t sight vot I have yet had in more as a month.
Half a pretzel!" he exclaimed, holding out one of the queer, twisted
things. He was never without them since the sled breakdown. He said they
were his mascots.

There was a scene of rejoicing, and even the gloomy Mr. Sneed
condescended to smile, and looked almost happy.

"There, I guess we can use this film in some sort of a play, if I have
to write it myself!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell, as he finished grinding
away at the camera crank. "I can call it 'Caught in The Ice,' or
something like that," he went on, "We can make some preliminary scenes,
and some others to follow, and get quite a play out of it."

"I'm glad you thought to bring the camera," said Russ. Even in the
stress of what had happened to him and his companions, his instinct as a
moving picture operator was ever foremost.

"We had better get them to Elk Lodge, and feed them upon something
warm," suggested Mr. Macksey. "I told the wife to have a good meal
ready, for I knew they would be chilled through."

"It _was_ pretty cold in there," confessed Alice.

"Oh, don't let's talk about it!" cried Ruth. "It was too terrible."

An examination of the exterior of the ice cave showed that just what the
young men surmised had taken place. A large chunk of ice had slid down
from above, and had jammed against the opening to the cavern.

Back at Elk Lodge, with warm garments on, the four who had passed
through such a trying experience soon forgot their troubles. They had to
tell all over again just what had happened, and the young men were
considered quite the heroes of the hour.

The next day none of the four was any the worse for the experience, save
in the matter of a nightmare memory, and that would gradually pass away.

Feeling that the two girls were not capable of doing any hard work in
posing for the camera that day, Mr. Pertell announced another vacation,
save that Russ was engaged in making some scenes of snow and ice
effects.

Late in the afternoon, when the shadows were lengthening, and the long
winter evening was about to close in, Alice, who was out on the side
porch, saw Mr. Macksey coming in from the barn. The hunter had an
anxious look on his face, and as he walked toward the house he cast
looks up at the sky now and then. And Alice heard him murmur:

"I don't like this! I don't for a cent, by hickory!"

"What's the matter now?" she asked, merrily. "Have you seen some of
those strange men about a