250 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



They were east of us and were heading for the north side of a 

 long, narrow island. As soon as they passed behind it, Oo- 

 koo-hoo hurried across the intervening space, and ran along the 

 southern shore to head them off. The eastern end of the island 

 dwindled into a long point and it was there that The Owl hoped 

 to get a shot. Sure enough he did, for he arrived there ahead 

 of the deer. Though he had lost sight of them, he knew they 

 were neeiring him, for he could hear the crunching sound of 

 their hoofs in the frosty snow, and later he could even hear that 

 strange clicking sound caused by the muscular action of the 

 hoofs in walking — a sound peculiar to caribou. 



Oo-koo-hoo cautiously went down on one knee and there 

 waited with his gun cocked and in position. The air was 

 scarcely moving. Now antlered heads appeared beyond the 

 openings between the snow-mantled trees. The hunter, taking 

 aim, addressed them: 



" My brothers, I need your . . ." Then the violent report 

 of his gun shattered the stillness, and the leader, a doe, lunged 

 forward a few paces, staggered upon trembhng legs, and then 

 sank down into the brilliantly sunny snow. But before Oo-koo- 

 hoo could re-load for a second shot the rest of the httle band 

 passed out of range, and, with their high-stepping, hackney ac- 

 tion, soon passed out of sight. So, later on, with our sled again 

 heavily loaded, and with packs of meat upon our backs, we set 

 out for home. 



THE MAN WHO HIBERNATED 



Next morning, soon after sunrise, while I was breaking trail 

 across a lake, I espied a log house in a little clearing beside a 

 large beaver meadow. As it was about the time we usually 

 stopped for our second breakfast, I turned in the direction of 

 the lonely abode. It was a small, well-built house, and with the 

 exception of the spaces at the two windows and the door, was 



