oot anything
we might see, but we could not catch a glimpse of any of the inhabitants
of the forest or the prairie.

Martin was nearly sinking with fatigue, for he was less accustomed to
the sort of life than we were; and even Robin, though much younger, from
having been long habituated to it bore it better than he did.

We were going through a wood when a bird flew out from a thick bush. It
was a wild turkey; but before either of us could fire the bird had
escaped. Bouncer ran off in the direction the wild turkey had taken,
and Alick and I followed him, but were unable to catch sight of it
again. On our return we heard Robin and Martin shouting. When we were
near them we saw them each holding up an egg.

"There are eight of them," cried out Robin--"two a-piece. We shan't
starve to-day."

They were indeed welcome, and we all expected a delicious meal off them.

"Don't be too sure," observed Alick. "Till we have broken one of them,
we don't know how long they may have been sat on."

This remark somewhat abated our delight. However, we quickly settled
the point by breaking one of the eggs, when, to our infinite
satisfaction, it was found to be perfectly sweet. Probably the turkey
had only just begun to sit. We, of course, therefore knew that the rest
would be equally good. Without stopping to light a fire, we each of us
ate an egg. Though they were somewhat strong-tasted, we agreed that we
had never had a more delicious meal. We carried the others, intending
to dine off them, should we not obtain more substantial fare. We walked
on with the same want of success as before; and about noon, feeling the
gnawings of hunger, we lighted a fire, and cooked the remainder of our
eggs. We found them far more satisfactory than those we had eaten raw.
The next day Alick shot a squirrel. That, besides the eggs, was the
only food we obtained during the journey. We found our want of
botanical knowledge a great disadvantage; for had we been acquainted
with the various products of the soil, we might not only have stayed our
hunger, but obtained wholesome vegetable diet.

We were now approaching the "cache," where we expected to find an
abundance of venison and buffalo flesh, on which we indulged ourselves
in the thoughts of banqueting and soon restoring our somewhat reduced
strength.

"There it is," exclaimed Martin, who had run on ahead. "We must get a
fire lighted, and we shall soon have a fine ham roasting. I