166 WAKE-ROBIN 
to the southeast, still intervened between us and 
the lake. We were about five miles, as the water 
runs, from the point of starting, and over two from 
the lake. We must go directly back to the top of 
the range where the guide had left us, and then, by 
keeping well to the left, we would soon come to a 
line of marked trees, which would lead us to the 
lake. So, turning upon our trail, we doggedly be- 
gan the work of undoing what we had just done, — 
in all cases a disagreeable task, in this case a very 
laborious one also. It was after sunset when we 
turned back, and before we had got half way up 
the mountain it began to be quite dark. We were 
often obliged to rest our packs against trees and take 
breath, which made our progress slow. Finally a 
halt was called, beside an immense flat rock which 
had paused in its slide down the mountain, and we 
prepared to encamp for the night. A fire was built, 
the rock cleared off, a small ration of bread served 
out, our accoutrements hung up out of the way of 
the hedgehogs that were supposed to infest the 
locality, and then we disposed ourselves for sleep. 
If the owls or porcupines (and I think I heard one 
of the latter in the middle of the night) reconnoitred 
our camp, they saw a buffalo robe spread upon a 
rock, with three old felt hats arranged on one side, 
and three pairs of sorry-looking cowhide boots pro- 
truding from the other. 
When we lay down, there was apparently not a, 
mosquito in the woods; but the “no-see-ems,” as| 
Thoreau’s Indian aptly named the midges, soon | 
