ch in his empty tobacco pouch, of another bunch in
the inside band of his battered hat, of a third bunch under his shirt on
the chest. This accomplished, a panic came upon him, and he unwrapped
them all and counted them again. There were still sixty-seven.

He dried his wet foot-gear by the fire. The moccasins were in soggy
shreds. The blanket socks were worn through in places, and his feet were
raw and bleeding. His ankle was throbbing, and he gave it an
examination. It had swollen to the size of his knee. He tore a long
strip from one of his two blankets and bound the ankle tightly. He tore
other strips and bound them about his feet to serve for both moccasins
and socks. Then he drank the pot of water, steaming hot, wound his
watch, and crawled between his blankets.

He slept like a dead man. The brief darkness around midnight came and
went. The sun arose in the northeast--at least the day dawned in that
quarter, for the sun was hidden by gray clouds.

At six o'clock he awoke, quietly lying on his back. He gazed straight up
into the gray sky and knew that he was hungry. As he rolled over on his
elbow he was startled by a loud snort, and saw a bull caribou regarding
him with alert curiosity. The animal was not mere than fifty feet away,
and instantly into the man's mind leaped the vision and the savor of a
caribou steak sizzling and frying over a fire. Mechanically he reached
for the empty gun, drew a bead, and pulled the trigger. The bull snorted
and leaped away, his hoofs rattling and clattering as he fled across the
ledges.

The man cursed and flung the empty gun from him. He groaned aloud as he
started to drag himself to his feet. It was a slow and arduous task.

His joints were like rusty hinges. They worked harshly in their sockets,
with much friction, and each bending or unbending was accomplished only
through a sheer exertion of will. When he finally gained his feet,
another minute or so was consumed in straightening up, so that he could
stand erect as a man should stand.

He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect. There were no
trees, no bushes, nothing but a gray sea of moss scarcely diversified by
gray rocks, gray lakelets, and gray streamlets. The sky was gray. There
was no sun nor hint of sun. He had no idea of north, and he had
forgotten the way he had come to this spot the night before. But he was
not lost. He knew that. Soon he would come to the land of the li