. My strange rescue, and other stories of sport and adventure in Canada. d position becauseof his renown for speed and endurance, as well as hisknowledge of the best routes, takes the lead. The rankand file follow^ in any order they please, and the rear isbrought up by the whipper-in. Although the post ofwhipper-in is not much coveted, that officer ranks next inimportance to the captain, and should be one of the strong-est and most experienced members in the club. His reallyarduous duties are to quicken up the laggards, assist theunfortunate, and inspire the despondent, for upon him itdepends
. My strange rescue, and other stories of sport and adventure in Canada. d position becauseof his renown for speed and endurance, as well as hisknowledge of the best routes, takes the lead. The rankand file follow^ in any order they please, and the rear isbrought up by the whipper-in. Although the post ofwhipper-in is not much coveted, that officer ranks next inimportance to the captain, and should be one of the strong-est and most experienced members in the club. His reallyarduous duties are to quicken up the laggards, assist theunfortunate, and inspire the despondent, for upon him itdepends to have the club all in together at the end of thetramp. Wending along the snow-covered tree-borderedpaths, or diving deep into the forest where there are nopaths at all, the long thin line climbs steadily upward,growing longer as the steep ascent begins to tell upon theweaker ones, and they lag behind. At length the summitis reached, and a halt is called for a few minutes, that thepanting, perspiring climbers may get their breath, andclose up the gaps in their THE CLOSE. 166 SNOW-SHOEING. All up ? inquires the captain. All up, is the cheeryresponse. Then forward ! and off they go again, thistime down instead of up, with head thrown back, shoul-ders braced firnil}^, muscles at high tension, and eyes alertfor dangers in the shape of hidden stumps or treacheroustree branches. Faster and faster grows the pace as theimpetus of the decline is more and more felt, the shoesrattle like castanets, and the long line of white-coated,blue-capped figures undulates in and out among the treeclumps, appearing, vanishing, and reappearing like somemonstrous serpent in full chase after its prey. Ha ! Whats that ? A fence right across the path ?What is to be done now ? The leader soon answers thisquestion, for over the obstacle he goes as lightly as a bird,and his followers imitate him as best they may, somebeing content to crawl gingerly across by dint of handsand knees. One luckless wigh
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1895
