nearly midnight
Willy slept near it in a lean-to down near the river . For several nights nothing occurred to indicate that there was anyone within miles of the camp . By day Willy hunted , often not coming in until after dark . It was on a Saturday night , however , that Willy failed to reach camp until nearly midnight . On his back he bore the carcass of a young deer that he had shot and dressed miles from the Overland headquarters on the bank of the Little Big Branch . He was nearly in when suddenly he raised his body to an erect position , listened for a few seconds , then dropped his burden and sprinted for home . The Overlanders long since had turned in and the lumberjacks were in their bunks , comfortable , and as happy as a lumberjack permits himself to be , when suddenly their bunk-house seemed to be lifted free of the ground .