Trail and Camp-Fire 



In single file we advanced — Pierre ahead, 

 then I, George next, and Peter bringing up 

 the rear — and as we neared the mouth of the 

 bay the great expanse of white opened before 

 us ; we saw that its farther shores were thickly 

 wooded and the hills not very high to the 

 east, for the lake lies well up at their tops. 

 In front of us was an island, five hundred 

 yards away ; to the north, others. They were 

 rocky, fringed with cedar, and above these, 

 again, were the birch and pine. 



Further examination of the scenery was cut 

 short ; for as we reached the open and turned 

 northward along the western shore, Pierre 

 Joseph and I, who were somewhat ahead of 

 the others, saw what brought us to a halt, 

 namely, fresh tracks. They led across our 

 path straight for the nearest island. The 

 caribou were not long gone, and we instinct- 

 ively lowered our voices to a whisper as we 

 discussed the probability of their being behind 

 the island. But no ; as I looked ahead again 

 I saw another line across the snow. We ad- 

 vanced ; these tracks led back from the island 

 to the shore, and were so fresh that at the 

 bottom of each deep hoof-print the water 

 which overlay the ice under the heavy snow 



144 



