“It will be pretty dark by the time we reach Firefly Lake,” said Snap, and he was right.  It was cloudy too, and a stiff breeze from the east had begun to blow.

“We’ll have to take care how we pitch our tent to-night,” was Whopper’s comment.  “Unless I miss my guess, we’ll have rain by to-morrow morning.”

“Oh, don’t say that!” cried Giant.  “I don’t want it to rain yet.”

“It won’t hold off for you or anybody else,” returned Snap.  “Whopper is right, we must stake our tent well and allow for the water to run off—–­if rain does come.”

When they at last rounded the final turn and swept into Firefly Lake it was so dark they could see little or nothing ahead.  But they remembered the locality and had little trouble in reaching a spot where they had camped once before.  But the snows of the previous winter had played sad havoc with the fireplace they had built, and they had to build a fire in the open.  While Whopper and Giant prepared a substantial supper Snap and Shep put up the tent, on a bit of high ground.  Around the tent they dug a small trench, to carry off the water, should it storm.

“We want to make sure that our boat doesn’t get away from us again to-night,” said Whopper.

“Here is a cove—–­we can haul her up in that,” said Snap, and this was done, and the craft was tied fast to two trees.

Having had but little sleep the night before, all the young hunters were tired out, and it was not long after getting supper that they crawled into the tent and went to sleep.  On account of the wind they did not dare to leave the campfire burning, for they knew only too well how easy it is to set a forest on fire through such carelessness.

At about two o’clock in the morning Giant awoke, to find the rain coming down steadily on the tent.  He crawled to the front of the shelter and looked out.  All was pitch dark, and, somehow, the prospect made him shiver.  The wind had gone down, and only the fall of the rain broke the stillness.

“This is lonely enough for anybody, I guess,” he mused, and crawled back to his corners.  “Shouldn’t wonder if we have to stay in came tomorrow.  But I don’t care—–­it will give us all a chance to rest up.”

He struck a match, to see how the others were faring, and as he gazed around he saw a small stream of water coming in through a hole in the tent.  The stream was falling close to Whopper’s head.  Just then Whopper turned and the stream took him directly in the ear.

“Wh—–­wow!” spluttered Whopper, awakening and squirming around.  “What’s the matter here?  Has Niagara Falls broke loose, or who’s playing the hose on me?”

The noise aroused the others, and all sat up.  By this time the match had gone out, but Giant promptly struck another and then lit the camp lantern.  Whopper gazed at the hole in the tent ruefully.

“That’s too bad,” said Snap.  “We’ll have to mend that, the first chance we get.”