IN THE NORTH WOODS 57 



ears. He promptly slapped, and then kept on slap- 

 ping. The singer was the advance guard of an in- 

 numerable host. All of the tribe between Paul 

 Smith's and Lowville had evidently gathered to the 

 feast. To make a bad matter the worst possible, 

 the quarters were exceedingly cramped. One 

 could not well roll over without rolling from under 

 the canoe. The omnipresent root was persistently 

 punching the Preacher's ribs. To lift his suffer- 

 ings to the nth power, that guide went to sleep 

 and actually snored. It would have been a satis- 

 faction to have companionship in suffering, but 

 now this was denied him. Was it only four hours ? 

 It seemed like four eternities before the guide de- 

 cided that they ought to start for the cabin. The 

 storm had passed, but every bush showered quarts 

 of water at the slightest touch. Just where the 

 advantage lies in keeping dry from the storm, only 

 to get soaked to the skin from tramping through 

 miles of wet underbrush, is not yet quite clear. 

 At two o'clock in the morning the cabin was 

 reached, sans trout, sans deer, but not sans mos- 

 quito bites or a thorough drenching. 



What a day that was which the Doctor and the 

 Preacher spent on the East Fork ! The lake is fed 

 by two streams, one flowing in from the southeast 

 and the other from the southwest. By a trail the 

 eastern branch could be struck well up towards its 

 source, and from this point down to the lake fur- 

 nished just about the right distance for a day's fish- 



