But he believed that he would have to spend another night in the
wilderness. Search the sky as he would, and he often did, there was no
trace of smoke, and, as the sun went down the zenith and the cold
began to increase, his spirits fell a little. But he reasoned with
himself. Why should one inured as he was to the forest and winter,
armed, provisioned and equipped with the greatcoat, be troubled? The
answer to his question was a return of confidence in full tide, and
resolving to be leisurely he looked about in the woods for his new
camp. What he wanted was an abundance of dead leaves out of which to
make a nest. Dead leaves were cold to the touch, but they would serve
as a couch and a wall, shutting out further cold from the earth and
from the outside air, and with the greatcoat between, he would be warm
enough. He would have nothing to fear except snow, and the skies gave
no promise of that danger.
He found the leaves in a suitable hollow, and disposed them according
to his plan, the whole making a comfortable place for a seasoned
forester, and, while he ate his supper, he watched the sun set over
the wilderness. Long after it was gone he saw the stars come out and
then he looked at the particular one on which Tododaho, Tayoga's
patron saint, had been living more than four hundred years.
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