I06 THE SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE; 



this place, or near It, and await the return of our guide. 

 The dinner being finished we again started forward, after 

 having spent about an hour and a half at the hotel. We 

 camped this night in the woods near the roadside, about 

 one mile from the hotel at Spence where we had dined, and 

 about five miles from the village of Maganetawan, while 

 our tent was now standing within forty rods of Ahmic Lake. 



The young man who has already been mentioned as 

 having reported to me on the return of the messenger 

 whom I had sent for the captain, after my arrival at Spence, 

 was now with us. He had brought with him from the cap- 

 tain's cabin an axe, which is so necessary in a hunter's 

 camp. Five rrtinutes after our arrival on the ground where 

 we had determined to camp, it was plainly evident to me 

 that my new-made friend was not a novice at this sort of 

 work. He knew exactly what was necessary to be done, 

 and was not slow in giving assistance. It required but a 

 few minutes to erect our tent and make all the needed 

 preparations for the night ; but this had scarcely been com- 

 pleted when the rain commenced to fall, although the sky 

 had been cloudless when we arrived at the hotel in Spence. 

 The young man proposed to bring us our suppers from the 

 captain's cabin, but this was deemed unnecessary by the 

 whole party, inasmuch as we had partaken of our dinner at 

 a late hour. 



The first night under the canvas was spent very com- 

 fortably, while a bright fire burned in front of our open tent 

 until lonof after midniofht. Notwithstandinof the fact that a 

 heavy rain-storm had set in, we remained perfectly dry and 

 serenely happy. 



