les, footprints of various sizes appeared on the snow.
There were marks of wolf, of wolverine, of fox, with smaller prints
which could only have been made by little creatures like the mink,
ermine, and such tiny fry, that, clad in fur white like the snow,
scurried hither and thither through the silent wastes hunting for
food, yet finding in many cases swift death through the skill of
the trapper. At length the lake was reached. In summer it was a
sheet of muddy yellow water abounding in fish, and many acres in
extent. Now it was a wide snowfield, except at one end, where for
some unexplained reason it was open water still. This was the part
at which they arrived, and Katherine halted on the bank with an
exclamation of surprise. "Why, we shan't need the saw at all; it is
open water!"

"The ice at the edge is too thin to stand upon, and we mustn't take
risks here, for Father says there is a whirlpool at this end, and
it is the constant motion of the water that keeps it from
freezing," Miles answered; and taking the saw from Katherine he
commenced making a hole in the ice a few yards from the open water.

The dog's were lying panting on the bank as if quite exhausted, but
their ears were perked up, and their eyes were very wide open, for
they quite understood what was going on, and the prospect of fish
freshly caught was very welcome after their months of living on the
dried article. When a hole had been cut in the ice, Katherine went
to stand by it and spear the fish which immediately crowded to the
surface as if anxious to be caught. Miles went to a little
distance, where he cut another hole for himself, and for the next
hour the two worked as hard as they could at spearing fish, then
throwing them on the snow, where they quickly froze stiff. The
water seemed entirely alive with fish, which could only be
accounted for by the fact that the main part of the lake, which was
shallow, was frozen solid, so that all the fish had been forced to
the end where the moving water did not freeze.

[Illustration: Katherine and Miles spearing for fish.]

"I guess we have got a load now, so we might as well stop," said
Katherine, whose arms were beginning to ache, having already had
more than enough of slaughter for that day at least.

"You load while I jab at a few more of these big fellows, for they
seem as if they are just yearning to be caught," Miles cried
excitedly. "I never had such fishing as this; it is prime!"