124 A Winter-Night's Outing 



It did not go out at the critical moment, but 

 started ablaze the few twigs we hastily 

 gathered, and so saved us from freezing. As 

 we dried our clothes and warmed our be- 

 numbed bodies, I, for one, vowed never 

 again to chase an owl on skates, but to go at 

 it more soberly. From that eventful night 

 the country has been attradlive by reason of 

 its wild life. It was there I became — if 

 indeed I ever have become — a naturalist. 



