A CHBISTMAS JAUNT 



Thomas Louis, of onslaughts upon the 

 ubiquitous beaver; and with Victor, 

 aged fourteen, of his first caribou just 

 accounted for very neatly at "cent et un 

 verges, monsieur." 



Pommereau, and Coq the indefatig- 

 able, turned homeward to make a stage 

 of their thirty-mile drive before night- 

 fall, and a little later, overcoming with 

 difficulty most pressing invitations to 

 linger, we departed for Baie St. Paul 

 under a shower of good wishes for the 

 New Year. Antonio with his spirited 

 horse convoyed us, and the last nine 

 miles were all too short, for the air was 

 still, though sharp with frost, and the 

 naked winter moon hung over the valley 

 flooding it with white light to the sil- 

 vered summits of the hills. 



The inn-keeper at Baie St. Paul had 

 fought in South Africa, but his little 

 daughter was never further afield than 

 Les Eboulements, and had no yearning 

 to broaden her knowledge of the world. 



15 221 



