boys, and without a moment's hesitation they started off in the
direction in which the strange animal had been seen.

"If it is a moose let me take a rifle shot at him," whispered Whopper.
"A bullet is what he'll want to lay him low."

"I'm willing you should have the first shot," said Snap.

The others also agreed that Whopper should be the first to fire--if
the game was really as large as expected--and the boy who loved to
exaggerate went to the front.

They had to climb a small hill, which came to an abrupt end beside
another gully. Here the bushes had been bent low by the wind and were
covered with drifted snow.

"Be careful--walking isn't very good here," cautioned Whopper. "The
ground seems to be spongy."

All ranged up to the edge of the gully and prepared to leap across. As
they did this, some of the bushes and the snow gave way, and down they
went in a heap, a distance of ten or a dozen feet. As they fell
Giant's shotgun went off with a bang that scared them greatly.

"Oh, dear!" gasped Snap, when he could free himself from the snow.
"What a tumble? Is anybody hurt?"

He gazed around, to find Whopper head first in a snow drift. He pulled
his chum out, and in the meantime Shep and Giant scrambled up.