At last the circuit of the lake was finished and then by mutual consent they turned back to a point where there was a sloping, sandy shore. The trees grew close to the water's edge north and south of this point, but there was a cleared spot, and back of this a series of rocks, where they discovered a spring of clear, cold water. "I think this is the best camping spot of the lot," said Snap. "Anyway, it suits me." "Couldn't be better, and I am perfectly satisfied," returned Shep. "Count me in on stopping here," came from Giant. "Why, this is a perfect paradise," remarked Whopper. "A fairyland of beauty and natural resources. I could live here a million years and never weary of gazing at the lake and-----" "Looking for something to eat," finished Shep. "No, I don't want a million years of this. But I think a few weeks will do very nicely." "Well, if we are going to stay here, the question is, what sort of a shelter are we going to put up?" "Oh, let us build a regular log cabin!" cried Giant. "It will be such fun." "A log cabin isn't built in a day," answered Snap. "To build a good cabin will take quite some time. But we might build some kind of a shack," he added, as he saw the small lad's face fall. "There are four small trees almost in a square. We can cut them off and they will do for the corner-posts, and another tree in line with two in front will do for a door-post." "Hurrah! Snap has solved the problem of a cabin!" shouted Whopper. "I declare, Snap, you want to take out a license as an architect and builder. We'll go to work to-morrow---as soon as we've gotten together something to eat." And in his joy, Whopper turned a handspring on some dead leaves, coming down on his back with a thump. "Wow! I'll not try that again in a hurry!" he grunted. "We can take turns at building," said Shep. "Each day two can work on the cabin and two can go hunting or fishing. At the start we needn't to go after anything but small game." "That's it," said Snap. "But if any big game comes our way we can bring it down." "Or make a try at it," corrected Giant. CHAPTER VII SOMETHING ABOUT A STRANGE ANIMAL They brought the boat up on the sand and placed their things in the shelter of some bushes and rocks, covering everything with the canvas. It was growing late again and there was nothing to do but to try fishing once more and cook the wild turkey. Snap used a fly this time, and brought up a fine lake trout, of which he was justly proud. Up the shore Shep saw some rabbits, and went after them with his shotgun, bringing down a pair that promised good eating. "How fast the time goes up here!" exclaimed Giant. "Why, it doesn't seem two hours since we got up!" "That proves that we are enjoying ourselves," answered Snap. "The time won't go quite so fast after we get used to it." "Well, if we get tired of one spot we can move to another," said Whopper.