this the catamount
tugged with "teeth and toe-nails." He worried it for not less than ten
minutes, until he became weary. The 'possum was dead to all appearance;
and this the other seemed to think,--or whether he did or not, at all
events, he became tired, and left off worrying her. The sweeter
morsel--the hare--was before his eyes; and this, perhaps, tempted him to
desist, preferring to try his teeth for a while upon it. Leaving the
'possum at length, he turned round and seized upon the hare.

At this moment Francois let Marengo slip, and the whole party rushed
forward with shouts.

The lynx, seeing his retreat cut off from the timber, struck out upon
the prairie; but the great hound soon overtook him; and after a short
but desperate fight, put an end to his poaching.

The young hunters in the pursuit had picked up the hare, which the lynx
had dropped in his flight. When the chase was over they came back to
the tree, with the intention of getting the dead 'possum, which they
meant to cook for their supper. To their astonishment no 'possum was
there--neither in the tree, nor the briar-patch beside it, nor anywhere!
The sly creature had been "playing 'possum" throughout all that
terrible worrying; and, finding the coast clear, had "unclewed" herself,
and stolen off to her hiding-place under the roots of some neighbouring
tree!

Nothing remained but the body of the lynx and the poor little carcass of
the hare. The former none of our adventurers cared to eat, although it
is often eaten both by the trappers and Indians--and the latter was so
torn and chawed as to render it worthless. So, since no other game--not
even a squirrel--could be found about the place, all four--Lucien,
Basil, Francois, and _Marengo_, went to sleep--for the first time since
the commencement of their journey--_supperless_!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

AN ODD ADVENTURE BEFORE BREAKFAST.

They had plenty of meat for their breakfast though--such as it was--and
came nigh paying dearly enough for it.

The three brothers slept lying along the ground within a few feet of one
another. Their tent was gone, and, of course, they were in the open
air. They were under a large spreading tree, and, wrapped in their
blankets, had been sleeping soundly through the night. Day was just
beginning to break, when something touched Francois on the forehead. It
was a cold, clammy object; and, pressing upon his hot skin, woke him at
once. He started as if