ch longer pull on the morrow, and as he hoped attain the object of
their expedition. Such a trip, in spite of the hard work they would
have to go through, not free from danger though it might be, was exactly
to their tastes.

They reached the ship two hours after dark. The captain had been
getting ready provisions and ammunition so that they might start at dawn
of day. Virginia, surmising their intentions, crept out of the cabin,
and was on the watch, intending to go also. Oliver had no little
difficulty in persuading her to remain, and not till he told her that
the great chief who commanded the big canoe would not allow her to go
did she consent to remain. A light breeze blowing up the river, the
long-boat, with the canoe astern, sped merrily on her voyage. Oliver
had taken care to obtain from his sister, as far as he could understand
her language, an exact description of the channel by which the rapids
might be avoided. With a strong current against them, heavy also as the
boat was, they made much slower progress during the second part. They
were still some way from the rapids when night overtook them. Oliver
and Ben agreed that it would be impossible to attempt the channel unless
in broad daylight; they therefore secured their boat to the bank under a
wide-spreading tree.

Oliver, young as he was, knew the importance of being on their guard
against surprise. Accordingly he and Ben searched round to ascertain
whether any Indians were lurking in the neighbourhood; he also stationed
a sentry on shore with orders to keep his ears open, that he might give
timely notice of the approach of a foe. The night passed off, however,
without interruption.

"Now, lads, we must get up these rapids before the hot sun comes down to
make the toil harder to bear," cried Ben, rousing the men up. "For the
next three or four miles the water is deep and free from rocks, as I
noted when we came down, and we may get along it in the twilight."

Ben was right, and, with the early light, the rapids came in sight
ahead; then, steering to the right, they found the channel Virginia had
described. The depth at the entrance was sufficient to float the boat,
but it was too narrow to allow the oars to be worked. The only way,
therefore, by which they could hope to get on was to land and tow the
boat up against the current. This was no easy matter, as in many places
the stems and roots of the trees came close down to the water's edge,