Guns and Snowshoes | Page 8

to go away before Christmas, and remain away over the holidays, they received from their parents several gifts in advance. All obtained snowshoes--picked out for them by their old hunter friend, Jed Sanborn--and they also procured an extra gun, an extra sled, and some warm camp blankets. They still possessed their old camp outfit and so it was an easy matter to gather the things together and get everything ready for the start. The outfit was packed upon two good-sized sleds and well fastened.
"I suppose we ought to have skated up to the camp and inspected things," observed Snap. "But I have been too busy to do so."
"Oh, I reckon everything is as we left it," answered Whopper.
"The camp was all right two weeks ago," said Jed Sanborn, who chanced to be present. "Of course you'll have to fix up some kind of a chimney in the cabin, for you can't keep your fire outdoors in this weather."
"It's as much fun to fix up the cabin as it is to camp out," said Shep, and the others agreed with him.
On Monday afternoon the boys got their things together and stored them in an old boathouse on the river front. They had looked to their skates and each pair had been sharpened and put in first class condition.
"We may use our skates as much as the snowshoes," said Whopper.
With everything stored in the old boathouse the door was carefully locked by Shep, who put the key in his pocket. The old boathouse had two windows, but each of these was nailed shut.
"I don't believe anybody will get in there," observed the doctor's son.
"Oh, I don't think there are any thieves around," answered Whopper.
The evening was devoted to final preparations, and it was after ten o'clock before any of the boys thought of retiring. Snap was over to Shep's house, and the doctor's son saw his friend to the front door.
"Now remember, seven o'clock sharp," said Shep. "We want to get away as early as possible, so we'll have plenty of time to fix up the cabin when we get there."
"Oh, I'll be up early enough," said Snap, with a smile. "Fact of it is, I am so worked up I don't expect to do much sleeping."
After a few words more the boys separated, and Snap started to walk home. He had almost reached his gate when something prompted him to halt. He looked down the roadway in the direction of the old boathouse.
"I have half a mind to go down and see if everything is O. K.," he murmured to himself.
Then he thought it would be foolish, and started to enter the house. But he was undecided, and at last hurried down the roadway in the direction of the river.
He was still some distance from the old boathouse when he discovered two persons running across an open field which lined the roadway. He could not make out anything excepting that they were either men or big boys.
"That's queer," he reasoned, and then started forward again.
Snap was still two hundred feet from the old boathouse when a most extraordinary thing happened. There was a rumble as of thunder, followed by a fierce flash of fire, and then the end of the boathouse arose in the air and came down with a crash, completely wrecking what was left of the building!
CHAPTER V
OFF FOR THE CAMP
The sudden and unexpected shock nearly threw Snap from his feet, and it was several seconds before he could collect his senses.
Then, in a dim and uncertain way, he realized two things--that there had been a terrific explosion and that the old boathouse containing their precious camping outfit was in ruins.
"What in the world can it mean?" he asked himself, as he stared in a bewildered fashion at the ruin in front of him. "It sounded as if some dynamite went off."
The noise and shock of the explosion was heard all over Fairview, and soon people came flocking to the scene from all directions.
"What blew up?"
"Hullo, the Cramer boathouse is down!"
"Fire! fire!"
Such were some of the cries which arose on all sides. Then the crowd came closer, staring at the fallen building, as Snap had done.
In the meanwhile Snap ran forward until he was less than a rod away from the wrecked building. He saw a small fire start up among some splintered boards and, quick to act, picked up some chunks of snow and attempted to put it out.
"That's a good idea," said John Sell, the grocer, who had arrived, and he, too, began to throw the snow, and so did others.
"Our camping-out things are in that place," said Snap.
"Is that so. What blew up, some of your powder?"
"I--I don't think so," faltered Snap. He had up to that moment not thought of the cartridges they had stored