You have
no axe, of course, so you must look about for the driest sticks that
you can find. Do not seek them close beside the stream, for there
they are likely to be water-soaked; but go back into the woods a bit
and gather a good armful of fuel. Then break it, if you can, into
lengths of about two feet, and construct your fire in the following
fashion.
Lay two sticks parallel, and put between them a pile of dried grass,
dead leaves, small twigs, and the paper in which your lunch was
wrapped. Then lay two other sticks crosswise on top of your first
pair. Strike your match and touch your kindlings. As the fire
catches, lay on other pairs of sticks, each pair crosswise to the
pair that is below it, until you have a pyramid of flame. This is
"a Micmac fire" such as the Indians make in the woods.
Now you can pull off your wading-boots and warm your feet at the
blaze. You can toast your bread if you like. You can even make
shift to broil one of your trout, fastened on the end of a birch
twig if you have a fancy that way. When your hunger is satisfied,
you shake out the crumbs for the birds and the squirrels, pick up a
stick with a coal at the end to light your pipe, put some more wood
on your fire, and settle down for an hour's reading if you have a
book in your pocket, or for a good talk if you have a comrade with
you.
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