66 A WORD TO HUNTERS. 



faster nor a beaver's tail in flood time ! I guess now 

 ef it had been you instead of this child, we'd all on us 

 a heerd tell what ye'd done fast enuff. There's two 

 things," he continued, " a hunter shud never do. One 

 is, to boast o' what he's done ; and t'other is, to stir a 

 yard arter firm' without loadin' his rifle. Them two 

 things gets a fellur into wuss musses than a'most any- 

 thing else leastways in these hyur diggin's." 



Pierre, abashed, said nothing ; nor did he remark on 

 the apparent inconsistency of the old hunter's conduct 

 in condemning boasting, when in fact the one thing 

 Jake did best was boasting if we except shooting, of 

 which he certainly was a master. 



While the moose steaks hissed on the embers, and 

 were swiftly vanishing before the lusty appetites of the 

 party, old Jake employed his oracular mouth in the 

 intervals of eating with an account of the following 

 adventure. 



