it till the
blackguard shows himself. Keep well to the right, an' don't mind the
big rock; the rush o' water takes you clear o' that without trouble."

With this concluding piece of advice, he pointed to the fall, which
plunged over a ledge of rock about half a mile ahead of them, and which
was distinguishable by a small column of white spray that rose out of
it. As Charley beheld it his spirits rose, and forgetting for a moment
the circumstances that called him there, he cried out--

"I'll run it before you, Jacques. Hurrah! Give way, Harry!" and in
spite of a remonstrance from the guide, he shot the canoe ahead, gave
vent to another reckless shout, and flew, rather than glided, down the
stream. On seeing this the guide held back, so as to give him
sufficient time to take the plunge ere he followed. A few strokes
brought Charley's canoe to the brink of the fall, and Harry was just in
the act of raising himself in the bow to observe the position of the
rocks, when a shout was heard on the bank close beside them. Looking up
they beheld an Indian emerge from the forest, fit an arrow to his bow,
and discharge it at them. The winged messenger was truly aimed; it
whizzed through the air and transfixed Harry Somerville's left shoulder
just at the moment they swept over the fall. The arrow completely
incapacitated Harry from using his arm, so that the canoe, instead of
being directed into the broad current, took a sudden turn, dashed in
among a mass of broken rocks, between which the water foamed with
violence, and upset. Here the canoe stuck fast, while its owners stood
up to their waists in the water, struggling to set it free--an object
which they were the more anxious to accomplish that its stern lay
directly in the spot where Jacques would infallibly descend. The next
instant their fears were realised. The second canoe glided over the
cataract, dashed violently against the first, and upset, leaving Jacques
and his man in a similar predicament. By their aid, however, the canoes
were more easily righted, and embarking quickly they shot forth again,
just as the Indian, who had been obliged to make a detour in order to
get within range of their position, reappeared on the banks above, and
sent another shaft after them--fortunately, however, without effect.

"This is unfortunate," muttered Jacques, as the party landed and
endeavoured to wring some of the water from their dripping clothes; "an'
the worst of it i