The man rose to his feet， shaking as if he had fever. He fought against the fear in his heart. He found his gun where he had dropped it in the water. Then he continued his way slowly. The gun was now useless， for he had no ammunition for it， but he did not leave it.
He shifted his pack to his left shoulder so as to favor his right ankle and hurried to the top of a hill. From there he saw a broad valley， empty of life.
The bottom of the valley was soft and swampy. He pushed on，trying to follow the tracks of his companion.
Though he was now alone， he was not lost. Farther along he knew where to fond the trail. He would follow it until it came to the river， where they had left their canoe， weighted down with rock. Under the canoe was a cache of ammunition for his empty gun， fishhooks and lines， and small net. He would also find some flour， bacon， and beans—not much， for they had taken most of their food with them on their trip into the north country looking for gold.
He knew Bill would wait for him there； then they would paddle down the river to a Hudson Bay Company post， where there would be warm shelter and plenty of food.
These were the thoughts of the man as he limped along the trail. Then he began to think that perhaps Bill had deserted him. The man had not eaten for two days， and now was the added fear of starvation. He had stopped a few times to eat some wild berries， but they were mostly seeds and bitter. His hunger increased by the hour.
Already the sun had slipped beyond the horizon. Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell. He lay still for some time without movement. Then he slipped out of his pack straps and dragged himself to a sitting position. It was not yet dark， and in the lingering twilight he gathered some moss. When he had a good-size pile， he built a fire and set a small pail of water over the fire to boil.
He unwrapped his pack， and the first thing he did was to count his matches. There were sixty-seven. He counted them three times to make sure. He divided them into three small packs， wrapping them in oil paper， putting one bunch in his empty tobacco pouch， another bunch in the inside band of his hat， and the third bunch under his shirt on his chest. He was afraid that if he fell into the water again， all of his matches would become wet and useless.
He dried his footgear by the fire. The wet moccasins had been cut to pieces. The socks were worn through in places， and his ankle had swollen to the size of his knee. He tore a long strip from one of his blankets and bound the ankle tyghtly He tore other strips and bowld them about his feet for footwear. He was cold， and he knew that there would soon be the danger of snow and frost. After the water heated， he drank some of it； then he wound his watch， and crawled between his blankets. He slept like a dead man.
At six o’clock he awoke， lying on his back. He gazed straight up into the gray sky and knew that he was hungry. As he rolled over on his elbow， he heard a loud snort and saw a caribou looking at him strangely. The animalwas not more than fifty feet away， and instantly the man had thoughts of a caribou steak frying over a fire. He reached for his empty gun， aimed， and pulled the trigger. The animal snorted at the click of the empty gun and ran away.
The man cursed and groaned aloud as he dragged himself to his feet. Slowly he rolled his pack together. He looked at the moose-hide bag that he carried in his pack. It was extra weight， and he began to wonder what value its contents had now. However， he rolled it together with his pack and started out.
The pain in his ankle was terrific， but it was no worse than that in his empty stomach. The hunger had become frightful. In a little while he came upon a valley where some birds rose on whirring wings. “Ker … ker … ker，” they cried as they flew away. He threw stones but he could not his a one. He placed his pack on the ground and began to stalk the birds like a cat.
The sharp rocks cut through his pants legs till his knees were scratched and bleeding， but he was not aware of his hurts as his hunger was so great. He cursed the birds and mocked them with their own cry.
As the day wore on， he came into a valley where the game was more plentiful. A herd of twenty caribou passed by within rifle range. He felt like running after them， but he knew such an effort would be senseless. Once he saw a fox with a bird in its mouth. He called loudly， hoping to frighten the fox into dropping the bird； but the fox， leaping away in fright， did not drop the bird.
He was weary and often wished to rest — to lie down and sleep， but he was driven on by his hunger. He searched little ponds for frogs and dug up the earth with his finger nails for worms， though he knew that neither frogs nor worms lived that far north.
In one area he walked along a creek， looking for fish. In a pool he found a small one. He dipped his arm into the water up to his shoulder， but the fish got away. Then he reached for it with both hands， stirring up the mud at the bottom. In his excitement he fell in， wetting himself to thewaist. Since he could no longer see the fish， he had to wait until the water cleared.
When he tried again， the water became muddy. Then he took his tin pail and began to bail the pool. He bailed wildly at first， and some of the water ran back into the pool. Then he worked more carefully， though his heart was pounding in his chest and his hands were shaking. At the end of half an hour the pool was nearly dry. But there was no fish. It had escaped between the rocks into a larger pool.
Defeated in his effort， the man sat down upon the wet earth. At first he cried softly to himself. Then he cried loudly in his hopeless condition.
He built a fire and warmed himself and drank some hot water. His blankets were wet and cold， and his ankle was still painful， but his worst suffering came from his hunger. He tried to sleep， but he dreamed of food and many good things to eat.
He awoke cold and sick. Hhere was no sun. The air about him grew white while he made a fire and boiled some water. It was wet snow， half rain， and the flakes melted quickly and put out his fire.
