But I refrained from questioning him. So I talked about the woods and
the weather, while Oo-koo-hoo brought in a haunch of venison from his
sled and presented it to the stranger. But with my host's every action
and word the mystery grew.

The stove, which was fireless, stood beside the bed, and reaching for
the griddle-lifter, my host removed the lids; then picking up a stick
of pine kindling from behind the stove, he whittled some shavings and
placed them in the fire-box; and on top of this he laid kindling and
birch firewood. Then he replaced the lids, struck a match, and while
the fire began to roar, filled the kettle from a keg of water that
stood behind the stove, and mind you, he did it without getting out of
bed. Next, he leant over the side of the bunk, opened a little trap
door in the floor, reached down into his little box-like cellar, and
hauled up a bag containing potatoes, which he then put in a pot to
boil, in their skins. From the wall he took a long stick with a crook
upon the end, and reaching out, hooked the crook round the leg and drew
the table toward him. Reaching up to one of the three shelves above
his bunk, he took down the necessary dishes and cutlery to set the
breakfast table for us three. While the potatoes were boiling he took
from another shelf--the one upon which he kept a few well-chosen
books--a photograph album and suggested that I look it over while he
broiled the venison steak and infused the tea.

When I opened the album and saw its contents, it not only further
excited my curiosity regarding the personal history of my host, but it
thrilled me with interest, for never before or since have I seen an
album that contained photographs of a finer-looking or more
distinguished lot of people. Its pages contained photographs of Lord