The following day she wandered about, only getting deeper and deeper into the forest. Her basket was empty before evening, and she was fain to make her supper of the berries, which fortunately were very plentiful. They were not altogether satisfying, but they were better than nothing. Another day passed, the weather providentially continuing bright, clear, and warm, and the little wanderer still kept on, not knowing whither she was going. That night strange things began to happen. She was more wakeful than usual, and as she lay at the foot of a tree, she saw some large animals moving about in the dim light, and her bosom thrilled with joy, for she thought they must be her father’s oxen. So she called out,— "Buck! Bright! Come here!" [Illustration: "HE LEVELLED HIS RIFLE IN READINESS TO FIRE."] But at the sound of her voice they started as if greatly frightened, and at once dashed off through the woods at the top of their speed; which showed her that they must have been moose, such as her father sometimes shot. The following night two great, black, shaggy dogs, which she supposed must be neighbour Hewett’s, came near her; but when she called them by their names they seemed more surprised than the moose, for they stood up on their hind legs, looked very hard at her for a few moments, and then, dropping down on all fours, hastened away into the darkness again, where, as Edie thought, she heard them howling. In this, however, she must have been doubly mistaken. What she took to be dogs were no doubt black bears, then quite numerous in that district, being, attracted by the berries; and the howling, of course, was done by wolves, which, luckily, seemed afraid to attack her. On the fourth afternoon, Edie, by happy chance, came across the deserted shanty of an early pioneer, standing in the middle of a clearing that was thickly overgrown with raspberry bushes. Here she remained for three days, feeding upon the berries during the daytime, and sleeping in the shanty at night. The nights were so warm that she needed no fire, and inside the shanty she was safe from the attacks of bears or wolves. It was dreadfully lonely, yet still she hoped that her father would come and find her. A whole week thus passed away. Edie had been given up for lost by her heart-broken parents, and the neighbours who were assisting in the search had returned to their homes, when a gentleman—Mr. Barker by name—had an experience such as no sportsman surely ever had before. He had been out on a hunting expedition for a fortnight, and that day came to the banks of Bear Creek. He was preparing to cross on a fallen log almost spanning the stream, when his keen ear caught the sound of soft footsteps, accompanied by a continuous rustling movement in the thicket of wild raspberries that covered the opposite bank.