orer and endure some of the privations which such men as Stanley,
Livingstone, Dr. Kane and other renowned characters in history were said
to have met with in carrying out their tasks.

From the desolate character of their present surroundings it would seem
that Teddy was in a fair way to realize his boyish dream. For days now
they had not met with a living human being, even an Indian trapper far
away from his tepee in search of game. Mountains and valleys, plains
covered with scrub trees and seemingly endless bogs, and stretches of
moss-covered land surrounded them day after day.

They had ascended one river until they could paddle their three canoes
no further. At this point had come the first carry to another stream,
and from that day on it had been the hardest kind of work as time passed
on.

Already Jimmy had lost all track of direction, and often declared that
it would not surprise him if they finally turned up somewhere over in
Siberia, for to his mind it seemed as though they had come far enough to
have passed the North Pole, even though they had seen no ice packs.

The taciturn Indian guide, who went under the name of Tamasjo, and the
dusky voyageur, a French Canadian named Francois, assured them that all
was well, whenever one of the boys ventured to voice a suspicion that
they might have lost their way and wandered far past their objective
point.

Both guides claimed to have hunted all over this country in times past,
and the voyageur had even accompanied a noted explorer on a summer
wandering up here. Hence their confidence reassured Ned, who often
consulted a rude chart which had been placed in his hands before
starting out on this journey, and thus verified the statements made by
Francois.

Much paddling through rushing rapids and against the current of
boisterous rivers had made the muscles of the boys' arms seem like iron.
Every one of them appeared to be the picture of good health; because
there is absolutely nothing equal to this outdoor life to build up
sturdy constitutions.

Already all of them were at work. The tents went up so rapidly that it
was plain to be seen these lads would easily take the prize offered for
perfection in camp making, in a contest between rival patrols.

The canoes had been safely drawn up on the shelving beach, and doubly
secured; because it would be nothing short of a calamity to lose one of
the handy vessels while so far from civilization, and with no suitable
bir