"A fox will do for a starter. After that, Tommy Clifton must help me rout out a big, black bear from his cave," grinned John.

"Oh, I say, fellows," broke in Dick Travers, "somebody take this sled; I'm fagged out."

"So am I," puffed Tom Clifton.

"And it's the same here," added Sam.

The three boys were relieved.

Maple and hickory trees were now interspersed with the dark hemlocks and cedars, and the patches of sky between the trees grew larger. The woods were rapidly becoming more open.

"We ought to come to the river pretty soon, Somers," observed Hackett, as they paused on a ridge which overlooked a steep descent.

"Unless we do, it may mean that—"

The rest of the sentence was interrupted in a most startling fashion.

The snow upon which they were standing suddenly gave way beneath their weight. With cries of dismay, Bob Somers, John Hackett and Dick Travers wildly grasped at the empty air. Then, before their astonished companions could make a move to aid them, they shot downward, accompanied by an avalanche of snow.

CHAPTER V

THE ROAD OF ICE

The surface was smooth and icy, and the efforts of the boys to stay their progress were in vain. Huge masses of snow swept with them down the hill. Bob Somers felt the cold air rush past his face. He had a confused vision of bushes flying swiftly by, then he shot over the edge of a hillock, and dropped with a thud upon the other side.

Breathless and excited, he made another effort to stop his downward plunge. For a moment, it was partially checked, but the tumbling snow almost instantly tore him away from his hold.

Long John Hackett and Dick Travers were considerably in advance. Their startled cries had been silenced, and like Bob Somers, they were helpless upon the smooth, slippery surface of the hill.

A long line of bushes stretched across just below.

John Hackett escaped them by a few feet, but Dick Travers 

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