“That little wildcat will soon be a big one, so there is no use of letting it get away,” said Jed Sanborn, and he discharged a shot that immediately finished the last of that wildcat family.  The boys gazed at the small wildcats with interest but did not want to pick them up and carry them away.  Somehow, the killing of the little creatures appeared to put a damper on the whole day’s outing.

When the party got back to the camp they had the turkeys, several rabbits and also a number of squirrels to their credit.  They retired early that evening and slept soundly.  In the morning they thought they would arise early but found Jed Sanborn up ahead of them.

“Your folks will enjoy them turkeys, I know,” said the old hunter, as he prepared to depart, after eating a substantial breakfast.  “They’ll be proud to know you shot ’em.”

“Well, we are proud of having done so,” answered Shep.  “Here are the letters,” and he handed over various written communications.

“Now mind, don’t let that ghost carry you off,” warned Jed, as he started to paddle away in his canoe.

“I doubt if we even see the ghost,” answered Snap.  But he was mistaken, they did see the ghost, and that before very long.  And the meeting led to a tremendous surprise.

CHAPTER XXVII

INTO A BEAR’S DEN

“Boys, I move we go after that bear.”

It was Snap who spoke, on the morning of the second day after Jed Sanborn had left them.  He was eating breakfast and so were his chums.

“You mean the bear we saw up on the mountain, when we were after those wildcats?” queried Giant.

“Yes.  Somehow, I think we can get him, if we try hard enough.  And it would be a feather in our caps to bring back a bear.”

“All right, I’m with you,” said Shep.  “Even if we don’t get the bear we can climb to the top of the mountain and get a good look at the country for miles around.  Maybe we’ll be able to see Fairview.”

The proposal to go after the bear pleased all the young hunters, and they decided to lose no time in getting ready for the trip.

“As there is no telling what luck we may have on the mountain, or when we’ll get back, we had better take sufficient food with us to last all day,” suggested the doctor’s son.

The sky looked a trifle uncertain to them, but nobody wanted to stay in camp waiting for it to rain.  They started off about nine o’clock, taking to the trail they had previously pursued.  Snap led the way, with the others following in Indian file.  The leader of the club had a rifle while the others were provided with shotguns.  They carried with them sufficient ammunition to bring down a dozen bears.

Noon found them well up on the mountain and in the vicinity where the bear had been seen.  On the way they had stirred up some quail and Giant had taken two shots before the others could stop him, bringing down four of the birds.