Page:A Wild-Goose Chase - Balmer - 1915.djvu/202

188 days as vainly, in respect to getting game, as the days during which they hunted here; but there was no sport in this hunting. In place of the missing sense of sport Geoff felt a thrill and stir at the thought of the needs of the party looking to his rifle for food supply; but this did not in the same way seem to seize Latham. Geoff could not tell how Price might have acted if they had found game; for day after day they went out, separated, and each hunted alone farther and farther from the camp, but returned always after darkness with nothing or almost nothing.

"Saw some funny little whitish things like calcimined prairie dogs to-day," Geoff reported as he returned weary after a long day which had taken him many miles from the hut.

"Good. Next time you see them bring them in," Koehler directed.

"What are they?"

"Lemmings."

"What're they?"

"If you must know, a sort of ground rat; but call 'em lemmings. It sounds better and we may be eating them."