BIG MOOSE OF LITTLE TOBIQUE 121 



welcome soand of splashing. They were there ! But 

 now the most difficult part of our journey lay before 

 us — the entrance to the cedar point, and through the 

 cedar swamp. There were two paths ; one by way of 

 the cove and the other in which we would follow the 

 footsteps of our moose No. 3. We took the latter, 

 thinking that all three animals would likely be to- 

 gether in the cove. I led the way, pointing the light 

 to the ground. The guide followed, both of us tread- 

 ing carefully and shying away from every dead twig. 

 We could not have trod with more circumspection 

 had the road been paved with dynamite. Three old, 

 dead trees lay in our path. They were without bark 

 and 80 slippery with rain that both of us thought it 

 safer to get over them on our hands and knees. Then 

 came the soft strip of gray mud; then a couple of 

 rotten and moss-covered spruce logs ; and then the 

 clump of cedars. To get inside of the dense cover of 

 the latter we were again forced to resort to our 

 hands and knees, and so crawled into our lair. The 

 day had not yet broke and the darkness was impene- 

 trable. There was but one thing to do — or rather 

 two things — ^wait and listen. We felt sure that if 

 the moose would remain till dawn our victory was 

 certain. And thus in the darkness, waiting and 

 listening, we passed the anxious minutes, hoping and 

 praying for the dawn. It came at last, yet when it 

 did, and I looked into the cove, my eyes as yet saw 



