s
portion of the outfit.

The wind was blowing heavily, and high overhead they heard the tree-tops
creak ominously. Once in a while a tree branch would unload itself,
sending down a great mass of snow on their heads. But they pushed on,
determined to rest no more until the others of the party should be
sighted.

Presently they came to a clearing overlooking a small pond and a stream
beyond. At first Tom imagined that this was the pond they had left but a
short while before, but a second look showed him that the locality was
an entirely new one to them.

"My gracious, Tom! Get out of sight!" came in an excited whisper from
Sam, and he pulled his brother down behind a clump of bushes, and then
dragged the sled after him.

"What do you see?" demanded Tom.

"Look across the pond. As sure as you are born, there are Dan Baxter and
Jasper Grinder. We've been following them instead of Dick and Mr.
Barrow!"

CHAPTER XVIII.

IN THE CAMP OF THE ENEMY.

What Sam said was true. There, gathered around a fire on the opposite
side of the pond, were Dan Baxter, Jasper Grinder, and a tall,
powerfully built fellow whom they easily guessed was Bill Harney, the
guide. They had two sleds with them, and one of these had been unloaded
and the camping outfit lay scattered around.

"Well, this is a surprise and no mistake!" was Tom's comment, in a low
voice. "If I know anything about it, they must have done some quick
traveling."

"I believe they followed the river, at least part of the way," returned
the youngest Rover. "I see a pair of skates lying by one of the sleds."

"Do you suppose Dick and Mr. Barrow met them?"

"I don't believe they did. See, they have some rabbits they are going to
cook. That accounts for the shots we heard."

Crouching down behind the bushes, the two Rovers watched the other party
with interest. A lively conversation was going oh between Dan Baxter
and the former teacher of Putnam Hall, but they were too far off to
catch anything of what was said.

"What do you propose doing next?" asked Sam, after a pause of several
minutes. "It's mighty cold here."

"We may as well retreat, Sam. We don't want to expose ourselves, do we?"

"I don't suppose it would do any good--although I'm not afraid of
Baxter, or Grinder either."

"It isn't that. If they know we have arrived here, they will do all they
can to locate that treasure first. We want to keep dark and get ahead of
them."

"But how shall w