Moise, crossed the neck of the bend
and passed on down the river some distance. The boys, following more
slowly around the curve of the beach, finally saw both Alex and Moise
poised on some high rocks and pointing at the wild water which
stretched below them for the distance of two or three hundred yards.
Moise, who seemed to be more savage than Alex, made a wild figure as
he stood gesticulating, a red handkerchief bound over his long, black
hair, and his red sash holding in place the ragged remnants of his
trousers. To the boys it seemed sure that the boats could not get
through such water at all, but to their surprise the two men seemed
not in the least concerned when at length they returned to the camp.

"It's a little rough," said Alex, "but there seems to be a good
channel out in the middle, plenty of water. We'll run the boats
through all right without any trouble. We'll go through light, and
then portage the camp stuff across the bend after we get the boats
below the rapids. Come on then, young gentlemen, and help us get
ready. It may be interesting to you to see your first piece of real
white water, although it isn't very bad.

"As I figure it, then, Mr. Rob," continued Alex, "we ought to have
rather better water below here for a little while. What does your map
say about that?"

"Well," answered Rob, "it's pretty hard to tell exactly, but taking
the stories of Fraser and Mackenzie together, we ought to be here
about one hundred and fifty miles above the mouth of the Finlay. By
to-morrow night, if we hurry, we ought to be at or below the McLeod
Lake outlet. Dr. Macoun says in his government report that it is easy
running in the late season from McLeod to the Finlay, about eighty
miles; and I saw a letter once from Mr. Hussey, a friend of Uncle
Dick's, who made this trip lately, and he said there was not much bad
water between the lake and the mouth of the Finlay. Below there--look
out, that's all!

"It took the Mackenzie party six or eight days' plugging to get from
there up to the carrying place," he added, "but we're going downhill
instead of uphill. I should think we would have alternate stretches of
quiet water here and there, but no very rough water from here on down
for a while. With our small boats we probably cannot go so fast for a
while now as they did with their big canoes. They could run bang
through a big rapid where we'd have to portage."

"Well," said Alex, "I suggest that we spend the rest