"Look, Look!" burst out Gif. "What can that mean? Every window and every door of the Lodge is wide open!"
"Sure as you"re born, Gif is right!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Fred. "Something is wrong, that"s sure."
All set off on a run, to ascertain as quickly as possible what had occurred at the Lodge during their absence. Gif was the first to enter the place, but he was quickly followed by the others.
"Gee! what do you know about this?" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Andy.
"This is the work of our enemies!" murmured Jack.
The doors and windows had evidently been open for some time, for the Lodge was bitter cold inside and not a little snow had drifted in through the openings. The wind had likewise entered, blowing the ashes of the dead fire in all directions.
"I"ll bet Glutts and Werner did this!" cried Spouter.
"Just what I think," answered Jack.
CHAPTER XXII
AT TONY DUVAL"S CAMP
The six cadets lost no time in making a thorough examination of the Lodge. In the bedrooms they found everything topsy-turvy, the bed clothes having been hauled near the windows where the incoming snow might fall upon them. In the kitchen they found many of their cooking utensils in the sink, and over them had been poured a mixture of flour, catsup, maple syrup, and condensed milk. In the storeroom many other things were upset, and not a few of the supplies appeared to be missing.
"This is certainly the worst yet!" groaned Fred, as he looked at the mussed-up and ruined food.
"I said Glutts and Werner would get back at you for meddling with their supplies," remarked Jack sharply. "They have certainly paid us back with interest."
"I wish we had those two fellows here now. I"d hammer them good and proper," declared Randy. "Just the same, I suppose this is our fault, and I"m mighty sorry for it," he added, looking at Jack, Gif, and Spouter.
"They either took a large share of our supplies away, or else hid them,"
said Gif, after another look around. "My, what a mess they did make!"
"Well, as we are largely responsible for this, it"s up to us to take hold and clean up the best we can," announced Randy to his twin and Fred.
"Right you are," answered Andy. "Come ahead! we"ll clean up the living-room first and get a fresh fire started."
"All right, you fellows do that, and we"ll tackle the bedrooms," said Jack. "We"ll have to dry out that bedding before night."
Soon the whole crowd was busy, breakfast, for the time, being forgotten.
All went at the task with a will, and before long everything was straightened out but the kitchen. Doors and windows had been closed, a fresh fire had been lit, and then the roaring logs sent a grateful warmth through the entire bungalow.
"Now we"ll get breakfast, and then we"ll clean up this mess in the kitchen," announced Gif.
"And what are we going to do after that?" questioned Jack.
"What do you think we ought to do, Jack?"
"Square accounts with Glutts and Werner, if they are the guilty parties."
"They only paid us back for what Fred and the twins did," said Spouter.
"I don"t know but what we might as well call it quits."
"Well, we"ll go over there, anyway, and see what they"ve got to say for themselves," said Jack. "Perhaps at the least we"ll be able to scare them so that they"ll leave us alone in the future."
"All right, we might do that," answered Gif; and so it was decided.
The boys came to the conclusion that Glutts and Werner, accompanied possibly by Codfish, must have visited the Lodge some time in the middle of the previous afternoon. Evidently the marauders had been afraid that the bungalow"s occupants might return at any moment, for they had worked with great speed.
"They took a big chance with that fire," remarked Randy. "If the wind had blown the sparks too far--into the bedrooms for instance--the whole place might have gone up in flames."
At first the lads thought to go over to Tony Duval"s place without delay. But by the time they had straightened out the bungalow and gotten their breakfast, the older cadets were in a different frame of mind.
"More than likely they"ll be on their guard to-day, looking for us to come over," said Jack. "Let us wait two or three days and try to catch them unawares," and this change was made in their plans.
Several days, including Sunday, pa.s.sed, and the six cadets took it easy.
It snowed part of the time, so that they went out hunting only once. On that trip they managed to get several more rabbits and four quail, but that was all.
"I thought I saw a fox," said Gif on the morning following. "I heard him bark during the night too."
"Was he a silver fox?" questioned Jack eagerly.
"I didn"t see him well enough to find out, and I can"t tell the color of a fox from his bark," was Gif"s somewhat dry reply. And at this there was a laugh.
Then the storm cleared away once more, and on the following morning the boys resolved to tramp in the direction of Tony Duval"s place and see if they could locate Werner and Glutts.
"I don"t believe this Tony Duval is a very nice fellow to meet,"
remarked Gif, when they were on their way. "I saw him twice, and he looked like anything but a pleasant character."
The middle of the forenoon found them on the grounds occupied by the various shacks belonging to the French-Canadian. They were small structures, built for the most part of slabsides, and each contained but two windows and a door.
"I wonder which shack is that used by Glutts and Werner," remarked Randy, as they looked around.
n.o.body was in sight. There were five of the shacks located several hundred feet apart, and each with some timber around it.
"We"ll try the nearest place," said Gif, and, going up to it, he knocked sharply on the door. He waited for fully a minute, but there was no reply.
"Seems to be empty," remarked Jack, after looking in through one of the windows. "There is no sign of a fire in the fireplace."
They tramped on to the next shack, and found that was likewise vacant.
"I think we"ll find somebody at home in the third shack," announced Spouter. "Anyway, I see smoke coming from the chimney."
They were approaching the doorway of this rude structure when it was suddenly flung open and a man stepped into view. He wore a hunter"s outfit, and carried a double-barreled shotgun in his hands.
"Who are you?" he questioned, and his tone had a strong French accent.
"What do you want here?"