The problem was left unsolved, for just then a hearty cheer rang on the air. The boys hurried back to the mouth of the valley, reaching there just as Jerry emerged from the bushes. His eyes opened wide with amazement when he saw the dead bucks. Then he spied the body of the doe, and simply gasped with open mouth.

"You--you fellows," he stammered. "Why, I can hardly believe it. I thought you might knock over one between 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 pa.s.sed 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 a blazing fire. Then we'll skin the wildcat, and get the deer swung up to the branches of some of these trees. We won't do anything more to them until morning."

"Except cut some steaks off for supper," added Brick, in a hungry tone.

"Don't be worried," Jerry replied. "I'll give you a supper fit for a king to-night."

"But what in the world will we ever do with all this venison?" asked Hamp. "It will make an awful pile, even when it is cut up."

"It certainly will," admitted Jerry. "There's only one thing to do that I can see. We'll take what we can to Chesumcook to-morrow, and when we get a camp picked out, we'll come back for the rest with two empty sleds."

This sounded practical, and the matter was dropped. The boys hurried up the valley, and presently came to the deer which Jerry had shot. It was a fine, plump animal, and lay in the very center of the salt lick. Two minutes later they reached the spot where the successful hunt had been planned.

As they emerged from the bushes they made a startling and mysterious discovery. The sleds were gone.

CHAPTER XVI.

ON THE TRAIL.

The boys were dumfounded by their loss. The theft was a most daring one, and must have been committed within the past few minutes.

"Somebody will wish he had stayed honest," muttered Hamp, vengefully.

"I'm glad we all have our guns."

"There was only one thief," declared Jerry. "Look! you can see the dim marks of his snowshoes. Here's where he turned the sleds around."

"And he's taking them back the way they came," added Brick. "In the same ruts, too. He must have hitched them together."

"We'll catch him," said Hamp. "He can't have much of a start. Come on, before it gets dark."

The boys started eagerly along the trail, unmindful of the wealth of venison they were leaving behind.

At the end of half a mile they were not in sight of the thief. Jerry bent down and scanned the sled marks.

"Something wrong here," he said. "The trail is no longer double."

The boys tramped up and down the valley, poking behind every rock and into every clump of bushes and trees. Gradually they became widely separated.

Suddenly a loud shout from Hamp drew his companions to him. His search had proved successful.

Behind a fringe of bushes, at the very base of the left-hand mountain, the faint ruts again appeared on the snow-crust.

"Now for a stern chase," said Jerry. "Have your guns ready, and don't make any noise. This way."

The boys started briskly up the mountain side. Before they had taken many steps they were agreeably surprised to find a broad and easy path that followed a zig-zag course toward the summit.

The boys traveled faster. They were almost at the top of the mountain now. Straight ahead the trail wound narrowly between two steep walls of rock and timber.

Crack! the angry spit of a rifle echoed among the rocks. The ball whistled close over the heads of the lads. They instantly dropped down among the bushes, fearing another shot.

"Let's all fire at once," whispered Hamp.

"No, hold on," cautioned Jerry. "The rascal is safe behind the rocks."

The next instant a deep, growling voice floated down the ravine.

"Keep back, you chaps. The first one as comes a step nearer will get a bullet through him."

The boys wisely made no reply. Under cover of the rocks and trees, they crawled a few yards down the path.

"We're in a hole," said Jerry. "The thief is up there with the sleds."