the
tail-ropes of the sleds and the packing and tie lines, which are also
made of leather, were fastened together, and an effort was made to get
one end to the poor fellow inside. In the meantime, while these
preparations were being made by the Indians, the boys endeavoured to
hold some kind of conversation with the imprisoned Pasche.

"Arrah, my man," shouted Sam, "and what are ye doing inside there?"

"I fell in," faintly came back to the listeners.

"Were ye looking for the cows?" persisted the irrepressible Sam, who was
a great favourite with Pasche, although he often unmercifully chaffed
him.

"No, but a moose bull was looking for me."

This answer was the explanation that told the whole story; but, while
the old Indians were able to now understand at once the whole matter,
they left it for Pasche, when rescued, to tell his story. So in the
meantime the question was how to liberate him as speedily as possible
without injury. They first tried by fastening a stone to one end of
their improvised leather rope to so throw it up that it would drop into
the hollow tree, as into a chimney. But although they succeeded several
times in getting the stone to fall in, yet so jagged was the edge of the
broken wood that the rope would not slide down. This plan failing, the
next one tried was to cut down as large a young tree as the whole party
could handle, and then carry it, and lean it up against the hollow tree,
in which was the imprisoned man. Alec, who was a daring climber, at
once volunteered to climb this, and thus carry up one end of the rope,
which could then be easily lowered down to Pasche. Ere he started
Mustagan handed him a ball of deerskin twine, and told him to put that
into his pocket, as he might need it before he came down again. Taking
off his overcoat, and tightly fastening his leather coat around him with
his sash belt, Alec gallantly began his difficult task. It was no easy
work, as the tree was in some places quite icy and it was hard to grip
with his hands, which soon began to feel the effects of the cold. But
he gallantly persevered, and, cheered and encouraged by Sam and Frank,
he at length succeeded in reaching the top. Here for a time, after a
cheery shout to Pasche, he rested, while he warmed his nearly frozen
hands in his warm mittens, which he had stuck in his sash belt. Then,
hauling up sufficient length of line, he carefully dropped it down to
the poor fellow at the bottom. But