The Essential Edward Stratemeyer Collection. Stratemeyer Edward

      "If the sleigh breaks down, or we lose a horse, it will be very bad," answered the Englishman, gravely. "The further north we go the more careful we must be, or we may not get back in safety. I think that exploring expedition was rather a foolhardy undertaking--at this season of the year."

      "I believe I know what prompted my father to undertake it," said Dave. "It was the spirit of adventure. My Uncle Dunston says my father loves an adventure of any kind."

      "Do you take after him?" asked the Englishman, with a twinkle in his eyes.

      "I think I must--otherwise I shouldn't be here," and Dave smiled broadly.

      The sleigh driver said that if they made good time during the afternoon they would reach the village of Bojowak by five or six o'clock. Here he was certain they would hear further of the exploring party.

      "Then let us hurry all we can," said Dave. "If it is too much of a pull for the horses, I, for one, am willing to walk part of the way."

      "So am I," added the senator's son, and the Englishman also agreed to this, although he declared that trudging in the deep snow generally winded him greatly.

      They were now approaching a dangerous part of the road, which ran around the western slope of two fair-sized mountains. They progressed with care, and frequently the driver would go in advance, to make sure that the footing was good.

      "If only the fellows of Oak Hall could see us now!" declared Dave. "Wonder what they would say?"

      "I must take another snapshot or two," answered Roger.

      He had brought a folding pocket camera with him and had already taken several rolls of pictures. None of the films had been developed, so he could not as yet tell how the snapshots would turn out. Now he took a picture of Dave knee-deep in snow, with the turnout and the others in the background.

      "I ought to have a picture of that fight with the wolves," said Roger, when he put his camera away. "When we tell about it at the Hall some of the fellows will be sure to say it's a fish-story."

      "Nat Poole won't believe it for one, Roger; and I don't think Merwell will believe it either."

      At the mention of Merwell's name Dave's face clouded for an instant.

      "I wish Merwell would leave Oak Hall, Roger," he said. "Somehow, I like that chap less than I do Nat Poole or anybody else--even Jasniff."

      "So do I. Poole is a fool, and Jasniff is a hot-headed scamp, but this Merwell----" The senator's son could not finish.

      "I believe Merwell has the making of a thoroughly bad fellow in him," finished Dave. "I don't see how Doctor Clay allowed him to join the school."

      On and on went the sleigh. The road was up hill, and all hands walked. Once they passed a man on horseback, wrapped up in furs. He stared at them curiously.

      "Stop, please!" called out Granbury Lapham, in Norwegian, and the traveler came to a halt. When questioned he said he had heard about the strange party of six men who had come into that part of Norway, and he had also heard that the authorities were watching them.

      "But where did they go to?" asked the Englishman.

      That the man could not tell, but said they might possibly find out at Bojowak, from a man named Quicklabokjav.

      "What a name!" cried Dave.

      "It's bad enough--but I have heard worse," answered Granbury Lapham. "Some of the Norwegian names are such that a person speaking the English tongue cannot pronounce them correctly."

      They were now more anxious than ever to reach Bojowak, which Hendrik said was a village of about sixty or seventy inhabitants. The people were mostly wood-choppers, working for a lumber company that had located in that territory two years before.

      The wind was beginning to rise again. This blew the snow down from the mountain side, and occasionally the landscape was all but blotted out thereby. They struggled along as best they could, the driver cracking his whip with the loudness of a pistol. They passed around one edge of the mountain, only to view with consternation a still more dangerous stretch of road ahead.

      "Dave, this is getting interesting," remarked Roger, as the horses stopped for a needed rest.

      "I don't like the looks of that road, Roger. There is too much snow on the upper side and too deep a hollow on the lower."

      "Right you are." The senator's son turned to the Englishman. "Mr. Lapham, will you ask Hendrik if he thinks it is safe to go on?"

      When appealed to, the burly sleigh driver merely shrugged his shoulders. Then he looked up the mountain side speculatively.

      "He says he thinks we can get through if the wind doesn't blow too strongly," said Granbury Lapham, presently.

      "But the wind is blowing strong enough now," answered Roger.

      "And it is gradually getting worse," added Dave.

      Once again they went forward, but now with added caution. Ahead of them was a point where the firs stood in a large patch with the road cut through the center. As they entered the forest the wind whistled shrilly through the tree branches.

      "I'd give a good bit to be safe in that village," remarked Roger, after listening to the wind.

      "After we leave this patch of timber we are going to have our own troubles on the road."

      They looked at the sleigh driver and saw that he, too, was disturbed. He stopped the team and gazed upward between the firs to the dull and heavy sky. Then he shook his head slowly.

      "He says another storm is coming," said Granbury Lapham. "It is a great pity that it can't keep off until we reach Bojowak."

      They were in the very center of the patch of firs when the wind increased as if by magic. It caught up the loose snow and sent it whirling this way and that, almost blinding the travelers. The horses, too, could not see, and they stopped short, refusing to go another step. The driver looked around again, and now his face showed that he was frightened.

      "He says we must gain shelter of some kind," said the Englishman, after a few hurried words had passed. "He thinks it will be dangerous to remain here among the trees."

      "The shelter of the trees is better than nothing," answered Roger. "If we were in the open and this wind---- Gracious! listen to that!"

      A sudden rush of wind swept through the forest, causing the trees to sway and creak. The loose snow was blown in all directions, and they had to be careful that they did not get their eyes and mouths full of the stuff. "It's almost as bad as a--a blizzard!" panted Dave. "And I really think it is growing worse every minute!"

      "The question is, where shall we go?" said Granbury Lapham.

      "Perhaps the driver knows of some shelter," suggested Dave.

      "If he does----"

      The Englishman got no further, for at that moment came another rush of air. It bore down upon the forest with terrific force, and a second later they heard several trees go down with crashes that terrified them to the heart. It was a most alarming situation, and what to do to protect themselves nobody seemed to know.

      CHAPTER XXII

      SNOWBOUND IN THE MOUNTAINS

      "If we stay here we'll be in danger of the falling trees!" cried Dave. He had to raise his voice to make himself heard above the fury of the elements.

      "That's true, but where are we to go?" questioned Roger. The look in his eyes showed his keen anxiety.

      "Isn't there some kind of a cliff around here, under which we can