All of the others were interested and drew around the hole hardly daring to breathe. Three times the pike came fairly close and then swam away. Once he passed directly across the opening, but so swiftly that Bart did not take the chance to hit him. “He has gone,” said Fred, after a few minutes more had passed, but just as he spoke the pike reappeared and came up directly under the hole, where he began to turn around. “Now!” cried old Runnell, and down went the spear, in something of a sideway fashion. But it passed through the pike near the tail, and with a whirl and a great splashing, he came up to the surface and out of the hole. “Hurrah, you’ve got him!” cried Link, as he wiped the cold water from his face. “Say, he gave me a regular shower bath, didn’t he?” “Oh, you mustn’t mind that,” put in Fred. “Why such a pike as that is worth a dip into the lake.” “Not in this freezing weather,” came from Joe. “But he’s a beauty and no mistake. Four inches longer than the other and at least half a pound heavier.” “There are a great many kinds of pike, aren’t there?” asked Link. “Yes, a great number,” answered old Runnell. “The big muskalonge, the pike-perch, the pickerel, the wall-eye or glass-eye pike, and the gray pike, and half a dozen other varieties. The pike-perch of the Great Lakes sometimes grows to three feet and weighs fifteen or eighteen pounds.” The fishing was continued for over two hours longer and one more small pike was obtained. Then Fred tried his hook and line and very soon brought in several small fish. “Now, we’ll have fish to last us for awhile,” said Joel Runnell. “What we don’t use at once we can let freeze in the ice.” And this was done by simply throwing the fish in a hollow and pouring clean water over them. The party had used up a good share of their deer meat, but the best part of one of the halves still remained—or rather, had been left at the camp when they went fishing. But now, when they got back, strange to say, the deer meat was gone. “Hullo, what does this mean?” cried Joe. “Have we had another visit from Dan Marcy and old Skeetles?” “Somebody has taken the meat, that is certain,” put in Bart. Joel made a careful examination. The meat had been left hanging on one of the pine trees. “An animal took that meat,” said the old hunter. “And I am pretty certain I know what kind of a beast it was.” CHAPTER XXIV A BATTLE WITH A WOLVERENE All of the young hunters listened to Joel Runnell’s words with deep interest. “An animal took the meat?” questioned Joe. “What sort of an animal?” “Unless I am greatly mistaken, lad, it was a wolverene.” “A wolverene!” cried several in chorus. “Oh, do you think it was really a wolverene?” came from Link. “Why, they are very fierce, aren’t they?” “About as fierce a beast as you can bring down in these parts, Link, and just about as hard to track, too.”