up ahead of him.
He sprang to his feet and peered around. But nothing could he see,
except trees on every side.

"I must get out of this," he muttered, "and strike for the high hills.
Perhaps there I may be able to get my proper bearings. I must find a
breakfast somewhere, but with my scanty supply of ammunition, it is
necessary to be careful."

Picking up his rifle, he started forth, and for several hours moved
steadily onward. Through a break in the forest he had caught sight of
a high hill, and toward this he laboriously made his way. He had to
descend first into a deep valley, where a large wild meadow offered an
inviting feeding-ground for moose. But not a sign of life could he
see, and greatly disappointed he was forced to begin the hard climb up
the opposite side of the hill.

About the middle of the afternoon he succeeded in shooting a rabbit,
which he at once skinned and broiled over a small fire. He was weak
from hunger and hard, anxious travelling, so this food gave him much
refreshment. He ate sparingly, nevertheless, knowing that he might not
be able to procure anything more for supper. With only two cartridges
left, his outlook was far from encouraging.

When the summit of the hill was at length reached, he climbed a large
fir tree from which he was enabled to obtain an excellent view of the
surrounding country. Far off rose great snow-capped mountain peaks,
over which fleecy clouds were lazily drifting. A vast sea of forest
stretched on every side, broken here and there by placid, shimmering
lakes. But which was the one near the camp where Frontier Samson was
no doubt anxiously awaiting the wanderer's return? That was the
question which agitated Reynolds' mind. No sign of human life could he
behold, and he wondered in which direction Big Draw mining camp lay.
So completely had he lost his bearings that he had no idea which was
the right course to pursue. Anyway, it was necessary to keep on the
move, for to remain where he was meant certain death. If he must die,
he would die fighting, game to the very last. Surely beyond some of
those outstanding hills he could find a river, which would bear him out
of that wilderness maze. A high crest to the left looked promising,
and toward this he at once started.

He slept that night in a valley by a little brook which gurgled down to
a lake beyond. The remains of the rabbit served him for supper, and
where was he to obtain his next meal? He