hoes and of furs, where your clothes must be mainly of
both for half the year. But I was going to tell you how the _voyageurs_
build a fire when they have to camp out on a winter's night, and there's
twelve feet of snow between them and the solid ground.'

'Sheer impossibility,' said Arthur presumptuously; 'the fire would work
a hole down.'

'You shall hear. First, they cut down a lot of trees--green timber--about
twenty feet or more in length. These are laid closely parallel on the
snow, which has previously been beaten to a little consistency by
snow-shoes; on the platform thus made the fire is lit, and it burns
away merrily.'

'Don't the trees ever burn through?' asked Arthur.

'Seldom; but the heat generally works a cavity in the snow underneath,
sometimes quite a chasm, seven or eight feet deep--fire above, water
below. Ha! I'm glad to see my old friend the Great Bear looking through
over the pines yonder. Our storm has done its worst.'

'Holt, though I'm rather hungry and sleepy, I'm heartily glad of this
night's outing, for one reason: you won't be able to leave us to-morrow,
and so are booked for another week, old fellow.'

It seemed irrevocably the case; and under this conviction Arthur rolled
himself in the blanket (cut from the spar of the ice-boat), and went
into dreamland straight from his brushwood bed, Mr. Holt continuing
to sit by the fire gazing into it as before; which sort of gazing,
experienced people say, is very bad for the eyes. Perhaps it was that
which caused a certain moisture to swell into most visible bright drops,
filling the calm grey orbs with unspeakable sadness for a little while.
The Great Bear climbed higher round the icy pole; the sky had ceased
to snow before the absorbed thinker by the fire noticed the change of
weather. Then he rose gently, laid further wood on the blazing pile,
threw brush about Arthur's feet and body for additional warmth, and,
skates in hand, went down to the lake to explore.

On reaching the point of the headland, he looked round. The weather
was much clearer; but westwards a glimmering sheen of ice--black land
stretching along, black islands, snow-crowned, rising midway afar.
Eastward, ha! that is what should have been done hours ago. A fire
burned on the edge of the woods at some distance. So they had really
passed Cedar Creek unawares, as he suspected from the nature of the
ground and trees.

While Robert and Andy crouched by their fire, feeding it