16 WILD BROTHER 
not stand still and allow himself to be bitten. No, 
he would surely defend himself like a man, and 
with his axe he would stand the animal off, and 
even kill it if necessary ; and on the menu, if they 
had one, “wild lamb” would be featured. If you 
should examine the dressed carcass, you might 
find a mark that looked suspiciously like a bullet 
hole. Of course deer are not supposed to be killed 
in the winter-time; but a hungry man must pro- 
tect himself from harm, and in those days, nearly 
twenty years ago, deer were very plenty and withal 
very ugly, so ’t was said — by the man who was 
hungry for good red meat. 
Late in the afternoon, when we came into the 
clearing of Gordon’s camp, the place at first seemed 
deserted ; not a soul was in sight. The snow was 
piled high up to the eaves of the log cabins, but a 
thin wisp of blue smoke curling from the top of one 
of the stovepipe chimneys gave evidence that some- 
one was at home; and as I got out of the pung, a 
pleasant thrill of anticipation came over me at the 
thought that I had reached my journey’s end, and 
should soon discover how much truth there was in 
the extraordinary story that at first had found me 
incredulous. 
