If he could creep up on the other side, the fire would be between them and, shining in the men's faces, prevent their seeing far.

The trouble was, that the wood behind the camp looked tangled and thick, and he doubted if he could get through without making a noise.

Something, however, must be risked, and stealing across the opening to the next tree, he presently reached a belt of thicker wood.
He could not be seen now, but he made a circuit round the fire before he began to approach it from the other side.

His progress was slow and he felt anxious, because it was possible that the men had moved round the fire while he struggled through the bush.

Still he thought they had not done so, because he had seen one throwing up a snow-bank behind which they meant to sleep.