g about the place in the morning
they noticed several little things that were wrong. Quonab's lodge was
down, the paddles that stood against the shanty were scattered on the
ground, and a bag of venison hung high at the ridge was opened and
empty.

Quonab studied the tracks and announced "a bad old black bear; he has
rollicked round for mischief, upsetting things. But the venison he could
not reach; that was a marten that ripped open the bag."

"Then that tells what we should do; build a storehouse at the end of the
shanty," said Rolf, adding, "it must be tight and it must be cool."

"Maybe! sometime before winter," said the Indian; "but now we should
make another line of traps while the weather is fine."

"No," replied the lad, "Skookum is not fit to travel now. We can't leave
him behind, and we can make a storehouse in three days."

The unhappy little dog was worse than ever. He could scarcely breathe,
much less eat or drink, and the case was settled.

First they bathed the invalid's head in water as hot as he could stand
it. This seemed to help him so much that he swallowed eagerly some soup
that they poured into his mouth. A bed was made for him in a sunny place
and the hunters set about the new building.

In three days the storehouse was done, excepting the chinking. It was
October now, and a sharp night frost warned them of the hard white moons
to come. Quonab, as he broke the ice in a tin cup and glanced at the
low-hung sun, said: "The leaves are falling fast; snow comes soon; we
need another line of traps."

He stopped suddenly; stared across the lake. Rolf looked, and here came
three deer, two bucks and a doe, trotting, walking, or lightly clearing
obstacles, the doe in advance; the others, rival followers. As they kept
along the shore, they came nearer the cabin. Rolf glanced at Quonab, who
nodded, then slipped in, got down the gun, and quickly glided unseen to
the river where the deer path landed. The bucks did not actually fight,
for the season was not yet on, but their horns were clean, their necks
were swelling, and they threatened each other as they trotted after the
leader. They made for the ford as for some familiar path, and splashed
through, almost without swimming. As they landed, Rolf waited a clear
view, then gave a short sharp "Hist!" It was like a word of magic, for
it turned the three moving deer to three stony-still statues. Rolf's
sights were turned on the smaller buck, and when the gr