essary for the three of them to sally forth so as to surprise the
enemy at work.

Toby was game, however. His vocal cords might play tricks with him
frequently, and give him heaps of trouble, but when it was a matter of
action, Toby "took nobody's dust," as he often boasted.

Obed had meanwhile managed to creep over to the door, where he
impatiently awaited the coming of the other two. The strange tapping
sounds continued, and evidently the man lying there under the blanket
had become so deeply interested in what he was trying to communicate or
receive, that, so far, he had failed to discover there was any movement
in the cabin.

Of course, all of the boys were quivering with half-suppressed
excitement, though grimly determined to put their plan into operation.
Obed had already reached up and taken hold of the bar, so as to be ready
to remove it when joined by his companions.

"Keep the bar," whispered Max; "it will make a fine club, Obed!"

"Say when, Max," came back from the tightly compressed lips of the woods
boy, whose eyes could be seen glittering eagerly in the firelight.

"Open up!" Max told him.

Perhaps the door may have made some creaking sound on being drawn back;
either that, or else the man chanced to free his head from the muffling
folds of the blanket just then, and discovered what was going on. He
gave a shout of warning, and the three boys shot through the opening at
the same instant.

Max led the way. He had carefully noted the location of the sounds, and
judged that the interloper must be somewhere close to the wall where
Jake Storms lay; so it was in that direction he leaped.

The stars wore shining brightly above. Besides this a certain amount of
light managed to come through that small window of the lodge, and help
to partially dispel the gloom without.

"There he is!" cried Obed, as they turned the corner, and discovered a
figure in the act of scrambling erect.

Pell-mell the trio rushed at the unknown who just managed to gain a
footing when he found himself furiously beset. There was a tremendous
struggle. The man seemed savage at the thought of being caught, and
struck furious blows. Toby at one time managed to cling to the other's
back for a brief moment, but was dislodged by a clever fling that sent
him crashing against a tree, and made him grunt like a hog that receives
a jolt.

One thing certain, Max could easily see that the party they were
attacking must be something of an