98 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



food. The guides knew him by reputation, and 

 welcomed the chance of hearing a yarn from him ; 

 for if he was in one of his silent moods no one 

 could get anything out of him at all. 



" Well, gents," said the elder of the two guides 

 when we had finished supper that night, " your 

 Indian says this frost ain't set in for good, and I 

 guess he ought to know. But it looks like we 

 were going to be stuck up in this old shanty in 

 the middle of a cranberry swamp for some days 

 with nothing to do but chop wood. I and my 

 partner are taking these two gents in to try and 

 get a moose. It's a kind of new job for us. I 

 was sent in a couple of months ago to report upon 

 a patch of likely looking timber, and my partner 

 here to look at a place where some durned fool 

 thought he had found gold. Now we are after 

 moose and caribou. We go into these cursed 

 swamps and woods for business. The gents 

 go for pleasure. Now I don't suppose our 

 business experiences would interest you, but 

 if you, sir " (turning to Willie), " would tell us 

 what took you in for pleasure, and where the 

 pleasure comes in, why, if agreeable to you it 

 would be agreeable to me and my partner, and it 

 would be interesting I am sure to these two gents, 



