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Rh all rivers look pretty much alike up here."

"We might as well go down to it, anyway," answered his brother. "It's pretty cold up here."

Finding a break in the cliff they descended, and started through the woods for the watercourse. It was indeed cold, and only their brisk walking kept them warm. A stiff wind was rising, and overhead the branches swayed mournfully.

When they reached the river they came to another halt, not knowing which was up and which was down.

"Guess we had better chop a hole in the ice and see how the water is flowing," suggested Sam.

"Let us walk in this direction," said Tom. "I think this is right, and, anyway, we may soon come to an air-hole, which will save us the trouble of cutting an opening."

As they advanced they had kept a sharp look out for the Baxter crowd, but so far none of their enemies had put in an appearance.

"Hurrah!" suddenly shouted Tom. "Here's a signal of some sort!"

He pointed ahead, to where Dick and John Barrow had planted their first signal pole. Both made a rush forward, and soon had the cooked meat which had been tied in a cloth and the note pinned on the outside.