upon the ice, to see what fortune had done for them. They
approached the spot, and, with their hearts thumping against their ribs,
untied the knot and commenced hauling out.

"It certainly feels heavy," said Basil, as the net was being drawn.
"Hurrah!" he shouted, "Something kicks, hurrah!" and with the second
"hurrah!" a beautiful fish was pulled up through the hole, and landed
upon the ice. A loud "hurrah" was uttered in response by Lucien and
Francois--who, fearing the ice might not bear so many, had remained upon
the shore. A yard or two more of the net was cleared, and a second fish
still larger than the former was greeted with a general "hurrah!" The
two fish were now taken out--as these were all that had been caught--and
the net was once more carefully set. Basil and Norman came back to the
shore--Norman to receive quite a shower of compliments from his
companions.

The fish--the largest of which weighed nearly five pounds--proved to be
trout; and it was not long before their quality was put to the proof.
All declared they had never eaten so fine trout in their lives; but when
the condition of their appetites is taken into account, we may infer
that there was, perhaps, a little exaggeration in this statement. If
hunger really makes good sauce, our voyageurs had the best of sauce with
their fish, as each of them was as hungry as a half-famished wolf.

They felt quite relieved, as far as present appetite went, but they were
still uneasy for the future. Should they not succeed in taking more
fish--and it was by no means certain they should succeed--they would be
no better off than ever. Their anxiety, however, was soon removed. Their
second "haul" proved even more successful than the first--as five fish,
weighing together not less than twenty pounds, were pulled up.

This supply would enable them to hold out for a long time, but they had
not much longer to remain on the islet. Upon that very night there was
one of those severe frosts known only in high latitudes, and the ice
upon the lake became nearly a foot in thickness. They had no longer any
fear of its breaking under their weight; and taking their canoe with all
their "traps," they set out to cross over upon the ice. In a few hours
they reached the shore of the lake, near the end of the promontory,
where they chose a spot, and encamped.

CHAPTER XXIV.

AN ODD ALARM.

The first thing our voyageurs did after choosing a suitable situation,
was to b