n the direction I expected to see the
horses. They were nowhere visible. Still, I hoped that they had only
gone round to the other side of the wood, and would soon return. Pat
was rather better. When I told him that the horses were missing, he
looked much aghast, and acknowledged that having awakened in the night,
he had seen several figures like shadowy forms passing in the distance
before the hut; but fancying he was dreaming, he had again dropped off
to sleep.

"I hope you were dreaming," I observed, "but I shall be more satisfied
when I see the horses again."

Immediately after breakfast, taking my trusty spear, I sallied out in
search of our steeds, with very little doubt that I should soon find
them. Great was my disappointment, therefore, on reaching the place to
which I supposed they had gone, not to see them. I went completely
round the wood and looked up the stream, but not a trace of them could I
discover.

Our condition had been bad before; it was now much worse. I was
convinced that Pat had really seen some Indians, who had carried them
off. We had cause to be thankful that they had not attacked us; perhaps
they were deterred from the belief that we possessed firearms. They
knew also that they would not be pursued, as the snow would have
completely obliterated their trail?

Here we then were, several days' journey distant from the fort, without
firearms, and my companion too ill to walk. I looked at our store of
wolf flesh, and calculated how many days that would last us. It would
soon come to an end, and then what could we do? Our friends might,
indeed, come in search of us, but the snow almost hid our low hut; and,
unless we had a fire burning, they might pass by without discovering us.

I pass over the next three days. Pat got better, but our store of meat
came to an end. We had a few bones, which we pounded, and with some
roots which I dug up in the wood I made a kind of broth. It was more
palatable and nutritious than I could have supposed.

I proposed going back to our former camp, to fetch the skins of the wolf
and lynx, as they would cut into strips, and boiled, give us sufficient
food to sustain life. Pat advised me not to make the attempt. In the
first place he thought that the skins would probably have been carried
off by the Indians, who were sure to have visited our camp; and they
might be in the neighbourhood, and seeing me alone, might take my scalp
as a trophy of thei