s Owen smiled in a curious manner, and openly confessed that the
only damage he had sustained besides getting wet, was the loss of his
jacket; and he surely had little regret for that missing garment since
Cuthbert had so kindly clothed him with a spare one of his own.

Eli may not have been as able to grasp the true significance of this
frank declaration as his comrade; but even he realized that the subject
must be a sore one with Owen, and that it was not wise to ask questions
or seem curious, so he immediately turned to other matters.

Really, he could not be blamed for this wonder, since it was indeed a
strange thing to meet with a wanderer in this vast territory so far from
the outposts of civilization entirely destitute of the commonest
necessities for comfort or the procuring of food--no blanket, cooking
utensils, food, and even a gun missing--well, there surely lay back of
this a story of unusual interest; and for one Eli hoped their new friend
would soon take them into his confidence, at least so far that they
might be able to help him.

After some hard work all the stuff was carried to a point above the
rapids, where they could readily launch their craft without being
carried down into the hungry maw of the swirling flood.

The river had risen somewhat after the rainstorm of the previous night,
and evidently there would be no lack of water above; this is always a
welcome fact to those who navigate toward the headwaters of rivers,
since it is no sport to track canoes over almost dry beds of streams,
making "shoes" for the boats in order to prevent their being torn by
sharp rocks during the passage.

Owing to the current, which was particularly swift in the region of the
rapids, they had to bend to the paddle with considerable vim when the
start was eventually made; but the cruisers were young, and their
muscles well seasoned by more or less hard work, so that they gradually
drew away from the vicinity of Owen's mad voyage among the rocks and
sucking whirls of the drop in the river; and the further they went the
easier the paddling became.

The morning was cool and invigorating after the storm, so that it was
not to be wondered at that our young friends felt joyous, and presently
Eli broke out in a lumberman's "chanty" that he had picked up while in
camp--Cuthbert joined in the chorus, and unable to withstand the
seductive strains, Owen found himself also lifting his voice and adding
volume to the merry so