A TREACHEROUS COWARD 217 



doctor, two of the Indians started to paddle their way 

 across Lake St. John, and on as dark and stormy a 

 night as ever shrouded its bosom. As soon as they left 

 I set the other two Indians to work heating spruce 

 boughs on a little sheet-iron stove, and placing them, 

 hot as possible, under my back. But the treatment 

 had little or no effect. The contraction of my lumbar 

 muscles continued to increase and in a little while I 

 was entirely unable to move. 



They say " Necessity is the mother of invention," 

 and in the stress of mine I directed the Indians to tie 

 a long towel to the centre-pole of the tent ; then, when 

 the lumbago twinges would become unbearable in one 

 position of my body, I would seize the end of the towel 

 and pull myself around into another. 



And so the night went by, the minutes dragging 

 themselves slowly into hours. To pass the time and 

 make its moments a little less painful, I had tried va- 

 rious devices with the hope of diverting my mind from 

 the lumbago. At one time I set my brain to guessing 

 at the number of flocks and the variety of water-fowls 

 that were flying on their way southward. But they 

 came so close together and passed so swiftly, that all 

 my guessing didn't amount to much. 



The end of this to me eventful night, came at 

 last. The morning dawned fair and bright and saw 

 me still lying upon my back and suffering with an 

 agony that seemed to be piling itself up with each 



