62 A Hunt for the Pyxie 



the wilderness was overfull. Bewildering 

 multitudes are more to be feared than possi- 

 ble dangers. There is no escape from the 

 former. Not a tree or bush, not a bird or 

 blossom, but to-day offered excellent reason 

 why with them we should spend our time ; 

 and how often they all spoke at once ! 



Except the ceaseless rattle of small frogs, 

 there was no sound, for that sad sighing of the 

 tall pines seems but the rhythmic breathing 

 of silence ; or, passing from the wet grounds 

 to the higher, drier, and more barren trails, 

 we heard only the crisp crackling of the 

 reindeer-moss we crushed at every step. 

 Although 



" It is the bright day that brings forth the adder, 

 And that craves wary walking," 



we gave no thought to possible danger, for 

 rattlesnakes are still to be found. Not even 

 when we stooped to pick the bright berries 

 of winter-green did we think of a coiled ser- 

 pent buried in dead leaves ; and what oppor- 

 tunity for murder the serpent had as we 

 buried our faces in pillows of pink and pearly 

 arbutus ! 



At last we reached South River (in South- 



