door, though the moon shining like it
does fools you some. But it's after four, and dawn comes early these
summer days."

Leaving the lantern burning, they lay there and talked matters over. All
of them had been so worked up, what with that sudden awakening, and the
row that followed, that they would have found it difficult to have
resumed their interrupted sleep even though several more hours must
elapse before morning.

Lub felt that he had been fully vindicated.

"You fellows thought it smart to laugh at me when I hinted we might have
a thief come down the chimney, but see what happened!" he went on to
say, desiring to rub it in a little.

"Well, of course none of us ever thought a yearling bear would drop on
the roof from a limb of a tree, and smelling our grub down the chimney
lean so far over that he'd pitch headlong in," ventured Ethan, who had
apparently figured it all out, and knew just about how the thing
happened.

"If a bear can do it, any sort of animal, or even a bad man might follow
suit," suggested X-Ray Tyson, wickedly.

Lub took up the dare instantly.

"Just what I was thinking," he hastened to say; "and you mark me that
when morning comes I'm going to climb up on the roof and look around.
Leave it to me to fix something across the vent of that old chimney, so
even a 'coon couldn't squeeze through."

"Like as not you'll smother us with the smoke!" grumbled Ethan.

"Not much I will," he was promptly assured; "I know enough for that. If
I had a piece of heavy wire-mesh like's on the windows of our stable at
home, it'd be the ticket; but as it is I'll have to use something else.
I mean to sleep nights without thinking that all sorts of ferocious wild
beasts are aiming to drop in on us without invitations."

When they saw that the dawn had really come the boys began to move
around. Phil led the way to the border of the lake near by and they took
an early morning duck. The water was pretty chilly, but then growing
lads can stand almost anything. No doubt some of them may even on a dare
have braved a skim of new ice on a pond in the early spring.

After a bit, when they had finished their dressing, preparations for
breakfast came next in order. Things began to look decidedly comfortable
about that time. They forgot all unpleasant things, and the rattle of
tongues would have made any one believe in the story of the Tower of
Babel.

Every one had his plans laid out, and numerous pet schemes to w