ant life!

His first impulse was to light a fire and feast, but as he grew calmer
he began to think. He was a long way from camp, and he feared that if
he rested he could not force himself to resume the march. Besides,
there were the wolves to reckon with; and he could not escape if they
followed him in the dark. Prudence suggested that he should cut off as
much meat as possible, and after placing it out of reach in a tree, set
off for camp at his best speed without taking any of the raw flesh to
scent the air; but this was more than he could bring himself to do.
His comrades were very hungry, and some animal might climb to the
frozen meat. It was unthinkable that he should run any risk of losing
the precious food. He decided to take as much as he could carry, and
store the rest in a tree; and he set to work with the hunting knife in
anxious haste.

It was now quite dark; he could not see what he was cutting, and if he
gashed his hand, which was numbed and almost useless, the wound would
not heal. Then the haft of the knife grew slippery, and tough skin and
bone turned the wandering blade. It was an unpleasant business, but
the man could not be fastidious, and he tore the flesh off with his
fingers, knowing that he was in danger while he worked. There were
wolves in the neighborhood, and their scent for blood was wonderfully
keen; it was a question whether they would reach the spot before he had
left it. When he stopped to clean the knife in the snow he cast a
swift glance about.

He could see nothing farther off than a fallen trunk about a dozen
yards away; beyond that the trees had faded into a somber mass. A
biting wind wailed among them, causing the needles to rustle harshly;
but except for this there was a daunting silence. Blake began to feel
a horror of the lonely wood and a longing to escape into the open,
though he would be no safer there. But to give way to this weakness
would be dangerous; and, pulling himself together, he went to work more
calmly.

It was difficult to reach the branches of the spruce he chose, and when
he had placed the first load of meat in safety he was tempted to
flight. Indeed, for some moments he stood irresolute, struggling to
hold his fears in subjection; and then he went back for another supply.
He climbed the tree three times before he was satisfied that he had
stored enough, and afterward he gathered up as much of the flesh as he
could conveniently carry. It woul