For the instant the six boys were so startled that they knew not what to do. None of them was armed, their firearms and their fishing outfits resting on the floor with their rolls.

But if the lads were taken aback, so was the mother fox. She had landed squarely on the floor and now shrank back, hair bristling on end and her eyes staring wildly at what was before her. Astonishment seemed to give way to fear over the welfare of her offspring and then her eyes gleamed with a sudden ferocity. Had there been no young ones she might have leaped through the window again for safety, but now she would fight to the death for those she loved.

“Come on! Get out of here!” yelled Jack, catching Fred by the arm.

“If I only had a gun!” came from Spouter.

“Come to the door, I tell you, and leave that fox alone!” went on Jack.

“She wants to get at her young ones—that’s what she wants!” burst out Randy.

“Well, she can have her kids for all I care,” answered his twin. “Me for the open spaces,” and he followed Jack and Fred through one room to another and then outside, and the others came swiftly upon their heels.

Twice the mother fox barked and showed her teeth viciously, but at the same time she backed around in a semicircle and a few seconds later slunk out of sight through a hole in the back wall of the cabin.

“She’s after her little ones, all right enough,” said Jack. “Probably there is another hole leading into the woodshed from the outside.”

“We’d better arm ourselves while we’ve got the chance,” said Randy. “There’s no telling what that old fox may start to do.”

“I don’t think I want to kill her,” said Fred. “If you did that, you’d have to kill her young ones too.”

The boys were now standing in a group in the rain, not knowing what to do next. Presently Jack and Gif walked around one side of the cabin. They were just in time to see the nose of the fox disappearing from a small hole in the side of the woodshed.

“She’s in there all right enough,” said Gif.

“And she can stay there for all of me,” answered Jack. “I suppose it would be the proper thing to kill that fox and also her young. But somehow, after looking at the little things, I haven’t got the heart to do it.”

Jack and Gif joined the others and found that they had brought forth from the cabin all the firearms the party carried.

“An old mother fox like that can make a lot of trouble for a farmer’s chickens,” said Gif. “Really more trouble than the crows. She ought to be slaughtered and the young ones ought to be slaughtered too.”

“Well, do you want to do the slaughtering, Gif?” questioned Fred quickly. “I declare I don’t.”

“Well, I—er—I think it ought to be done,” stammered the youth who had been at the head of the Colby Hall Athletic Association.

“All right then, we’ll appoint you the head of the committee to do the deed,” declared Spouter.

“Well, what do you say about it?” demanded Gif.

“I’ll say that it’s something that really ought to be done for the benefit of society at large,” declared Spouter. “Foxes commit all sorts of depredations and everybody knows they forfeit their lives a dozen times or more a year. Besides that, fox skins are valuable. At the same time——” and here Spouter paused. “At the same time, so far as I am concerned that old mother fox can live to take care of her little family.”

“And thus doth the judge render his decision in this court,” quoted Andy solemnly. “Gentlemen of the jury, what is your verdict?”

The verdict was unanimous that a fox was a rascal and a thief and ought to be killed on general principles, but as there was no one on hand who was willing to commit the deed the fox was to go unmolested.

The rain was still coming down steadily, and, not to get soaked, the boys stepped rather gingerly into the living room of the old cabin. Then, with great caution, they closed the doors leading to the other rooms.

“Now if that old fox wants to get at us she’ll have to come around to the front of the building,” said Jack.

“Gosh! what a grand picture that old fox and her young ones would make,” sighed Fred. “I wish we had had a chance to get a picture of the little ones before the mother hove in sight.”

“Well, you be thankful, Fred, that you didn’t get a sample of her teeth in the calf of your leg,” answered Randy. “If she ever started on a rampage I bet she’d be worse than a wildcat.”

Looking from the cabin, the boys saw that the storm was passing. Here and there the blue sky was showing, and presently the rain stopped falling and they saw a bit of sunshine drift across the water-soaked trees and bushes.

“We might as well be going,” declared Jack. “You know these storms have a way of working around and coming back, and we want to make that hunters’ lodge before night if we possibly can.”

“I’d like to get another look at that old fox,” declared Fred, as he adjusted his roll.

“Nothing doing!” declared Jack. “You leave well enough alone. Don’t you remember that old story about Larry Duncan? He went into a fox’s den and one of the old timers jumped up and just about bit off his nose. You’d look fine with half your nose missing!”

“Oh, come on—I was only fooling,” answered the youngest Rover boy.

In a short while they had left the old cabin and were once more on the road. For over half a mile they had to slosh along through the mud and water, but after that they came to a stony trail where going was considerably better. The stop at the cabin had rested them, and they made good progress during the last two miles of the hike.

“Hurrah! The sun is coming out!” cried Gif presently. “I think we’ve seen the last of that storm.”

Randy and Spouter were in advance and presently they set up a shout as they came in sight of the little hunters’ lodge for which the party was bound. This place belonged to a couple of gentlemen living near Dexter’s Corners and they often allowed the Rovers and others to use it.

When they arrived at the place the boys found the door locked and all the wooden shutters over the windows in place. Jack had the key and they soon opened up. Then while Fred and Andy started the fire on the hearth of the broad stone chimney the others opened the windows and placed the lodge in order generally.

“We’ll have to dry out our clothing first of all,” declared Gif. “It’s lucky we brought extra knickers along in our rolls.”

“Yes, and then I’ll want something to eat!” declared Andy. “Gee, I’m almost hungry enough to chew nails!”

“That’s your reason for hurrying up with the fire, I guess,” grinned Jack. “Well, go to it! The sooner we dry out and get something to eat, the sooner we’ll feel at home.”

The others were getting some of the provisions from their outfits when Fred and Andy, who were coaxing the fire, suddenly let out a yell of alarm.

“What’s the matter with the chimney?”

“Looks to me as if it was on fire!”

“Hi! what’s that?” exclaimed Spouter. “You certainly don’t want to burn this place up!”

There was a strange roaring of flames in the chimney, then, of a sudden, a back draft sent the smoke and the sparks out into the room and into the faces of the boys. They stumbled back wildly, several to the open windows and the others to the doorway.

“I know what’s the matter!” exclaimed Fred. “It’s birds’ nests! They had the same trouble several years ago. Mr. Randolph was telling me about it.”

“Well, what did they do about it?” demanded Jack quickly.

“Got up on the roof and put it out with a couple of pails of water,” was the reply.

“Gee, it’s a wonder the stuff isn’t too wet to burn,” remarked Gif. “We’ve had rain enough.”

“Let’s get water and be quick about it,” came from Jack. “Even if the chimney is a substantial one the sparks may set the roof on fire.”

The hunters’ lodge was comfortably furnished, and the boys had already noted a couple of tin pails in the kitchen pantry.

“I know where the spring is!” cried Fred. “Hurry up!”

“How are we going to get up on the roof?”

“There’s a permanent ladder in the back of the lodge,” was the reply. “And there are foot cleats leading up to the chimney.”

Grabbing up not only the pails but also several pots and a teakettle, the boys rushed after Fred down to where a spring bubbled up between the rocks. Here there was a small pool of cool, clear water which they proceeded to scoop up as rapidly as possible. Then they rushed to the rear of the lodge and Jack was the first to mount the ladder which was nailed beside a rear window. He carried a pail of water in one hand and behind him came Randy with the second pail and Spouter with the teakettle. The boys had worked as quickly as possible, but many precious seconds had been lost and the fire in the chimney was now roaring merrily, the flames shooting several feet above the top and carrying the sparks in all directions.

“My gracious, that roof will catch, as sure as shooting!” gasped Fred. “Just look at those sparks, will you?”

Balancing himself as best he could with the pail of water, Jack mounted the sloping roof of the lodge until he came within a few feet of the chimney. The sparks fell all around him, some even landing on his cap and clothing. Then he let fly with the contents of the pail and more than three-quarters of the water went down into the chimney.

“Hurrah, that’s the way to do it!” came encouragingly from Gif. “Throw the pail down, Jack!”

This was done, and then Randy passed the second pail along and this was followed by the teakettle.

“Go inside and see that the fire doesn’t scatter around the room,” yelled the oldest Rover boy, as the contents of the teakettle followed the second pail of water into the chimney.

Andy did as bidden and at the same time Gif with the two pails hurried off once more to the spring. Inside of the lodge there was a dense smoke and a little trickle of water came from the hearthstone across the floor. This carried with it some ashes and a few bits of wood and straw.

The first supply of water was soon exhausted and by the time a fresh quantity came up from the spring the fire in the chimney was again belching forth, sending out almost as many sparks as ever.

“Lively there, boys! Lively!” yelled Jack, brushing the sparks from his face and hands.

“Here you are!” yelled Gif. “Pass ’em along!” and one pail after another came up.

“The roof is on fire!” screamed Spouter. “Here, give me that teakettle of water!”

Spouter was right. The sparks had set fire to the roof in several places. He crawled forward as well as the slippery condition of the shingles permitted. Then, with the water, he put out one of the blazes and immediately crawled off in the direction of another.

“Be careful there!” cried Gif. “Throw down the pails again and I’ll get more water.”

“Gosh! this is worse than I thought it was going to be,” groaned Randy. “I thought a pail or two of water would put it all out!”

“Hi! Hi! Take care there!” came suddenly from Gif.

He was yelling at Spouter whose left foot had slipped from under him. Then came a yell of fright, and the next moment Spouter dropped the teakettle with a clatter and rolled over and over and shot from the roof of the lodge to the ground below!