A NIGHT IN THE SNOW. 283 



exhausted, and it took the doctor and Dyche half an 

 hour to bring him around to his normal condition. 

 A pint of coffee and a warm supper, however, helped 

 materially. The judge had been thoroughly be- 

 wildered in the storm and lost all bearings. He 

 had become separated from Jim and did not know 

 where the latter was. The continued absence of 

 the hunter caused much uneasiness, and signal- 

 shots were fired until long after midnight with 

 no response from the guide. Morning dawned upon 

 an uneasy trio. Jim had not returned, and it was 

 now feared that he might be lying somewhere out on 

 the bleak mountain badly hurt. 



The doctor and Dyche were just preparing to make 

 a search of the mountains when Jim arrived, too 

 tired to talk. He presented a most woe-begone ap- 

 pearance and was completely worn out with the ex- 

 ertions of the previous night. He was so far gone 

 that his face had assumed a deep copper colour and 

 his hands trembled from the strain. A cup of hot 

 coffee, dry stockings and shoes, and careful attention 

 revived him somewhat, and then the doctor said it 

 would be safe to feed him. Jim had been fasting for 

 twenty-four hours, and he soon showed that his ex- 

 haustion did not extend to his appetite. Hot coffee, 

 warm biscuit, and venison soon refreshed him and 

 he was ready to tell the story of his night's adven- 

 tures. 



"Nobody knows where I stayed last night," he 

 said. " I must have travelled over a hundred miles. 

 I kept going as long as I could hold out and then 

 made a fire and sat up with my back to a tree until 



