We found nothing in our other traps till we came to the spot where the seventh one had been, and that had disappeared. We followed the trail, and finally saw the cat on a stump among some bushes. McKinstry shot it. It jumped at us, but fell dead. It was like the other, and weighed something over thirty pounds, though it looked much heavier on account of its long fur. We skinned it, and set and baited the trap again. The last trap had not been touched. As we were going back, Amos said: "What a p-pity Davy Fiske c-couldn't have been with us. He'd have talked of this all his life." "Well, the only difference is, that Amos Locke will, instead." Just before we left the pond, we saw that an animal had turned in on our tracks, and had followed them up toward the camp. [Sidenote: A FISHER] "That's a black cat or fisher," said Martin. "His tracks look like a little child's. I'd like to get him, for a black cat's fur is worth something." The tracks kept along with ours, and when we got to the camp, we found that he had eaten up one of three partridges we had left there. "I'll fix him," said McKinstry, and the next day he brought up a trap and set it near the hut, and baited it with partridge. The following day, while we were away, the black cat came again, passed by our trap and bait, and though there was a fire burning, went to the hut and ate some baked beans which were there. He made two more calls on us, but scorned the trap. On the second day out, Martin shot a deer, so that we had plenty of fresh meat; and we cut holes in the ice on the pond and caught pickerel. When the week was up, we had eight bob-cats and an otter. We packed our traps and skins on the sled, started back, and reached Fort Edward in the evening. Edmund had been unable to go with us on this trip, as Major Rogers was at Albany, and Edmund's duties as adjutant kept him in camp. CHAPTER XIV A SCOUTING EXPEDITION IN THE DEAD OF WINTER One day about the end of February, Edmund came out of Rogers's hut, and said:-- "Rogers is going on a scout, boys, down to Ticonderoga, and will take your company. Johnson is going to send over fifty Mohawk Indians under Captain Lotridge, and there'll be a number of regulars, too. There will be about three hundred and fifty men in the party, so that there won't be much chance of your being treated as we were in our first expedition. An engineer lieutenant named Bhreems is going with you, and will make sketches of the fort. You are to try and take some prisoners to bring back information." We set out on the third of March, 1759. The snow was deep, and the Rangers and Indians were on snowshoes. The regulars followed us, plodding along heavily through the snow. We reached Halfway Brook that night, and the next day got over to Lake George. We waited till it was dark and then marched down the lake to the First Narrows, which we reached about two in the morning.