he
"glass" to bear on the little heap. His numbed hands trembled so that
he could hardly hold it still. For some time there was no result.
Then a thin thread of smoke began to arise. The boys held their
breath. The hair moss suddenly sparkled and flamed. A shred of bark
caught. Peter interposed a large roll. It flared up.

"Hurrah! We've got it!" cried Macgregor. "Fred, you've saved our
lives, I do believe."

They piled on twigs, branches, and heavy lumps of wood, and soon had a
brisk fire going. Better still, they were now assured of having always
the means of making one--at least, whenever the sun shone.

The magical influence of the fire gave back to them a little of their
cheerfulness. They warmed themselves thoroughly, and then started to
have another look at the outlaws, and to see whether they could find
any small game. For now that they no longer suffered from the cold,
their stomachs cried loudly for food.

Leaving the empty rifles by the fire, they armed themselves with clubs
and poles for hunting, and had good hopes of being able to knock over a
partridge or a hare. But the grouse seemed to have turned wild. They
saw only two at a great distance. No hares showed themselves, nor
could they find any trace of porcupines on the trees.

Skulking within sight of the cabin, they perceived one of the Frenchmen
carrying in logs of wood for the fire--some of those that Fred himself
had cut. Mitchell stood by, smoking his pipe, with a rifle under his
arm. Fred fancied he could smell frying venison as the door was opened.

Plainly the outlaws were on the alert still. The boys crouched, unseen
and unheard, among the hemlocks; but if they had been armed, they could
easily have picked off the two men at the door. And they had come to
such a state of rage and desperation that they would very likely have
done it.

They found no comfort in the fact that the robbers showed no
inclination to leave the place. The boys were perplexed at their
staying, but probably the men had no reason to hurry, and, finding
themselves comfortably placed, had decided to remain where they were
while the extreme cold snap lasted.

In spite of the cold, the boys remained on watch for some time after
the men had gone indoors. Suddenly Peter laid his hand on Fred's
shoulder, and nodded backward.

A deer had come out of the thickets within thirty yards of where they
lay,--a fine, fat buck,--and stood looking uneasily, sni