We lodged that night on a brush-heap and slept soundly.  The green, yielding beech-twigs, covered with a buffalo robe, were equal to a hair mattress.  The heat and smoke from a large fire kindled in the afternoon had banished every “no-see-em” from the locality, and in the morning the sun was above the mountain before we awoke.

I immediately started again for the inlet, and went far up the stream toward its source.  A fair string of trout for breakfast was my reward.  The cattle with the bell were at the head of the valley, where they had passed the night.  Most of them were two-year-old steers.  They came up to me and begged for salt, and scared the fish by their importunities.

We finished our bread that morning, and ate every fish we could catch, and about ten o’clock prepared to leave the lake.  The weather had been admirable, and the lake as a gem, and I would gladly have spent a week in the neighborhood; but the question of supplies was a serious one, and would brook no delay.

When we reached, on our return, the point where we had crossed the line of marked trees the day before, the question arose whether we should still trust ourselves to this line, or follow our own trail back to the spring and the battlement of rocks on the top of the mountain, and thence to the rock where the guide had left us.  We decided in favor of the former course.  After a march of three quarters of an hour the blazed trees ceased, and we concluded we were near the point at which we had parted with our guide.  So we built a fire, laid down our loads, and cast about on all sides for some clew as to our exact locality.  Nearly an hour was consumed in this manner, and without any result.  I came upon a brood of young grouse, which diverted me for a moment.  The old one blustered about at a furious rate, trying to draw all attention to herself, while the young ones, which were unable to fly, hid themselves.  She whined like a dog in great distress, and dragged herself along apparently with the greatest difficulty.  As I pursued her, she ran very nimbly, and presently flew a few yards.  Then, as I went on, she flew farther and farther each time, till at last she got up, and went humming through the woods as if she had no interest in them.  I went back and caught one of the young, which had simply squatted close to the ground.  I then put in my coatsleeve, when it ran and nestled in my armpit.

When we met at the sign of the smoke, opinions differed as to the most feasible course.  There was no doubt but that we could get out of the woods; but we wished to get out speedily, and as near as possible to the point where we had entered.  Half ashamed of our timidity and indecision, we finally tramped away back to where we had crossed the line of blazed trees, followed our old trail to the spring on the top of the range, and, after much searching and scouring to the right and left, found ourselves at the very place we had left two hours before.  Another deliberation