ken a dozen words.

Wallace made one visit before the big snows came, and was charmed. He
ate with gusto of the "salt-horse," baked beans, stewed prunes, mince
pie, and cakes. He tramped around gaily in his moccasins or on the fancy
snowshoes he promptly purchased of Injin Charley. There was nothing new
to report in regard to financial matters. The loan had been negotiated
easily on the basis of a mortgage guaranteed by Carpenter's personal
signature. Nothing had been heard from Morrison & Daly.

When he departed, he left behind him four little long-eared,
short-legged beagle hounds. They were solemn animals, who took life
seriously. Never a smile appeared in their questioning eyes. Wherever
one went, the others followed, pattering gravely along in serried ranks.
Soon they discovered that the swamp over the knoll contained big white
hares. Their mission in life was evident. Thereafter from the earliest
peep of daylight until the men quit work at night they chased rabbits.
The quest was hopeless, but they kept obstinately at it, wallowing with
contained excitement over a hundred paces of snow before they would get
near enough to scare their quarry to another jump. It used to amuse the
hares. All day long the mellow bell-tones echoed over the knoll. It came
in time to be part of the color of the camp, just as were the pines
and birches, or the cold northern sky. At the fall of night, exhausted,
trailing their long ears almost to the ground, they returned to the
cook, who fed them and made much of them. Next morning they were at it
as hard as ever. To them it was the quest for the Grail,--hopeless, but
glorious.

Little Phil, entrusted with the alarm clock, was the first up in the
morning In the fearful biting cold of an extinct camp, he lighted his
lantern and with numb hands raked the ashes from the stove. A few sticks
of dried pine topped by split wood of birch or maple, all well dashed
with kerosene, took the flame eagerly. Then he awakened the cook, and
stole silently into the office, where Thorpe and Shearer and Andrews,
the surveyor, lay asleep. There quietly he built another fire, and
filled the water-pail afresh. By the time this task was finished, the
cook sounded many times a conch, and the sleeping camp awoke.

Later Phil drew water for the other shanties, swept out all three, split
wood and carried it in to the cook and to the living-camps, filled and
trimmed the lamps, perhaps helped the cook. About half t