CHAPTER XIII.

JACK’S EXPERIENCE.

When Jack left the other members of the Zero Club to look for a suitable camping-place for the night, he had no intention of walking any great distance away.

He struck down the lake shore, in a direction directly opposite to that taken by Harry, and at almost right angles to that pursued by the others.

Jack walked probably fifty yards before coming to anything but a flat surface of snow and ice, with here and there a tree or a bush.

“This is no good,” he murmured to himself. “I’ve a good mind to go back and try in the other direction.”

Had he done so, he might have saved himself all the trouble that followed, and likewise saved the others from a deal of anxiety concerning his welfare.

But Jack remembered that Harry had gone off in the opposite direction, and so he kept on until he reached a small rise of ground, beyond which was a dense thicket of great trees, some all of a hundred feet in height.

“There ought to be a first-rate place among those trees,” he thought. “I’ll investigate a bit and see.”

Jack walked in among the trees and soon located a spot between several tall maples that he thought would be just the thing. Five trees were in a semi-circle, and he calculated that by heaping the brush around them a temporary shelter that would be both safe and warm would be secured.

He walked around the trees, and then to a spot a few yards away, where brush grew thickly.

Here both the snow and the leaves were thick, and without warning he suddenly found himself sinking down in the midst of both.

He tried to scramble to a place of safety, but it was too late and down he went into an opening that was all of ten feet deep. The leaves and snow tumbled with him, and he was all but smothered.

When at last he managed to get his head clear of what was around him, he found himself up to his armpits in the mass, and almost powerless to move the lower portion of his body.

Jack was not one to cry for help, so, for a while, he remained silent, doing his best to extricate himself from his difficulty.

It was very cold down at the bottom of the hole, and, despite his exertions, he found himself gradually getting chilled to the bone. It was also dark, and this made his situation worse than had it been daylight.

At last, in desperation, he wrenched himself away from the snow and rubbish, and freed himself as far as the waist. But higher than this he could not get, for every time he attempted it he only slipped back again.

A half-hour was passed in trying to extricate himself, and by that time he was so worn out he was unable to make further effort.

“This is the worst fix yet,” he muttered, to himself. “If I stay here I’ll be frozen to death before morning,” and he gave a shiver which was not altogether from cold.

It was then that he began to shout for help. His voice was weak, and it is doubtful if it could have been heard thirty feet from his prison.

A quarter of an hour more went by, and Jack was almost stiff. His feet were like two cakes of ice, and his ears pained him fearfully.

“Where can the others be? Why don’t they come and help me out?”

He asked himself these questions over and over again. But no answer was vouchsafed. It was as if the other members of the Zero Club had forgotten his existence.

Presently Jack heard a rustle in the bushes in front of him. Was it one of the other boys on the hunt?

Then a low growl made him start and strain his eyes in the direction. What was it, a fox, wolf or bear? He looked up at the entrance to the hole, but no animal showed itself.

Again he yelled, this time not only to summon assistance, but also to scare away the beast, whatever it was. A crashing in the brush followed, and then dead silence.

“He’s gone away,” he muttered, with a sigh of relief. “But who knows but what he’ll come back, or some other animal will meander this way. Oh, if I was only out of this hole I’d take precious good care that I didn’t get into another.”

Ten minutes more--an age to poor Jack--and another rustle in the brush was heard. Then followed a shout:

“Hullo, Jack! Where are you?”

It was Harry’s voice, and it thrilled him with joy.

“Here I am, in a hole,” he replied.

But, alas! his voice was so faint that Harry did not hear it, and passed to his left and continued the search in that direction.

“Help! help!” cried Jack, frantically. “This way! In a hole! Help!”

Harry did not hear, but Andy, who was also close at hand, did, and shouted to the others:

“He’s here, fellows! Come this way!”

“Where?” asked Boxy and Pickles, in a breath, while Harry quickly retraced his steps.

“Somewhere around here. Listen.”

Again Jack called out, and now they were able to locate him. Andy was in advance, and his companions were amazed to see him disappear as suddenly as if he had taken a plunge in the water.

“There’s a hole there. Be careful!” shouted Harry.

“Dat mus’ be a b’ar hole!” put in Pickles. “Pooh Andy’s dun gone in it, too!”

“Help us out!” yelled Andy, from beside Jack. “This is a sort of a cave-in, and Jack is half buried under the dirt and snow.”

“We’ll have to get the rope and haul them out,” remarked Boxy. “Run back for it, Pickles.”

The colored boy skipped off at top speed. While he was gone, Boxy and Harry skirted the opening with great care, and found the most available standing place.

When Pickles returned, he brought with him the sled rope, and also the one used for tying on the load. These were twisted together, and, not without some difficulty, Andy was raised up.

Then came the work of raising Jack. This was no easy task, for the poor fellow was almost too exhausted to even catch hold of the rope.

“We’ll make a loop, and he can slip it under his arms,” suggested his younger brother, and this was done, and presently Jack stood beside the others, supported by Boxy and Pickles.

“Take me to some place where I can get warm!” he gasped.

“We’ll run you back to the place where the sled is and cover you up with blankets,” replied Boxy. “Come on, it’s the best thing for you.”

And off he and Pickles started, with the half-frozen boy between them.

Harry and Andy ran ahead and worked like lightning to gather dry brush and start a fire in the shelter of several trees. It was not long before they had a big blaze, and Jack was seated on the sled in front of this with several blankets thrown over his back.

“I’ll be all right in a little while now,” he said. “So you fellows had better turn your attention to locating a camp for to-night.”

“Harry has found a place,” said Boxy. “It’s just the thing, between a couple of big rocks.”

While Andy remained behind to keep up the fire and prepare supper, Harry, Boxy and the colored youth went off to prepare the camp.

“We’ll take all the snow out first,” said Harry. “Then we’ll make a wall in front, with only a narrow opening to get in, and shut up the back as tightly as we can.”

The three boys went to work with a will, and inside of half an hour the temporary camp was ready for occupancy. The sled was drawn inside, and the rubber blankets spread around, and then the fire was transferred to a spot directly in front of the opening.

“That will keep us warm, and also keep wild animals from bothering us,” said Harry.

“Yes; we want no wolf or bear to wake us up by biting off an ear or a foot,” laughed Boxy.

“Gee, shoo, no!” put in Pickles. “Dat would make dis yere coon turn white, ’deed it would!”

Just before they had reached the lake, Boxy, anxious to prove that he wasn’t such a poor shot that he couldn’t shoot anything, had gone off in search of a partridge, and succeeded in bringing down one of fair size. This Andy had prepared as nicely as possible, and, with bread and tea, made a most appetizing supper for the hungry boys.

“This is the last of the fresh bread,” remarked Andy, as he dealt it out. “After this we’ll have crackers instead.”

“Just as good,” returned Boxy, but before the tour was over he was compelled to change his mind.

The supper over, the boys found it growing late. They gathered some wood and heaped it upon the fire in such a way that it might burn the greater part of the night, and then sought to retire.

“We want to be up early in the morning,” remarked Jack, who now felt quite recovered. “It looks a little like snow, and we want to strike a permanent camp before it lets down too heavily.”

“Well, I’m ready to go to sleep,” returned Boxy. “And I won’t even ask Pickles to sing a lullaby for me.”

One after another the boys crawled into the cave-like sleeping place, and selected their various corners. Andy brought in a pine knot, all ablaze from the fire, and held it aloft so that they might see if all was right.

A second later Pickles gave a yell, which was followed by a cry of fright from every one of the others. Then a hasty scramble was made for the outside, the boys fairly tumbling over each other in their efforts to escape.

And small wonder, for the interior of the cave-hut was alive with snakes!