cry.

"Here come two men from the lake!"

"Maybe it's Uncle Barney coming back with one of his friends," said
Andy.

"No; neither of the men walks like the old lumberman," announced his
twin.

"One of those men looks familiar to me," burst out Jack. He gazed
intently at the advancing pair.

"There are two others behind them," broke in Fred. "Young fellows, I
think."

"One of those men is Professor Lemm!" cried Jack.

"And the two fellows in the rear are Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell!"
added Fred.

CHAPTER XXIV

A WAR OF WORDS

The knowledge that Professor Lemm, Slugger Brown and Nappy Martell were
approaching the cabins on the upper end of Snowshoe Island filled the
Rover boys with wonder.

"Professor Lemm must have come to see Uncle Barney about those deeds,"
remarked Randy.

"I wonder if that is Slugger's father with him?" broke in Fred.

"Maybe," answered Jack. "Those men were the only two who were interested
in getting possession of this island."

"I'll tell you what I think we ought to do!" exclaimed Andy.

"What?" came from the others quickly.

"I think we ought to go back to our own cabin and arm ourselves."

"That might not be such a bad idea, Andy," returned Jack. "Those men,
backed up by Slugger and Nappy, may want to carry things with a high
hand."

Acting on Andy's suggestion, the four boys retreated to the cabin which
they had just left, and each took possession of his weapon.

"I don't think they'll try much rough-house work when they see how we
are armed," remarked Randy grimly.

"Of course, we don't want to do any shooting," cautioned Jack. "We only
want to scare them, in case they go too far."

"Jack, you had better be the spokesman for the crowd," remarked Randy.
"You go ahead and talk to them, and we'll stand back with our guns."

Still holding his rifle, Jack went forward again, and in a moment more
found himself confronted by Asa Lemm and the man who was with him.

"Rover! Is it possible!" exclaimed the former teacher of Colby Hall in
astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

"I and my cousins are here to hunt."

"Humph! I didn't know old Stevenson allowed anybody to do hunting around
here."

"Maybe they are hunting here without the old man's permission,"
suggested the other man. "Where is Barney Stevenson?" he demanded of
Jack.

"Mr. Stevenson has gone over to Rockville on an errand," was the reply.

By this time Slugger and Nappy had come up, and t