1 6 WILD BROTHER 



not stand still and allow himself to be bitten. No, 

 he would surely defend himself like a man, and 

 with his axe he would stand the animal off, and 

 even kill it if necessary ; and on the menu, if they 

 had one, "wild lamb*' would be featured. If you 

 should examine the dressed carcass, you might 

 find a mark that looked suspiciously like a bullet 

 hole. Of course deer are not supposed to be killed 

 in the winter-time ; but a hungry man must pro- 

 tect himself from harm, and in those days, nearly 

 twenty years ago, deer were very plenty and withal 

 very ugly, so 't was said by the man who was 

 hungry for good red meat. 



Late in the afternoon, when we came into the 

 clearing of Gordon's camp, the place at first seemed 

 deserted; not a soul was in sight. The snow was 

 piled high up to the eaves of the log cabins, but a 

 thin wisp of blue smoke curling from the top of one 

 of the stovepipe chimneys gave evidence that some- 

 one was at home ; and as I got out of the pung, a 

 pleasant thrill of anticipation came over me at the 

 thought that I had reached my journey's end, and 

 should soon discover how much truth there was in 

 the extraordinary story that at first had found me 

 incredulous. 



