ed to make a good long run that day, and indeed the stage
of water aided them in that purpose; but Uncle Dick, as leader of the
party, found that Leo and George had very definite ideas of their own
as to what constituted a day's work. When noon came--although neither
of them had a watch--they went ashore at a beach and signified their
intention of resting one hour, quite as though they were members of a
labor-union in some city; so nothing would do but the kettle must be
boiled and a good rest taken.

"How'll you and George get back up this stream, Leo?" inquired Rob,
seating himself by the Indians as they lolled on the sand.

"That easy," said Leo. "We go Revelstruck two, three tam, my cousin
and me. Come up Columby those wind behind us all right. Sometam pull
boat on rope, mos' tam pole. Sometam pull 'um up on bush, little bit
at time. But when we come on Columby, up Canoe, we get horse fifty
miles this side Cranberry Lake and go out on trail. It most easy to go
down and not come up."

"Well, I should say so," said Rob, "and on the whole I'm glad we don't
have to come back at all."

"We not come back this way," said Leo, calmly lighting his pipe.

"But I thought you just said that you did."

"Not this tam. My cousin and me we go on railroad from Revelstruck
west to Ashcroft. Plenty choo-choo wagon Ashcroft near Fort George. At
Fort George two, three choo-choo boat nowadays. We get on choo-choo
boat and go up to Tete Jaune. That's more easy. Bime-by railroad, then
heap more easy."

"Well, will you listen to that!" said John, as Leo concluded.
"Automobiles and powerboats up in this country, and a railroad coming
in a couple of years! It looks to me as though we'd have to go to the
north pole next time, if we get anywhere worth while."

"Bime-by grizzlum," said Leo, rising after a while and tightening his
belt, as he walked down to the boats. "I know two, three good place.
We camp this night, make hunt there."

XXI

THE FIRST BEAR CAMP

As they advanced to the southward the boys all felt that they were, in
spite of all these threats of an advancing civilization, at last in
the wilderness itself. Where the stream swept in close to the mountain
range they could see dense, heavy forest, presenting an unbroken cover
almost to the tops of the peaks themselves. At times when obliged to
leave the bed of the stream for a little while, when the men lined
down the boat on a bad passage, the boys would find th