been submerged in
Soddy on The Interpretation of Radium. The _Druro_ was running along a
sandy, low-lying beach about half a mile offshore. They were nearing the
mouth of a wide river. The volume of black fresh water from the Moisie
rushed out into the St. Lawrence until it met the green sea water,
causing a sharp demarcation of colour and a no less pronounced conflict
of natural forces. For, owing to the pressure of the tide against the
solid mass of the fresh stream, acres of water unexpectedly boiled on
all sides, throwing geysers of foam twenty feet or more into the air,
and then subsided. Off the point the engine bell rang twice, and the
_Druro_ came to a pause.

Bennie, standing in the bow, in his sportsman's cap and waterproof,
hugging his rod cases to his breast, watched while a heterogeneous fleet
of canoes, skiffs, and sailboats came racing out from shore, for the
steamer does not land here, but hangs in the offing and lighters its
cargo ashore. Leading the lot was a sort of whaleboat propelled by two
oars on one side and one on the other, and in the sternsheets sat a
rosy-cheeked, good-natured looking man with a smooth-shaven face who
Bennie knew must be Malcolm Holliday.

"Hello, Cap!" shouted Holliday. "Any passengers?"

The captain from the pilot house waved contemptuously in Bennie's
general direction.

"Howdy!" said Holliday. "What do you want? What can I do for you?"

"I thought I'd try a little salmon fishing," shrieked Bennie back at
him.

Holliday shook his head. "Sorry," he bellowed, "river's leased. Besides,
the officers[4] are here."

[Footnote 4: Along the St. Lawrence and the Labrador coast a salmon
fisherman is always spoken of by natives and local residents as an
"officer," the reason being that most of the sportsmen who visit these
waters are English army officers. Hence salmon fishermen are universally
termed "officers," and a habitan will describe the sportsmen who have
rented a certain river as "_les officiers de la Moisie_" or "_les
officiers de la Romaine_."]

"Oh!" answered Bennie ruefully. "I didn't know. I supposed I could fish
anywhere."

"Well, you can't!" snapped Holliday, puzzled by the little man's curious
appearance.

"I suppose I can go ashore, can't I?" insisted Bennie somewhat
indignantly. "I'll just take a camping trip then. I'd like to see the
big salmon cache up at the forks if I can't do anything else."

Instantly Holliday scented something. "Another fello