A DEAD-WATER VIGIL 175 



early mornings wading and drinking and nibbling his 

 breakfast from the tops and stems of the lily-pads. 

 Here, too, the deer gluts his or her appetite, but con- 

 fines it to the tender shoots and leaves of the hazel 

 and alder bushes. 



Hence it is that the " dead-water " has a magnetic 

 hold on the hunter. The top-notch of his ambition 

 and desire is to catch the glimpse of a bull-moose 

 wading the stream and indulging here in his lily -pad 

 breakfast. Then, if the glimpse be long enough to 

 allow the " sport " to cock his rifle and bring it to his 

 shoulder, the bull will probably finish his breakfast ; 

 although the " finish " may not be over-pleasant to his 

 antlered majesty. 



Some four miles from Lake Nictau the source of 

 the Tobique River lies a favorite resort for game. 

 A spotted trail leads to it, running over two or three 

 good-sized ridges and in the most erratic fashion. I 

 have made at least a dozen trips over that trail and 

 therefore am familiar enough with it to know of what 

 I speak. Who the man is, or was, that " spotted " the 

 trail I am not prepared to say, but I do say that the 

 crooked, crab-like manner in which it climbs up and 

 down and over those ridges is strongly suggestive of 

 one thing and it relates to the man himself. Before 

 taking up his little ax and starting on his spotting 

 task he must have gone to Sir John Barleycorn for 

 instructions. 



