f them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose walls
were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling of green
boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that sparkled in the
firelight as if set with precious stones, and a carpet of evergreen
branches.

Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed. Poor
Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends, going down
on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of energy that
induced him to beg for mercy.

"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."

After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance of
the frost getting at them again.

"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe and
rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped round
Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle before
mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as you best
can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps. Would you
like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our return?"

"Oh, I'll wait for it, by all means, till you return. I don't feel a
bit hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it after
all your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to enjoy it
just now."

"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for you.
Would you not like me to stay with you?"

"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the traps."

"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.

"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he unwound
the blanket from his feet and began