LITTLE BULL OF THE BARRENS 187 



their tongues hanging out, and eyed the ram- 

 part of horned fronts evilly, while the others 

 stood with their heads together, or prowled 

 restlessly back and forth. They might, in- 

 deed, with the vast leaping power of their 

 long legs and muscular haunches, have sprung 

 clear over the line of defence, and gained 

 in two seconds the helpless calves in the 

 centre; but they knew what that would 

 mean. The herd would turn in upon them 

 in a blind, uncalculating fury and trample 

 them underfoot. For the moment, there- 

 fore, they hung wavering in irresolution, 

 looking for a sign from the leader of the 

 pack. 



In the meantime the man had found his 

 valley hollow and the shelter of the expected 

 colony of dwarf firs. Here the snow lay soft 

 and undrifted. In a recess of the fir thicket 

 he trod it down with his snow-shoes, and 

 made haste to build himself a little fire of 

 dead sticks. Above his head, above the 

 shrouded fir-tops, above the rim of the hol- 

 low, the storm drove by unabated ; but the 

 snowflakes that escaped from the tumult to 

 filter down into this retreat were too light 

 and fine and dry to interfere with the fire. 

 In two or three minutes the flames were 

 crackling up clear and free, with little spit- 



