WHILE On THE Way To Camp: 19 

or shine.” The showers are coming on as frequent as in the 
month of April, yet it runs off without enough wetting to do 
any damage or greatly annoy us. The spaniel retriever 
lying snugly covered, warm and dry, upon our feet, often 
expresses his gratitude by a comfortable yawn, as’ he is 
awakened now and then by an extra bounce of the springs. 
The ponies are just now getting a most thorough wetting, 
taking a bath that will clean them more thoroughly than 
human hands. They carry their heads as if not so highly 
elated as when starting in the morning, yet with a quiet resig- 
nation that suggests to us, they know it is all right, and not 
any imposition we would willingly have imposed upon them. 
At last as we are at our stopping-place for the night, the 
rain ceases entirely, the wind puffs around from another 
quarter, and the sun shows his bright face just before saying 
good-night, promising to be our company in the morning. 
As a new morning’s light is gradually dispelling the gloom, 
it is soon beginning to show us a faint line of woodland in 
the east which seems growing away up to the skies; and the 
first little silver ray from the sun that peeps in at our chamber 
window, finds us up and soon all ready for the hot steaming 
coffee which perhaps has awakened us. 
Leaving our supplies to be sent into camp late in the day 
over the old forest road, we shoulder our knapsacks, pick up 
our rifles, and followed by the now perfectly happy spaniel, 
step out briskly through the frosty air for the entrance to the 
wildwood, much preferring to walk the few miles on such a 
fine bracing morning. The sun, true to its promise, is just 
raising its cheerful face over the eastern hills, and the heavy 
frost first changes to water, then is soon drank up by its 
warm rays as it shines down upon us from over the tree tops. 
