ween you--but three! Great
Jehosaphat!"

"Oh! we've got it down fine," laughed Brick. "But how did you make out?"

"I killed a good-sized doe," replied Jerry. "It was a long-range shot,
and I'm rather proud of it. I couldn't get very close to the herd on
account of the wind."

As he spoke a rasping cry floated toward the mouth of the valley. The
startled boys looked out on the swamp, but could see nothing.

"Some animal is lurking in the scrub," exclaimed Hamp. "Attend to your
guns, fellows."

"I hope it's not a catamount," said Brick.

"As likely as not it is," replied Jerry.

The question was not long in doubt. With a whining cry, a good-sized
wildcat sprang from a clump of alder bushes just beyond the dead deer.
It pounced upon the body, and began to rend it with teeth and claws.

"Did you ever see such impudence?" exclaimed Jerry, half angrily. "Come
on; we'll give the little brute a settler."

The boys moved forward, and not until they reached the edge of the swamp
did the wildcat become aware of their presence in the neighborhood. The
creature was evidently half famished, and, having found a meal to its
liking, it was determined to hold on to it. It stopped eating, and
glared at the intruders with a ferocious snarl.

"Watch sharp, now," cautioned Jerry. "We'll go pretty close, so as not
to run the chance of missing. I'll kill him with a rifle. If we all
fire, the skin will be ruined, and it's well worth saving."

This was agreed to. The wildcat remained on the body of the deer until
the boys were within four yards. Then it bounded forward six feet, and
crouched for another spring.

Jerry took hasty aim, and pulled trigger. The creature was already in
air when the shot rang out, and, more by luck than skill, the ball
passed through its head. It landed on the snow with a convulsive gasp,
and rolled over lifeless at Brick's feet.

"Pretty close quarters," remarked Jerry. "A miss is as good as a mile,
though. Now we've got a skin that is worth keeping."

"This is the sort of hunting I used to read about in books," exclaimed
Brick. "Four deer and a catamount. Just think of it. I'm afraid I'll
wake up and find I've been dreaming."

The others laughed, and Hamp playfully pinched Brick's arm.

"We've got to stir ourselves now," said Jerry. "In about an hour and a
half it will be dark. The mouth of the valley will make a good
camping-place, and after we've brought down the sleds and my deer, we'll
build