AN ANGRY MAN. 43 



who steered, directed the canoe to the nearest bank, 

 and taking up his rifle he stepped ashore and plunged 

 into the woods. 



For some time the young hunter walked swiftly for- 

 ward, very much incensed against his companions, and 

 taking note neither of the declining sun nor of the 

 direction in which he was going. 



Descending a thickly wooded glen, he presently 

 found himself in a natural basin some hundred yards 

 across, quite free of timber, and covered with a thick 

 growth of rich succulent grass. Through the serried 

 summits of the pines on the western bank of this de- 

 pression the golden beams of the setting sun found 

 their way, and fell on a mossy knoll beneath the 

 branches of a maple. Here Pierre threw himself on 

 the ground, and mused on the vexations to which he 

 had been subjected. 



With his reflections I do not propose to trouble my 

 readers, nor am I anxious to fix the proportions in 

 which the sweet and the bitter were mingled. After 

 lying nearly motionless for more than an hour, Pierre 

 at length rose and looked around. The sun had set 

 and twilight had fallen. The edges of the woods 

 looked dim and dark, and here and there a gray trunk 

 stood out, relieved against the mysterious shade of the 

 forest behind. 



A sudden snapping of twigs caught the hunter's ear, 

 and quietly cocking his rifle he glanced in the direction 

 of the sound. At first nothing was visible ; but soon 



