From where they stood they had a fair view of one end of the cabin but it is doubtful if anyone could have seen them from the house so dense were the branches of a number of trees which stood close to the cabin. For nearly half an hour they waited and then the smoke, coming from the chimney, all at once increased in volume, evidence that fresh wood had been placed on the fire. A moment later they heard a door slam and, peering between the branches, they saw a man come to the end of the porch and, for a moment stand there as he knocked the ashes from his pipe. He was a large man, well over six feet and broad shouldered in proportion. A thick black stubble nearly covered his face, but they could plainly see a pair of piercing eyes beneath shaggy brows. “Looks interesting, doesn’t he?” Jack whispered. The man soon went back into the cabin but came out again almost immediately and the boys soon caught sight of him disappearing in the thick woods in front of the cabin. He was on snow-shoes and they could see that he carried a rifle. After he had had time to get some distance from the cabin Bob said: “Now’s our chance.” “But suppose he comes back?” “That’s a risk we’ve got to take, but seeing that he had his rifle with him, I imagine that he’s gone some distance. He wouldn’t have taken it if he was coming right back.” “Still he might,” Jack insisted. “And he’s a pretty tough looking customer, I’ll say.” For a moment Bob hesitated. “Well,” he said finally. “You may be right. Anyhow it’s a lot better to be careful than to be sorry, so I’ll tell you how we’ll work it. No doubt there’s a back door to the shack. Now I’ll try to get in while you stay here and watch. If you see him coming just give your imitation of a wild cat. You can do it well enough to fool anyone, and if I hear it I’ll slip out the back way and come around here. He’ll have to take off his snow-shoes before he can come in and that will give me plenty of time to make a get away.” This plan seemed good to Jack and he readily agreed to it. Bob removed his snow-shoes and was about to start when a sudden thought struck him. “Great guns, Jack, I forgot all about the tracks,” he said. “Well, what do you know about that?” and for a moment Jack’s face looked the picture of despair. “He’d spot them the minute he came back and then it’d be all up,” Bob declared. “And he’ll probably be back long before it freezes tonight,” Jack lamented. For a moment both boys were silent each trying to find some solution to the problem. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” Bob finally proposed. “I’ll make a detour round back and mebby I can find a way to get up to the house without leaving any tracks. He may have a path out the other side or at the back. If I’m not back in about ten minutes you will know that I’ve found a way.” Jack could think of no better plan so he agreed and Bob started. Jack leaned against a tree and waited. Slowly the minutes passed.