how they vowed to
themselves that they would put off their clumsy, uncomfortable boots
for them at the first opportunity!

So they struggled on over the prairie, the weather, fortunately,
continuing fine and warm, so that they could sleep in the open air at
night without inconvenience. At last footsore, weary, and sad of
heart, they reached their destination.--Pembina, a frontier settlement
of the United States, where they were now to pass the long, cold winter.

Hector was rather sorry when the journey came to an end, tiresome as it
was to his seniors. They went so slowly that he had plenty of time to
roam at his will, and never without the company of Dour and Dandy. He
would make excursions to the right and left of the line of march, and
generally manage to find plenty to amuse and interest him.

'Eh! but ye're grand friends to have!' he would cry to his faithful
four-legged playmates after a wild scamper over the prairie, which set
all three of them panting. 'Ye ken as much as most ordinary folk, and
ye can run faster and farther than the best man that ever lived.
Indeed, I just wish I could run about half as fast myself. It would be
a fine thing to be able to do,' and then he would take their hairy
heads between his hands, and rub his own face fondly between them.

At Pembina, they were well received by the residents, who seemed glad
to have such an addition to their numbers, and, with their aid and
advice, they at once set about getting ready the huts or tents that
would be their only homes for many months to come. With all who could
help lending a hand, these simple habitations did not take long to put
up, and in the course of a few days, each family had their own little
dwelling, such as it was, and the whole party felt in better spirits
than they had done for many a day.

Mr. Macrae's hut was one of the best of the little group. Taking the
Highland cottage as his model, he constructed out of sods, wood, and
canvas, the latter serving for the roof, a really snug affair with a
'butt' and a 'ben,' that gave him much satisfaction, and of which
Hector was immensely proud, as it was the only 'residence' in the camp
having two rooms.

Shelter having thus been secured, the next thing to be taken into
account was the food question. Happily the answer to this lay right
around them. The country was rich in game. From the frisky rabbit to
the lordly buffalo, the prairie or the woods offered the hunter rich