156 Trails to Woods and Waters 



of an owl or the barking of a fox had died 

 away and we had only the soft sighing of the 

 wind in the pines, and the murmur of the 

 water, the wilderness seemed like some en- 

 chanted land upon which there had been laid 

 a spell of silence, deep and abiding. 



The heavens were so studded with stars 

 that it seemed as though there was not room 

 for another, while the milky-way glowed 

 white and luminous. The Hunter's Moon 

 was at its full and flooded the distant vistas 

 of the forest with a light almost as bright as 

 day. Every star in heaven and the great lu- 

 minous moon were reflected in the lake, which 

 shimmered and sparkled almost phosphores- 

 cently. It was a scene to make one draw 

 long deep breaths, and the pulse to beat fast 

 and strong. 



Some distance upstream, probably a mile 

 away, we heard a tree fall with a thundering 

 crash, which echoed across the lake again and 

 again. From the sound we knew that a tree 

 not less than two feet had been laid low. 



We had concluded that the energies of the 



