rew out his watch as he
spoke. "Well, I never! Only ten o'clock! I thought it must be about
noon!"

"Getting hungry already?" laughed Dave. "If you are, we might stop for a
bite."

"That's it! let's have a bite to eat, and rest at the same time," cried
Phil. "We brought plenty of lunch along--enough for several meals."

The boys sat in a sort of circle on some rocks and a fallen tree, and
while thus resting partook of a light lunch from one of the knapsacks.
Then they moved forward, up the hillside, and presently found themselves
on the top of the rise.

"Here is quite a view!" announced Shadow, and they spent a little time
in taking in the panorama spread before them. On one side they could see
Mirror Lake, and on the other the nearby mountains and also a faraway
wagon-road, which they rightly guessed was that running to Carpen Falls
and the villages beyond.

"See anything worth looking at outside of the scenery?" questioned Roger
of our hero.

"I see some smoke down in yonder hollow," announced Dave. "That must
come either from some campfire or else from some cabin, and whether it
is from a campfire or a cabin it means that some human being must be
there."

"Right you are, Dave! And that human being may be that wild man, or Link
Merwell," answered Ben, quickly.

"How far do you think it is to that smoke?" asked Phil.

Various guesses were made, and the consensus of opinion was that the
smoke was not over half a mile distant.

"Let us take the trail leading off in that direction," said Dave, and a
few minutes later the boys struck out once more.

Much to their surprise, getting down into the hollow between the hills
and the nearby mountain was by no means as easy as they had anticipated.
The way proved exceedingly rough, and more than once one or another of
them was in danger of a serious tumble. As it was, Shadow slipped on the
rocks and scraped his hands in several places. Then Luke gave a grunt,
announcing that he had barked his left shin.

Dave was still in advance, and now he made a leap from a rock into some
low brushwood. As he did this there came a sudden cry and a snarl,
followed by the movement of some body through the brushwood a short
distance ahead.

"Hello! what was that?" cried Phil, who was nearest to our hero.

"I didn't get a very good view of it, Phil," answered Dave, who now had
his rifle ready for use, "but unless I was much mistaken, it was a
wildcat."

"A wildcat! Great Caesa