Whenever Hunter wasn’t on patrol, he split logs with a sledge and wedges all morning, making rails for fences that would be built in the spring. In the afternoon he cut firewood, working a bow saw to cut logs to length and then splitting them to size with a maul. In the evenings he brooded in the main hall, a timber and wattle lodge with fire pits down the middle and tables and benches along the side. There were holes in the thatched roof, ostensibly to let smoke rise out of the hall, but for the most part the holes let in spitting rain and snow. Meanwhile the smoke hung in the rafters or, if the firewood was too green, choked the whole hall with thick clouds.
The hall was tightly built and warm and the food, while plain – mostly breads and stews and porridges – was plentiful. Every few d
