"Can"t we stay here?" blurted out Giant.
"Stay here? Not much! You"ll get out just as fast as you can pack up!"
At this announcement the hearts of the boys fell instantly. All thought of the labor they had put on the cabin and the surroundings.
"This is too bad!" cried Whopper. "See here, Mr. Felps, can"t we stay if we pay you?"
"No, sir!" was the first answer. Andrew Felps looked at Snap, coldly. "You can go home and tell your father I sent you."
The remark made Snap exceedingly angry and for the moment he lost his temper.
"You are more than mean!" he cried. "We have worked hard to fit up this spot, as you can see. But your meanness is nothing but what I should expect from one who would act as you did about that Spur Road tract of lumber."
"Shut up, you imp!" snarled Andrew Felps, growing red in the face.
I have my rights, as you"ll soon learn. Pack up your duds and get out at once!"
"Well, you are a gentleman!" cried Shep, also growing angry. "But I"ve heard about you before---down to Fairview. Well, we"ll go."
"Yes, and mighty quick, too!" roared Andrew Felps, and rushing forward he kicked at the campfire with his foot and sent one of the frying-pans whirling into the bushes.
"I wouldn"t be so hard on the youngsters, Andy," said one of the men, in a low tone.
"Oh, I know them, Sam," was Andrew Felps"s answer. "That Dodge"s father has been trying to get the best of me for years. Do you suppose I am going to give his cub any leeway? Not much!"
Some bitter words followed between the boys and the unreasonable timber dealer, and then the young hunters began to pack up and put their belongings in the rowboat.
"Oh, but wouldn"t I like to get square with him!" muttered Whopper, as the work went on.
"Maybe we"ll get a chance to square up some day," answered Shep.
"I think he is more than mean."
"Here, leave that cabin alone!" came from Andrew Felps, as Snap began to knock down the front end with the ax.
"I may as well take it down, as you don"t want it," said the boy.
"You leave it alone, I say."
"Maybe you want to use it?" sneered the youth.
"If so, who is going to stop me? It was built out of my timber, don"t forget that, smarty."
"Perhaps you want to steal our outfit," cried Giant, who was boiling with suppressed rage.
"Say another word, kid, and I"ll throw you into the lake!" roared Andrew Felps.
He came at Giant so threateningly that the small boy had to retreat.
At last the things were stowed on the rowboat and the four young hunters boarded the craft.
"Don"t you dare to come back here!" cried Andrew Felps.
"Thank you, I like to pick my company!" returned Whopper.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I like to a.s.sociate with a gentleman."
"Say that again and I"ll make it warm for you!" roared the timber dealer, and would have grabbed up a gun from his launch had not one of his companions prevented the move.
"Here, you might as well keep this while you are at it!" cried Shep, and hurled a dead rabbit ash.o.r.e. The game was unusually "ripe" and caught Andrew Felps directly across the face. The man staggered back, stumbled over a log and sat down directly in the midst of the scattered campfire!
CHAPTER IX
A NIGHT OF DISCOMFORT
"Hi! Help! I am burning up!"
"Gracious, boys, look at that!" burst from Snap"s lips. "He got more than he expected."
"Well, I didn"t intend to upset him into the fire," burst out Shep. "I hope he doesn"t get burnt."
By this time Andrew Felps had rolled out of the blaze. His coat was on fire and so was one leg of his trousers.
"Dive into the lake, Andy!" called out one of the men, and hurried the unfortunate individual toward the water. There seemed no help for it, and the timber dealer rushed into the icy water, giving a shiver as he did so; and then the danger was over.
"Come, we had better get out of here!" cried Whopper, in a low voice. "He"ll be as mad as a thousand hornets now, and ready to chew us up into mincemeat!"
All of the boys were at the oars and without delay, they began to pull a strong stroke.
"Come back here, you young rascals!" cried one of the men of the party. "Come back, I say!"
"We are not going back," declared Snap.
"Not much," put in Shep. "I"d rather jump overboard."
"It served Felps right for being so mean," said Giant. "Just look at all our work gone to waste. It"s enough to make one cry."
"And such a fine spot as it was, too," said Shep. "I doubt if we find another to equal it."
"It won"t do any good if we do---on this lake," said Snap. "Andrew Felps will not let us stay here if he has purchased the property---as he says he has. I am afraid it is all due to me that we have got to move on," he added. "That man hates my father worse than poison."
"It is his natural meanness, that"s what it is," said Whopper.
"He is mean enough to get drowned, so as to save the expense of a cemetery lot."
While talking, the boys continued to row steadily, and soon a point of land took them out of sight of Andrew Felps and his party.