new phase. Dried and burned it appealed to
him still. He learned to sleep lightly, that is, to start up at the
slightest sound, and one morning after the wilderness had been growing
hotter and dryer than ever he was awakened by a faint liquid touch on
the roof. He knew at once that it was the rain, wished for so long and
talked of so much, and he opened the shutter window to see it fall.

The sun was just rising, but showed only a faint glow of pink through
the misty clouds, and the wind was light. The clouds opened but a little
at first and the great drops fell slowly. The hot earth steamed at the
touch, and, burning with thirst, quickly drank in the moisture. The wind
grew and the drops fell faster. The heat fled away, driven by the waves
of cool, fresh air that came out of the west. Washed by the rain the dry
grass straightened up, and the dying leaves opened out, springing into
new life. Faster and faster came the drops and now the sound they made
was like the steady patter of musketry. Henry opened his mouth and
breathed the fresh clean air, and he felt that like the leaves and grass
he, too, was gaining new life.

When he went forth the next day in the dripping forest the wilderness
seemed to be alive. The game swarmed everywhere and he was a lazy man
who could not take what he wished. It was like a late touch of spring,
but it did not last long, for then the frosts came, the air grew crisp
and cool and the foliage of the forest turned to wonderful reds and
yellows and browns. From the summit of the blockhouse tower Henry saw a
great blaze of varied color, and he thought that he liked this part of
the year best. He could feel his own strength grow, and now that cold
weather was soon to come he would learn new ways to seek game and new
phases of the wilderness.

The autumn and its beauty deepened. The colors of the foliage grew more
intense and burned afar like flame. The settlers lightened their work
and most of them now spent a large part of the time in hunting, pursuing
it with the keen zest, born of a natural taste and the relaxation from
heavy labors. Mr. Ware and a few others, anxious to test the qualities
of the soil, were plowing up newly cleared land to be sown in wheat, but
Henry was compelled to devote only a portion of his time to this work.
The remaining hours, not needed for sleep, he was usually in the forest
with Paul and the others.

The hunting was now glorious. Less than three miles from the