408 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



hours. The thicket was dense and although I 

 heard the great creatures several times I only saw 

 one, but he was within a few yards. Yet I had 

 no chance with the camera and it was fortunate 

 I had no rifle since the creature was so hidden be- 

 hind the brush that I couldn't have found a vital 

 part to aim at. 



While we were hunting, the temperature came 

 down with a run, dense clouds darkened the sky, 

 and a violent snow squall was soon in full blast. 

 We reached our rendezvous almost together only 

 to find that Bay Billy had untied Gambler and 

 that both had decamped. We found afterwards 

 that Bay Billy made a specialty of untying knots 

 with his teeth. In the blinding snow there was 

 no trail to follow and it was long after dark when 

 we caught the light of the camp-fire, guided 

 thereto by the shots of Mackenzie, who was pre- 

 paring to go in search of us when he heard the 

 report of Ned's rifle, fired in response to the 

 guide's signal. 



Mackenzie's alarm at the storm was serious. 

 He told us that it was a year almost to a day since 



