How had their enemies been humbled! Here they were craving food in the most abject fashion known. Neither Jack nor Harry could find it in his heart to upbraid them for their former misdoings. “This makes me feel like myself once more,” said Sully at length, after he had finished his bird, and was attacking a bit of the other meat. “If you fellows hadn’t come along we would have been corpses by night!” “Where were you bound?” asked Jack. “We were trying to get to Rudd’s Landing, but the heavy snowstorm overtook us, and we got lost and finally wandered here.” “Where are we now?” asked Dixon. “You are several miles from the lake,” returned Harry. “You can never go across it in this storm.” “We’ve got to go somewhere,” put in Spencer, dismally. “Oh, I wish I was home! You’ll never catch me trying to go camping in the woods in the winter again!” “When did you leave Rudskill?” asked Harry of Sully. The bully of the town hung his head. For once he felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. “We left the same day we had the trouble with you about the iceboat,” he replied, in a low voice. “We made up our minds to have a rival camp.” “Did you come up by the way of Rudd’s Landing?” “No, we took the cars to Bagsville.” “And then went down into the valley and built the lean-to?” “Yes, after we--we came to your camp,” faltered Sully. “And played ghost and took our traps, eh?” said Jack, a little bitterly. “Yes; but Bascoe, I hope you--you’ll forgive us,” faltered Sully. “It was awful mean to do, and now you are treating us so good--better than we deserve,” put in Spencer, in a choking tone. “It got us into a lot of trouble,” remarked Harry. “We came near being arrested for the chickens you stole.” “We didn’t steal any chickens,” cried Dixon. “You didn’t! Well, those farmers thought so. That’s the reason they took your traps.” “We bought those chickens from some men on the road,” said Spencer. “But we only paid fifteen cents apiece for them, and after the men were gone we came to the conclusion that the fowls must have been stolen, and we were sure of it when those farmers took our things.” “Then why did you run away--why didn’t you come out boldly and explain matters?” “We knew it would do no good, for the evidence was all against us, as we had been hunting near one of the farmer’s places, and he had seen us. Besides, we didn’t want to meet you fellows after we had taken your traps.” A silence followed, and then Spencer came and placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Say, won’t you forgive us, Webb? I’m sorry, and I know Pete and Bill are, too.” “Well, let it pass,” returned Harry, briefly. “I guess you have suffered enough,” added Jack. “But, mind you, no more funny work in the future.” “I’ll never do any harm to you fellows again!” cried Pete Sully. “Nor I,” exclaimed Billy Dixon. “You fellows have been kind when we didn’t deserve it.”