Page 222 - A Jacobite Exile

sometimes stories of the history of Poland, its frequent internal wars, and
its struggles with the Turks.

Making bread and cooking occupied some portion of the time, and much

was spent in sleep. At the end of a week the snow ceased falling and the
sun came out, and all were glad to leave the hut and enjoy the clear sky and
the keen air.

While they had been confined to the hut, two of the men had made a large

number of snares for hares, and they at once started into the forest, to set
these in spots where they saw traces of the animals' passage over the snow.
The rest went off in parties of twos and threes in search of other game.

With the exception of Charlie, all were accustomed to the woods; but, as

Stanislas had much less experience than the others, the captain decided to
go with them.

"It is easy for anyone to lose his way here," he said. "In fact, except to one
accustomed to the woods, it would be dangerous to go far away from the

hut. As long as it is fine, you will find your way back by following your
own tracks, but if the weather changed suddenly, and it came on to snow,
your case would be hopeless. One of the advantages of placing our hut on a

stream is that it forms a great aid to finding one's way back. If you strike it
above, you follow it down; if below, upwards, until you reach the hut. Of

course you might wander for days and never hit it, still it is much more
easy to find than a small object like the hut, though even when found, it
would be difficult to decide whether it had been struck above or below the

hut.

"Now, there is one rule if, at any time, you get lost. Don't begin to wander
wildly about, for, if you did, you would certainly walk in a circle, and
might never be found again. Sit down quietly and think matters over, eat if

you have got any food with you; then examine the sky, and try to find out
from the position of the sun, or the direction in which the clouds are going,

which way the hut ought to lie. Always take with you one of your pistols; if
you fire it three times, at regular intervals, it will be a signal that you want