32 November Knowledge of the Forest. 



that his ignorance of the Val Ste. Veronique had been 

 affected, probably to shield himself from the suspicion 

 of poaching on my estate. The truth was that the 

 whole of the forest was known to this man, and proba- 

 bly to him only. He could find his way through its 

 intricate hills and valleys by day or night, in fog or 

 sunshine ; he needed no mariner's compass, but went 

 about guided by the marvellous instinct of locality. 

 His talk about the forest interested us exceedingly, and 

 he offered to guide us if ever we felt disposed to pur- 

 sue our explorations. It was an offer not to be rejected 

 for the future, but for the time being we felt more dis- 

 posed to return homewards with our relieving party. 

 After a rest of three hours at the Weasel's cabin, we 

 set off on our long march, and arrived at home before 

 nightfall. The principal result of our adventure was a 

 feeling of the awfulness of the forest, which was par- 

 tially diminished by subsequent familiarity, but never 

 quite effaced. We never set out on any excursion 

 afterwards without a mariner's compass and a small 

 supply of provisions. 



