ps.

In passing beneath a tall fir-tree Roy chanced to touch a twig. The
result was literally overwhelming, for in a moment he was almost buried
in snow, to the unutterable delight of his sister, who stood screaming
with laughter as the unfortunate boy struggled to disentomb himself.

In those northern wilds, where snow falls frequently and in great
abundance, masses are constantly accumulating on the branches of trees,
particularly on the pines, on the broad flat branches of which these
masses attain to considerable size. A slight touch is generally
sufficient to bring these down, but, being soft, they never do any
injury worth mentioning.

When Roy had fairly emerged from the snow he joined his sister in the
laugh, but suddenly he stopped, and his face became very grave.

"What's the matter?" asked Nelly, with an anxious look.

"My snow-shoe's broken," said Roy.

There was greater cause for anxiety on account of this accident than the
reader is perhaps aware of. It may be easily understood that in a
country where the snow averages four feet in depth, no one can walk
half-a-mile without snow-shoes without being thoroughly exhausted; on
the other hand, a man can walk thirty or forty miles a day by means of
snow-shoes.

"Can't you mend it?" asked Nelly.

Roy, who had been carefully examining the damaged shoe, shook his head.

"I've nothing here to do it with; besides, it's an awful smash. I must
just try to scramble home the best way I can. Come, it's not very far,
we'll only be a bit late for dinner."

The snow-shoe having been bandaged, after a fashion, with a
pocket-handkerchief, the little wanderers began to retrace their steps;
but this was now a matter of extreme difficulty, owing to the quantity
of snow which had fallen and almost obliterated the tracks. The broken
shoe, also, was constantly giving way, so that ere long the children
became bewildered as well as anxious, and soon lost the track of their
outward march altogether. To make matters worse, the wind began to blow
clouds of snow-drift into their faces, compelling them to seek the
denser parts of the forest for shelter.

They wandered on, however, in the belief that they were drawing nearer
home every step, and Roy, whose heart was stout and brave, cheered up
his sister's spirit so much that she began to feel quite confident their
troubles would soon be over.

Presently all their hopes were dashed to the ground by their suddenly
emerg