Although I had said that I must go immediately, I lingered for some time with Lily, for I never was in a hurry to leave her.  It was consequently quite dark before I got half-way to the hut; still, I knew the path-- indeed, there was only one.  The snow, however, thickly covered the ground, and I had to guide myself by feeling the scores on the trunks of the trees.  Had every tree been thus marked, there would have been no great difficulty; but, of course, they were scored only at intervals, and sometimes I was uncertain whether I had not somehow got out of the direct line.  I knew that, did I once go wrong, it would be a hard matter, if not impossible, to find my way back again.  There might be wolves prowling about, too; or I might by chance find myself in the grasp of a hungry bear, bent on a visit to the hog-pens in the settlement.  Intending to return early, I had left without my gun--an act of folly I resolved not to repeat.  Should I lose myself, I should have no means of making a signal, and I might very possibly be frozen to death before the morning.