try fishing as soon as I'm done," said John Barrow, and was as good as his word.
It was no easy task to cut a hole through the ice, but once this was accomplished the fish were found to be lively enough, despite the storm and the cold. Inside of an hour they had a mess of nine, sufficient to last them for several meals. And while the others were fishing, Dick caught sight of a flock of birds, and brought down three.
"There, we won't starve yet awhile," said Dick, as he began to clean his game.
"That's true," answered Tom, "although we may get pretty tired of birds and fish before we get out of here and strike something different."
"I wonder how the Baxter crowd is faring," said Sam. "Unless they got back to the cave they can't be having a very good time of it."
"They don't deserve a good time of it," grumbled Tom. "They deserve to suffer."
"Bill Harney is a good enough guide to know what to do," put in John Barrow. "He will pull them through somehow — that is, if he knows enough to remain sober."
They had hoped that the storm would let up by noon, but twelve o'clock found the snow coming down as fast as ever, blotting out the landscape on every hand. Outside of the moaning of the wind all was as silent as a tomb.
There was but a little for the boys to do, and, after the fishing was over they were glad enough to take it easy in the shelter and listen to several stories John Barrow had to tell. The guide also related what he knew concerning Goupert and the various hunts made for the missing treasure.
"He must have been a fierce sort of a man in his day," observed Dick. "I don't wonder the most of the folks in this region were content to leave him alone."
It was almost nightfall when the snow stopped coming down, and then it was too dark to attempt the journey to Bear Pond.
"We'll have to make another night of it here," said John Barrow. "Then, if it's clear, we can start for the pond early in the morning."
"Hark!" cried Tom, rousing up. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" came from the others.
"I thought I heard somebody calling."
All listened. For a few seconds silence reigned, then came an uncertain sound from a considerable distance.
"There it is!"
"That's somebody calling, sure," said the guide. "Must be down along the river. I'll go out an' look."
"Can I go along?" asked Dick. "You may want help — if somebody is in trouble."
"All right. Bring your gun with you."
In another minute they had started out, each with his gun, and with his trouser legs tied up with bits of cord, to keep the deep snow from reaching up to their boot-tops. Their course was directly for the river.
It was so dark they could see little or nothing, saving the whiteness which spread in all directions.
"Hullo! hullo!" yelled John Barrow, when the river was gained.
"Help!" came back faintly. "Help!"
"Somebody over thar!" said the guide, and pointed a short distance up the stream. "Guess he's in a peck o' trouble, too."
He started in the direction, and Dick came close behind. The party in distress was a man, whose cries for aid were gradually becoming weaker and weaker. Before they reached the individual his voice ceased entirly.
"He has fainted from exhaustion," said John Barrow, as he reached the wayfarer.
"Why, it's Jasper Grinder, our old teacher!" ejaculated Dick.
The eldest Rover was right. The unfortunate man was indeed the former teacher of Putnam Hall, but so pinched and haggard as to be scarcely recognized. He had fallen on a bar rock, and this had cut open his left cheek, from which the blood was flowing.
CHAPTER XXVI
AN UNWELCOME COMRADE
"He's in a bad way, that's certain," was Dick's comment, as he surveyed the prostrate form. Even though Jasper Grinder was an enemy, he could not help but feel sorry for the man.
"We must get him up to our shelter as soon as possible," replied John Barrow. "It is easy to see he is half frozen — and maybe starved."
"Shall we carry him?"
"We'll have to; there is no other way."
Slinging their guns across their backs, they raised up the form of the unconscious man. He was a dead weight, and to carry him through that deep snow was no light task. Less than half the distance to the shelter was covered when Dick called a halt.
"I'll have to rest up!" he gasped. "He weighs a ton."
But in a few minutes he resumed the journey, and now they did not stop with their load until the shelter was reached. Tom and Sam were watching for them.
"Jasper Grinder, by all that's wonderful!" burst out Tom.
"Was he alone?" questioned Sam.
"He was, so far as we could see," answered Dick. "I can tell you, he's almost a case for an undertaker."
This remark made everyone feel sober, and while the two younger Rovers stirred up the fire, Dick and the guide did all in their power to bring the unconscious man to his senses. Some hot coffee was poured down his throat, and his hands and back were vigorously rubbed.
"Oh!" came faintly, at last, and Jasper Grinder slowly opened his eyes. "Oh!"
"Take it easy, Mr. Grinder," said Dick kindly. "You are safe now."
"But the bear! Where is the bear?" murmured the dazed man.
"There is no bear here."
"He is after me! He wants to chew me up!"
With this Jasper Grinder relapsed into unconsciousness once more.
"I reckon a b'ar chased him and he lost his reckonin'," was John Barrow's comment. "Bring him up to the fire. He wants warmin'."
Yet, with all the care they were able to bestow, it was a good hour before Jasper Grinder was able to sit up and relate what had occurred to him. He was very hungry, and eagerly disposed of every scrap of food they had to offer him.
"I have been lost in the timber since yesterday," he said. "Oh, it was awful, the wind and the snow, and the intense cold. Sometimes I could not feel my feet, and I knew I was freezing to death. And I hadn't a mouthful to eat!"
"But where are the others?" questioned Dick.
"I don't know — back to that cave, I suppose. We were out looking for some trace of — ahem — of Tom and Sam, when I became separated from the others. Then,
