The matter was talked over for some time, and it was decided to let the affair rest until morning. “And then we can all give Marcy and Skeetles a piece of our mind,” said Joe. “Do you think they’ll come back?” asked Fred. “Not a bit of it,” answered old Runnell. And satisfied of this, all turned in again to get what sleep they could ere the sun came up. CHAPTER XVI BACK TO THE LODGE But the excitement of that night was not yet at an end. As mentioned before, the wind had increased steadily, until it was blowing as fiercely as it had during the blizzard. It tore through the tall pines and other trees, swaying them viciously, and causing them to creak and groan as if in pain. It hurled the snow in long drifts and sent every living creature for miles around into cover. But the young hunters and old Runnell were too tired to listen to the wind, and it was not until an extra heavy blast caused one of the trees directly back of the shelter to split apart, that Runnell and Fred awoke. “What a wind!” cried the stout youth. “Never heard it blow so in my whole life!” “Thought I heard a tree snap,” returned the old hunter. “Listen!” The others were now awake, and all listened as directed. Then came another gust, and all felt the back end of the shelter move as the roots of the biggest of the pines were loosened. “Creation! I think the tree is coming down!” ejaculated Joe. “Perhaps we had better——” “Run, boys, run!” shouted Runnell, leaping up. “Run for your lives!” They needed no second warning, but leaped from the shelter with all the alacrity of which they were capable. They did not stop at the camp fire, but, led by Harry, leaped the wall of snow and scattered to the right and the left. They were not an instant too soon, for the next gust of wind brought down, not one tree, but two, smashing the shelter flat, and scattering the burning sticks of the fire. The end of one limb hit Fred, and hurled him on his breast, and old Runnell had his left ear badly clipped. “Oh, my! Sa—save me!” spluttered Fred. “Take the tree off of me, somebody!” Joe and Harry ran forward, and assisted him to arise. Then they yelled to old Runnell, who was in the midst of the pine branches. “I’m all right,” was the answering cry. “Got my ear pretty badly scratched, but that don’t count in such a smash-up as this.” And then the old hunter joined the others. The two fallen trees had loosened a third, so they did not dare to go into the branches to rescue their traps and stores. The branches lying over the camp fire soon caught, and then the trees began to blaze up like huge torches. “Our traps——” began Joe, when, with a crash, the third tree came down. This hit the fire a heavy blow, and for the moment it was partly extinguished. “Now it’s safe enough to go in!” came from old Runnell. “Put out the blaze with snow, boys, or everything will be burned up.”