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 JPeguam 



full and was now minded to lie down for a 

 long sleep, and, like a bear seeking a winter 

 den after the telltale snow has fallen, was 

 making a cunning trail to deceive and mis- 

 lead any that might try to find him. This 

 was my own explanation and good enough for 

 the moment; but later Newell gave a very 

 different reason for the crooked trail we 

 were following. 



Again and again the trail doubled on 

 itself where Pequam came back for a dis- 

 tance, stepping in his own footprints, and 

 then leaped away in a great side jump into 

 some thick cover where his new tracks were 

 hidden. Newell, who was watching for such 

 things, generally saw the trick and turned 

 aside ; but more than once he was deceived, 

 and we went on to find the trail ending 

 abruptly with a single footprint in the snow. 

 Then we would turn back and hunt on 

 either side till we picked up the trail again. 



Twice the tracks ended at the foot of a 

 great tree where Pequam had climbed and 

 ran among the branches overhead ; and then 

 we had to circle widely to find where he 



*.;" 



j 



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