were new an' soft an' I were losin' ground an' gettin' winded an'
'twere lookin' like un's goin' t' cotch me sure. All t' onct I see a
place where the snow's drifted up three fathoms deep agin a ledge an'
even wi' th' top of un. I makes for un an' runs right over th' upper
side an' th' bear he comes too, but he has no racquets and th' snow's
soft, bein' fresh drift an' down he goes sinkin' most out o' sight an'
th' more un wallers th' worse off un is."

"An' what does you do?" asks Bob.

"What does I do? I stops an' laughs at un a bit. Then I lashes my
sheath knife on th' end o' a pole spear-like, an' sticks th' bear back
o' th' fore leg an' kills un, an' then I has bear's meat wi' my tea,
an' in th' spring gets four dollars from th' company for the skin."

In twenty minutes they had the pelt removed from the bear and Dick
generously insisted upon Bob taking it as the first-fruits of his
inland hunt, saying: "Ye earned he wi' yer runnin'."

The best of the meat was cut from the carcass, and that night thick,
luscious steaks were broiled for supper, and the remainder packed for
future use on the journey.

Fine weather had attended the voyageurs thus far but that night the
sky clouded heavily and when they emerged from the tent the next
morning a thick blanket of snow covered the earth and weighted down
the branches of the spruce trees. The storm had spent itself in the
night, however, and the day was clear and sparkling. Very beautiful
the white world looked when the sun came to light it up; but the snow
made tracking less easy, and warned the travellers that no time must