WHERE THE WAYS DIVIDE 231 



abidint^-place ; and in such density stalking would 

 be a matter of difficulty. 



Then the weather broke, and the rain fell in a 

 continuous downpour, which was the precursor of 

 a furious storm which raged all night. As the 

 tearing wind whistled through the forest, the 

 chances of the moose escaping being flattened out 

 by some tree going down before the wrath of the 

 tempest were not worth much. All around them 

 the branches crashed to the earth, and the roar 

 overhead sounded like a river in spate. 



With the morning the gale passed, and a glorious 

 day was sandwiched in ere the wilderness people 

 returned to the winter of their discontent. To 

 emerge from one rain to enter another 1 Well, 

 'twas the way things went. 



The pale sun reappeared at last, after a long 

 seclusion. Never had old Sol a warmer welcome. 

 All nature aired herself. 



The moose were lying ruminating happily in the 

 late morning below the wind of the game-trail, 

 when a sudden snap alarmed them. It was such 

 an ominously sounding snap, unexpectedly un- 

 controllable, almost as though its maker had sur- 

 prised himself. 



