almost perpendicularly above them ere they were ready to shoot, so
that they were obliged to fire hastily in _hope_, feeling that they were
losing their balance, or give up the chance altogether.

Mr Park sat grimly in his place all the while, enjoying the scene, and
smoking.

"Now then, Charley," said he, "take that fellow."

"Which? where? Oh, if I could only get _one_!" said Charley, looking up
eagerly at the screaming birds, at which he had been staring so long, in
their varying and crossing flight, that his sight had become hopelessly
unsteady.

"There! Look sharp: fire away!"

Bang went Charley's piece, as he spoke, at a gull which flew straight
towards him, but so rapidly that it was directly above his head; indeed,
he was leaning a little backwards at the moment, which caused him to
miss again, while the recoil of the gun brought matters to a climax, by
toppling him over into Mr Park's lap, thereby smashing that gentleman's
pipe to atoms. The fall accidentally exploded the second barrel,
causing the butt to strike Charley in the pit of his stomach--as if to
ram him well home into Mr Park's open arms--and hitting with a stray
shot a gull that was sailing high up in the sky in fancied security. It
fell with a fluttering crash into the boat while the men were laughing
at the accident.

"Didn't I say so?" cried Mr Park, wrathfully, as he pitched Charley out
of his lap, and spat out the remnants of his broken pipe.

Fortunately for all parties, at this moment the boat approached a spot
on which the guide had resolved to land for breakfast; and seeing the
unpleasant predicament into which poor Charley had fallen, he assumed
the strong tones of command with which guides are frequently gifted, and
called out,--"Ho, ho! a terre! a terre! to land! to land! Breakfast, my
boys; breakfast!"--at the same time sweeping the boat's head shoreward,
and running into a rocky bay, whose margin was fringed by a growth of
small trees. Here, in a few minutes, they were joined by the other
boats of the brigade, which had kept within sight of each other nearly
the whole morning.

While travelling through the wilds of North America in boats, voyageurs
always make a point of landing to breakfast. Dinner is a meal with
which they are unacquainted, at least on the voyage, and luncheon is
likewise unknown. If a man feels hungry during the day, the
pemmican-bag and its contents are there; he may pause in his work at any
time