"Did you ever hear of any of the cow kind having sense enough for that?
Well, it's a pretty sure thing, you may take it, that she would never have pulled through the winter if something unexpected hadn't happened to change her luck.
"It was the farmer--the one who had owned her mother, and who, of course, really owned her, too.
"With his hired man and a team of two powerful backwoods horses and a big sled for axes and food, he had come back into the woods to cut the heavy spruce timber which grew around the lake.

A half-mile back from the lake, on the opposite shore, he had his snug log camp and his warm little barn full of hay.

He and his man had everything they needed for their comfort except fresh meat.

And when they came upon the winding paths of the 'moose yard' they knew they were not going to lack meat for long.
"On the following day, on snowshoes, the two men explored the 'yard,' tramping along beside the deep-trodden trails.

Soon they came upon the herd, and marked the lofty antlers of the bull towering over a bunch of low fir bushes.