On arriving at the pines we were much alarmed to find that Michel was absent.  We feared that he had lost his way in coming to us in the morning, although it was not easy to conjecture how that could have happened, as our footsteps of yesterday were very distinct.  Hepburn went back for the tent and returned with it after dusk, completely worn out with the fatigue of the day.  Michel too arrived at the same time and relieved our anxiety on his account.  He reported that he had been in chase of some deer which passed near his sleeping-place in the morning and, although he did not come up with them, yet that he found a wolf which had been killed by the stroke of a deer’s horn and had brought a part of it.  We implicitly believed this story then, but afterwards became convinced from circumstances, the detail of which may be spared, that it must have been a portion of the body of Belanger or Perrault.  A question of moment here presents itself, namely whether he actually murdered these men, or either of them, or whether he found the bodies in the snow.  Captain Franklin, who is the best able to judge of this matter from knowing their situation when he parted from them, suggested the former idea, and that both Belanger and Perrault had been sacrificed.  When Perrault turned back Captain Franklin watched him until he reached a small group of willows which was immediately adjoining to the fire and concealed it from view, and at this time the smoke of fresh fuel was distinctly visible.  Captain Franklin conjectures that Michel, having already destroyed Belanger, completed his crime by Perrault’s death in order to screen himself from detection.  Although this opinion is founded only on circumstances and is unsupported by direct evidence it has been judged proper to mention it, especially as the subsequent conduct of the man showed that he was capable of committing such a deed.  The circumstances are very strong.  It is not easy to assign any other adequate motive for his concealing from us that Perrault had turned back, while his request overnight that we should leave him the hatchet and his cumbering himself with it when he went out in the morning, unlike a hunter who makes use only of his knife when he kills a deer, seem to indicate that he took it for the purpose of cutting up something that he knew to be frozen.  These opinions however are the result of subsequent consideration.  We passed this night in the open air.

On the following morning the tent was pitched; Michel went out early, refused my offer to accompany him, and remained out the whole day.  He would not sleep in the tent at night but chose to lie at the fireside.

On the 13th there was a heavy gale of wind and we passed the day by the fire.  Next day about two P.M., the gale abating, Michel set out as he said to hunt but returned unexpectedly in a very short time.  This conduct surprised us and his contradictory and evasory answers to our questions excited some suspicions but they did not turn towards the truth.