something walking about. At first I thought it was one of the men;
but presently decided it was not, and became very wide awake. I
thought about the bear trail, but did not quite believe it was the
bear either. Presently something shook the branches of the tree my
tent was tied to, and they rattled fearfully on the tent close to
my head. I sprang up, and as I reached for my revolver remembered
that there were only two cartridges in it. Quickly filling the
empty chambers I waited, ready to give battle to whatever it might
be; but the sounds in my tent evidently alarmed the intruder, for
there was silence outside after that. I was a good deal disturbed
for a while, but growing calm again I finally went to sleep. In
the morning the men said it was probably a rabbit jumping through
the low branches of the spruce tree.

We made a mile and a half that day, and towards evening halted at
the edge of a pretty little expansion in the river; it was the most
charming camp we had yet found. There were a number of tiny
islands here, some with a few trees, and some just the bare rock
with fringes of fresh green marking the fissures. The water
slipped over ledges into pretty pools, and from our camp to the
other side there was a distinct downward slope. My tent was
pitched about four feet from the water's edge above a little fall,
and directly over an otter landing.

George warned me, "You will have to keep your boots on to-night.
That otter might come along and get hold of your toes, and drag you
into the river."

"Would an otter really harm me?" I asked.