A DEAD-WATER VIGIL 175 



early mornings wading and drinking and nibbling his 

 breakfast from the tops and stems of the lily-pads. 

 Here, too, the deer gluts his or her appetite, but con- 

 fines it to the tender shoots and leaves of the hazel 

 and alder bushes. 



Hence it is that the " dead-water " has a magnetic 

 hold on the hunter. The top-notch of his ambition 

 and desire is to catch the glimpse of a bull-moose 

 wading the stream and indulging here in his lily-pad 

 breakfast. Then, if the glimpse be long enough to 

 allow the " sport " to cock his rifle and bring it to his 

 shoulder, the bull will probably finish his breakfast ; 

 although the " finish " may not be over-pleasant to his 

 antlered majesty. 



Some four miles from Lake Nictau — the source of 

 the Tobique River — lies a favorite resort for game. 

 A spotted trail leads to it, running over two or three 

 good-sized ridges and in the most erratic fashion. I 

 have made at least a dozen trips over that trail and 

 therefore am familiar enough with it to know of what 

 I speak. Who the man is, or was, that " spotted " the 

 trail I am not prepared to say, but I do say that the 

 crooked, crab-like manner in which it climbs up and 

 down and over those ridges is strongly suggestive of 

 one thing — and it relates to the man himself. Before 

 taking up his little ax and starting on his spotting 

 task he must have gone to Sir John Barleycorn for 

 instructions. 



