In Cowboy Land 293 



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six hours, decided that they would shoulder 

 their packs and leave the valley that after- 

 noon. They were the more ready to do this 

 because in spite of seeing a good deal of game 

 sign they had caught very little fur. How- 

 ever, it was necessary first to go along the 

 line of their traps and gather them, and this 

 they started out to do. 



All the morning they kept together, pick- 

 ing up trap after trap, each one empty. On 

 first leaving camp they had the disagreeable 

 sensation of being followed. In the dense 

 spruce thickets they occasionally heard a 

 branch snap after they had passed; and now 

 and then there were slight rustling noises 

 among the small pines to one side of them. 



At noon they were back within a couple of 

 miles of camp. In the high, bright sunlight 

 their fears seemed absurd to the two armed 

 men, accustomed as they were, through long 

 years of lonely wandering in the wilderness, 

 to face every kind of danger from man, brute, 

 or element. There were still three beaver 

 traps to collect from a little pond in a wide 

 ravine near by. Bauman volunteered to gath- 

 er these and bring them in, while his com- 

 panion went ahead to camp to make ready 

 the packs. 



