216 A SPORTSMAN'S EDEN.' 



frozen moss and leaves, or broke with a sharp 

 crunch through some thin crust of ice. Yester- 

 day there was no snow at all in many places, so 

 that tracking for any considerable distance was out 

 of the question. Up till this morning no luck has 

 befallen us in our moose-hunting, though we have 

 worked steadily from dawn to dusk for four days. 



The morning of this, the fifth day, is breaking, 

 and the corner of my buffalo robe has got up. 



There is no doubt about that, for the morning 

 air, keen as a wolf's tooth, has got in and set me 

 shivering. 



A soft footfall stealing about the shanty mixes 

 somehow with my waking dreams ; by-and-by a 

 thin flame flickers up from the hearth, and a bevy 

 of red sparks rushes up through the great chimney 

 into the gray sky. 



A change has come since yesterday. The sky 

 has lost its crystalline quality, and when a minute 

 later Jocko opens the door and goes out with the 

 chopper, a glimpse through the open doorway 

 confirms my waking impression that something 

 has happened in the night. There is no longer 

 that crispness of light and sound which was the 

 bane and the beauty of yesterday. 



The friendly red flame flickers up again, and, 

 encouraged by it, I slip out and stand for a 

 minute, bare-footed and shivering, by the hearth. 



