in clouds over the
neighbouring swamps. Sometimes deer would trot out of the woods and
slake their thirst on its shore, and the frequent rings that broke its
smooth surface told of life in the watery depths below.

The whole air was filled with gushing sounds of wild melody, as though
bird and beast were uniting in a hymn of praise to the beneficent
Creator who had provided the means of, and given the capacity for, so
much enjoyment.

Having decided on a suitable spot for their temporary resting-place,
Roy's first care was to construct a hut. This was neither a work of
time nor difficulty. In a couple of hours it was finished. He
commenced the work by felling about a dozen young fir-trees not much
thicker than a man's wrist, from which he chopped the branches, thus
leaving them bare poles about nine feet long. While he was thus
employed, his sister cleared the spot on which their dwelling was to
stand, and, having an eye to the picturesque, so arranged that the
opening of the hut should command an uninterrupted view of the lake. On
going into the "bush" to the place where Roy was at work, she found him
cutting down his sixth tree, and the ground was strewn with the flat
branches of those already cut.

"Come along, Nelly--how hot I am--carry these branches into camp, lass,
an' go ahead, for I've got supper to kill yet."

Nelly made no direct reply, but muttered to herself something that
sounded very like, "Oh, what fun!" as she filled her tiny arms with pine
branches, and, hugging them to her heaving breast, staggered to the
camp. When she had carried all the branches, Roy had cut all the poles,
so he proceeded to set them up. Tying three poles together at the top,
and using the pliant roots of a tree for the purpose, he set them up in
the form of a tripod. Against these three all the other poles were
piled, crossing each other at the top, and spreading out at the base so
as to enclose a circle of about six feet in diameter. Being numerous,
the poles were pretty close together, thus affording good support to the
branches which were afterwards piled on them. Pine branches are flat,
spreading, and thick, so that when laid above each other to a depth of
several inches they form a very good shelter from dew and light rain.
The hut was entirely covered with such branches, which were kept in
their places by other poles leaning upon and pressing them down. The
floor of the hut was also covered with pine "brush."