the two boys stepped out into
the morning air. Ham carefully locked the door behind them--he always
took that precaution.

"I'd like to know who tried to get into this house, Willis?" he said as
they struck the trail following the footprints of the earlier party up
the canyon. The sound of hammering still came occasionally from the hill.

"Perhaps it was the same men that passed this morning," replied Willis.
"I wonder why they didn't stop and try the door; they must have seen that
it was unlocked."

"Perhaps they wanted to pass unnoticed."

"No, that couldn't be, for they were talking loudly as they passed."

"Perhaps they didn't notice the cabin door at all."

"Perhaps not, but they must have noticed our trail over the bridge and
your footprints to the stream."

"O, I don't know; it snowed in the night, and besides, you see they were
on the upper trail. They evidently came for some special purpose, and
were anxious to get at it. You know, I've been thinking they must have
come from Bruin Inn this morning, because they couldn't have gotten here
so early if they had come all the way from the city."

"By Jove, boy! I hadn't thought of that, but since you speak of it, there
certainly was something familiar in one of those voices, and that laugh!
Why, of course, it was Old Ben, his dog, and some stranger."

Progress was slow, for the snow was deep in places. At the old
tumbled-down cabin the trail turned and ran up the mountain side.
Willis felt a strange pounding at his heart. The noise on the mountain
had stopped, but every now and then he heard the sound of voices from
somewhere up in the timber. As they reached the last turn in the
trail, the two figures came into view. Ham had been correct in his
supposition--one of the men was Old Ben, but the other was a stranger.
Ben had, no doubt, seen the boys coming, for he stood looking down the
trail toward them. When they were a little nearer he saluted them:
"Howdy, young'uns. This is a tarnal cold morning for a pair o' city
fellers, ain't it?"

"Not on your life," cheerily answered Ham; "there's nothing citified
about us. Any one who could sleep in these hills a night like last night
and not freeze is no tenderfoot. What brings you up here so early this
morning?"

"Early, boys? You're so tarnal lazy, you think dinner time is early. See
anything o' my dog round the cabin?"

"No, we haven't seen him, except when you went by a while ago."

Willis was intereste