168 THE MOOSE 



Suddenly a prodigious commotion disturbed the 

 drowsy moose. The cow, panic - stricken, was 

 strugghng violently, miring herself deeper with 

 every frantic plunge. She was alarmed to find 

 that her hoofs, seeking the frozen bottom, found 

 nothing but a treacherous marshy substance which 

 gave no foothold. Last year the beds of the tundra 

 pools were firm as any to be found in the lakes and 

 rivers. She was sinking deeper and deeper into 

 the morass each instant. 



The bull sniffed the air and backed away, not 

 attempting to investigate the catastrophe. This 

 was a bush pitfall of which he knew nothing. 



Was ever so beautiful a scene 1 On the one side 

 the brown of the far-reaching tundra, dotted with 

 the soft gold of flowers, on the other the torrent 

 singing its insistent song, backed by white vest- 

 ments of mist enveloping the shadowy groins of 

 the sweep of mountains. 



His near presence incited the cow to frenzies of 

 endeavour, but every fresh attempt to extricate 

 herself landed her lower in the mire. She groaned 

 and grunted piteously, and once Moosewa answered 

 in a weak voice he scarce recognized as his own. 

 His breath came quicker. The very air seemed 



