Next morning they were out with the earliest of the punchers. After breakfast, packs were made up and lashed with firm hitches thrown about them. Then bidding good-bye to their hosts and shaking hands all around, the Overland Riders set out for their long journey over the mountains--a journey that would occupy some weeks and be filled with exciting as well as enjoyable experiences.
The air was becoming chilly, the Overland Riders now being at an altitude of nearly eight thousand feet, and still upward bound.
A week had elapsed since they left the "Lazy J" ranch, and during all that time they had sighted no game except some grouse that they had shot at but failed to bring down. Provisions were at a low ebb and all knew that they were nearly face to face with a serious situation.
Hippy Wingate was pondering deeply when they pulled up for luncheon one noon. He was wondering what he was going to give his party for supper, for Hippy was the official game-hunter of the Overland party, and they had come to rely on his resourcefulness to provide food for them. Stacy Brown was even more deeply interested in this matter than was "Uncle Hip," but for a somewhat different reason.
"What do we eat to-day?" he asked in a tone that he tried to make sound light-hearted.
"Oh, it's not because I'm hungry," hastily explained Chunky. "I just wanted to know so as not to have to open all the packs unless we are going to have a spread."
"Ours is more likely to be a snack than a spread," suggested Grace laughingly.
"What is it going to be, Hippy?" questioned Nora.
"I reckon that will be about it if I don't see some game to shoot at," replied Hippy a little soberly.
"Raisins and hard tack for a man with an appetite like mine," groaned Stacy. "You might as well feed a bricklayer on angel food and expect him to smack his lips and pat his stomach with heavenly satisfaction. This is too much, and too much is enough."
"If you folks will camp here I will go out and see if I cannot scare up some game," suggested Hippy.
"I do not believe you will find anything worth while at this altitude," said Tom Gray. "It is a condition that I have feared we should meet. I--"
"You no savvy game?" interjected the Chinaman.