're not afraid of them," returned Whopper hastily.

To reach Lake Cameron the young hunters had to take to a side stream lined on either side with blackberry and elderberry bushes.

They resolved to push on to the lake before stopping for lunch.

Then they would row to the head of the lake, camp there over night, and the next day strike out for Firefly Lake. Here they would put in another day, and then embark for Lake Narsac.

They found Lake Cameron and its sh.o.r.es just as beautiful as during the previous summer. To be sure, the portion that had been burnt down during the great forest fire looked black and desolate but only a small portion of this territory was to be seen from the boat. They pa.s.sed along the sh.o.r.e opposite and put in at a little cove that looked particularly inviting.

"I'm as hungry as a bear!" cried Whopper. "I can eat about a hundred sandwiches, ten pieces of pie, and any other old thing that happens to be handy."

"Jed Sanborn was telling me he had seen some wild ducks up here last week," said the doctor's son. "If they are around we must keep our eyes peeled for them. They are pretty scarce."

All of the boys wanted coffee, and so some wood was gathered and a campfire started, over which they made the beverage. Snap and Whopper prepared the midday meal and while they did this Giant and the doctor's son got their rods, cast in their lines, and tried their luck at fishing.

"First prize!" called out Shep, in a few minutes, and drew in a small perch.

"If we can get enough, we might have fish for lunch," suggested Whopper.