“What rowdies!” declared one boy, who was as dudish as Spink.  “I really believe they would have shot us, don’t you know!”

“Very, very rude,” said the youth who had thrown one of the tomatoes.

“They ought to be locked up for threatening us,” declared Ham Spink.  “It is an outrage that we cannot come here for an outing without being bothered by such low creatures.”

“I tell you what we can do,” piped in one of the crowd.  “Let us go over to their camp some day when they are away and hide all their things on them.”

“Yes, that’s an idea!” cried several.  “It will be lots of fun, and they won’t know who did it.”

“Well, we want to be certain that nobody is around,” said Ham Spink.  “For if they caught us at it they would surely kill us.”

“Oh, we’ll be careful!”

CHAPTER XVIII

A MIX-UP IN CAMP

After the deer hunt the young hunters were content to take it easy for several days, lolling around the camp, or going out fishing on the lake or up the river beyond.

While fishing one day, Giant and Shep ran into several of the Spink crowd and some unpleasant words passed.  When the rival campers separated, the feeling upon both sides was very bitter.

“I don’t like those chaps at all,” was Shep’s comment.  “I am sorry they came to Firefly Lake.”

“They make me sick,” was the way Giant expressed himself.  “And they are such dudes, too, with their fancy hunting outfits and patent fishing gear.”

“And not one of them can shoot worth a cent,” said Snap.

“How do you know that?”

“I saw them at the shooting-gallery one day.  They couldn’t make a single bull’s-eye, try their best, and lots of times they didn’t even hit the target.”

On Friday, Shep came into camp from a walk up the lake and his face showed his excitement.

“I saw some more deer!” he cried.  “Come on, all of you!  It’s the chance of our lives!”

This announcement filled the crowd with excitement, and soon they were asking all sorts of questions of the doctor’s son.  He had looked across the upper end of the lake and had seen seven or eight deer making their way along one of the mountain trails.

“We’ll take to the boat and go over,” said Snap.  “Hurry up and get some provisions together.  This may keep us out all day.”

The boys set to work with a will, and in twenty minutes were ready for the trip.  They kicked out the camp-fire, shut up the cabin and then leaped into the rowboat and took up the oars.

“I suppose the cabin is safe,” said Snap, a little anxiously.

“Safe enough,” answered Shep, whose mind was on the deer.

The young hunters rowed up the lake with all speed, and, landing, tied their craft fast among the bushes.

“This will be an all-day chase, I guess,” said Giant.