emacy of a
virgin land. Later it saw the slow-creeping boats of hardy pioneers,
Loyalists, who came to make for themselves homes in the wilderness.
Its shores re-echoed to the shouts and songs of sturdy raftsmen in the
days when acres of great logs were floated down to the sea. It had
cradled upon its bosom fleets of boats, their white sails swelling to
every wind that blew. These were gradually replaced by noisy steamers
and tugs until only a few remained, of which the "Eb and Flo" was one.

To an imaginative mind the history of such a river would be sufficient
to thrill the soul. But to the youth sitting there alone upon deck it
meant nothing. In fact, he did not notice the beauty of the evening,
nor the soft calmness which surrounded him. His mind was upon other
things. He was thinking of the scene which had just been enacted on
board the boat. He was in a rebellious mood, and now, as often before,
quietness and deep thought were his two choice friends. He glanced
occasionally toward the shore and up to the little cottage nestling
among the trees. It was his home, and yet he had little affection for
the place. It was there he had received food and shelter nearly all
his life, but no sweet memories clustered around that little house. He
had always been misunderstood, and he could not recall the time when he
had not been scolded for everything he did. His mother was a woman who
did her duty according to her light, and looked well after the bodily
welfare of her family. But she overlooked the fact that people need
more than bread and clothing, and that eternal scrubbing, washing and
dusting do not make a real home. For the first time in his life he
felt a deep pity for his father as he thought of the stern inquisition
he was no doubt undergoing. And Flo, too, would have much to say, for
her mother had moulded her according to her own design.

"Poor dad must be having a lively time of it now," he mused. "I wish
he'd show a little more spunk, an' stand up fer his rights. Ma an'
Flo'd think more of him if he did. I don't believe all women act that
way. I wonder----?"

His thoughts trailed off to the one girl who had ever stirred his soul.
How different she was from his own sister, he thought. He felt quite
sure that she would not always be finding fault with everything he did.
His eyes glowed with a new light, and his heart beat faster as he
remembered how interested she had been in his drawings. Th