midday
For a little way we followed it , seeing other and narrower trails branching from it right and left , running I knew not whither -- the narrow , delicate lanes made by game -- deer and bear , fox and hare -- all spreading out into the dusk of the unknown forest . Presently we came to a trail which seemed wet , as though swampy land were not far away ; and into this the Mohican turned , slashing a great scar on the nearest tree as he entered it . There was a mossy stream ahead , and the banks of it were dark and soft . Here we rested high and dry on the huge roots of an oak , and ate our midday meal . In a little while the remainder of our party came gliding through the trees , Boyd ahead . `` Is this the Catharines-town trail ? '' he asked .