92 In the Canadian Forests v 



worthy of his horn — but he came not. I fancy 

 myself that we overdid this part of the affair, that 

 we made ourselves out to be rather too terrible 

 a fellow ; at any rate, he elected to retire for 

 strategical purposes, and declined the partie. Ah ! 

 what a thing swagger is in this world ! If he had 

 only known how frightened we were ! In the midst 

 of our most defiant challenge Noel clutched my 

 elbow, " 'Spose he come, you shoot ? " To which I 

 replied, in the laconics of the Dials, " You bet ! " not, 

 however, without a lurking suspicion that there 

 might be a slight uncertainty of aim if the mighty 

 one did come crashing down at us in the moonlight. 



' As neither love nor war suited our friend, 

 our hand was played out, and, reckless of the 

 consequences, we lighted a little fire, so small 

 that you might have put it into a breakfast 

 cup, and heated a little drop of tea, and then 

 wended our way campward, cold, stiff, and dis- 

 consolate, in the dawning. What a cowardly brute 

 a bull moose must be to feel afraid of a doctor, not 

 even in his professional capacity, and a dirty rogue 

 of an Indian with strings on his pantaloons where 

 the buttons ought to be ! 



'"Wh-e-ww!" What a soft, low, thrush- like 

 whistle to the left of me ! Trained so well long 

 ago in dear old Sutherland to drop to the faintest 

 whisper, I settle down silently into the bog, which 

 receives with a clammy, chill embrace, and gently, 

 ever so gently, turn my head to catch the direction 



