them for the present. Then he opened the door and
began his hardest task.

He intended to build a fire on the flat stones, and, securing fallen
wood, he stripped off the bark and cut splinters from the inside. It was
slow work and he was very cold, his wet feet sending chills through
him, but he persevered, and the little heap of dry splinters grew to
a respectable size. Then he cut larger pieces, laying them on one side
while he worked with his flint and steel on the splinters.

Flint and steel are not easily handled even by the most skillful, and
Henry saw the spark leap up and die out many times before it finally
took hold of the end of the tiniest splinter and grew. He watched it
as it ran along the little piece of wood and ignited another and then
another, the beautiful little red and yellow flames leaping up half a
foot in height. Already he felt the grateful warmth and glow, but he
would not let himself indulge in premature joy. He fed it with larger
and larger pieces until the flames, a deeper and more beautiful red and
yellow, rose at least two feet, and big coals began to form. He left
the door open a while in order that the smoke might go out, but when the
fire had become mostly coals he closed it again, all except a crack of
about six inches, which would serve at once to let any stray smoke out,
and to let plenty of fresh air in.

Now Henry, all his preparations made, no detail neglected, proceeded to
luxuriate. He spread the soaked blanket out on the bark floor, took off
the sodden moccasins and placed them at one angle of the fire, while
he sat with his bare feet in front. What a glorious warmth it was! It
seemed to enter at his toes and proceed upward through his body, seeking
out every little nook and cranny, to dry and warm it, and fill it full
of new glow and life.

He sat there a long time, his being radiating with physical comfort. The
moccasins dried on one side, and he turned the other. Finally they dried
all over and all through, and he put them on again. Then he hung the
blanket on the bark wall near the fire, and it, too, would be dry in
another hour or so. He foresaw a warm and dry place for the night, and
sleep. Now if one only had food! But he must do without that for the
present.

He rose and tested all his bones and muscles. No stiffness or soreness
had come from the rain and cold, and he was satisfied. He was fit for
any physical emergency. He looked out through the crevice. Night was