together with grapevine shoots, and it was barely large enough
to carry the four boys. They took off their coats and shoes and
socks, and rolled their trousers up to the knees.

"Talk about a life on the ocean wave!" sang out Whopper. "This
steam yacht would take the first prize at any cattle show, eh?"
And this quaint remark caused a general laugh.

In the center of the raft a small log was set upright, not as a
mast but as a support for their guns, for they did not wish the
weapons or their ammunition to get wet. Nobody thought of crossing
the lake without the firearms.

"We may have to fight to get our things back," was the way Snap
expressed himself. "And our guns may come in mighty handy."

"Let us try to reach a point some distance below where Shep thought
he saw the boat," suggested Snap. "Then we can land and not let
the others know what we are doing. We don't want to rush in on
any crowd that is too large for us. That would simply make more
trouble for us."

Snap's proposal was considered a wise one.

Soon the young hunters had poled the raft from shore and then
they started to propel it across the lake. Two of the boys had
rude paddles and the others cedar branches. The progress made
was not great but it was sure, and they were content.

It was pitch dark when the rude raft struck the opposite shore