THE ALM HUTTE. 135 



the man, crying out, 'You rascal of a forester, lay down 

 your rifle, or I'll send a ball through your body/ ' 



t And did he?" 



" Of course he did not," replied Max ; " Ignace is a 

 young fellow, only seventeen years old, but he sprang 

 behind a tree and levelled his rifle. The man ran off, 

 and Ignace vows that, if he had not, he would have 

 shot him on the spot." 



And now we talked of old times, when game was 

 plentiful on the mountains, of the chamois that had 

 been shot, and by whom and where, and of those 

 matters which to some appear trifling, but which to 

 the hunter are full of interest. We chatted on so long 

 and earnestly that we let the fire get low, and our 

 faces looked almost spectral as the glowing embers 

 threw a faint light upon them. But we flung on 

 more wood, and soon fanned the heap into a cheerful 

 blaze. 



" Let us boil another pipkin-full of water, Maxl," 

 said I ; " a little more of what you find so capital, 

 and then to bed." 



He had still many a question to ask, for I had told 

 him about the herds of game in America, and it had 

 set his imagination on fire. How much he would 

 like to go there ! but then the water ! Water he did 

 not like, and he asked how long, in crossing, he would 

 have to be upon it. 



"But what makes you dislike it?" I inquired. 



" Once, you know, I was stationed at the Konigs 

 See, and in going over the lake in winter when 



