LE LONG DU SENTIER 



it ever occurred to him. In more years 

 of going into the woods than one cares to 

 acknowledge, where ammunition, flies, 

 tools, and many little things of value are 

 left lying about, I have never known the 

 most trivial article to disappear. Even 

 the open bottle of whiskey in the corner 

 of the tent is sacred. 



Following the course of his duty, a 

 government guardian found himself 

 obliged to kill a score of beaver that 

 could not be dissuaded from building 

 dams where they interfered with the 

 passage of trout. Beyond question he 

 was entitled to the skins as his own pro- 

 perty, and to the eighty dollars which 

 they brought when sold. This was B 

 man with many demands upon him, and 

 knowing what good use he had for the 

 money, I expressed satisfaction that the 

 little windfall had come his way. Hesi- 

 tation in his reply led to further ques- 

 tions, but the matter had to be pressed, 

 almost to the point of rudeness, before 



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