hed. Then
the visitors boarded the train and in a minute more were gone.

"And now to get ready for the trip to Snowshoe Island!" cried Randy.

"That's the talk!" returned his twin.

The boys were to leave for Rockville, the nearest railroad station to
Snowshoe Island, on the day after New Year's. They spent several hours
in packing their things, being advised in that matter by their fathers,
who, as my old readers know, had been on many hunting expeditions before
them.

"Now, there is no use of my giving you any advice on how to handle your
firearms," said Dick Rover. "I have given you that advice before, and
you ought to remember what I said."

"I do, Dad," answered his son. "And I'm sure the others remember, too."

"And I want you two boys to keep out of mischief," put in Tom Rover,
addressing his twins. "Of course, you can have all the fun you please,
but let it be good, innocent nonsense. Don't do anything mean, and don't
do anything to get somebody else into trouble."

"And my advice is, to go slow and be careful," added Sam Rover. "In
other words: 'Look before you leap'----"

"As the clown in the circus said," finished Tom Rover, "when he thought
he was going to jump through a paper hoop and found instead that it was
a solid white barrel-head;" and at this little joke there was a general
laugh.

The boys had already told their fathers about the doings of Nappy
Martell and Slugger Brown.

"Nappy Martell is evidently the son of his father," remarked Dick Rover.
"The senior Martell is just as domineering, and not one bit more
reliable. Down in Wall Street we've been watching him pretty closely."

"Yes, and he needed watching," put in Tom Rover. "To my mind, if he
isn't a fraud, he's pretty close to it."

"You said something about his underhanded work before," came from Sam.
"If he is a swindler, I certainly hope that sooner or later they expose
him."

The boys had learned that Rockville was a town of considerable
importance and boasted of several good-sized stores. They felt certain
that they could buy all the supplies needed at that place, so it would
be unnecessary to get them in New York. They, however, took along all
the clothing that was needed, and likewise their guns and a good supply
of ammunition.

"Now do be careful!" pleaded Mrs. Tom Rover, when they were ready to
depart. "I don't want any of you to get shot."

"Don't you worry, Ma. We'll be careful all right enough," answered
Randy, a