in wonder. "I was
sure they were gone, but they don't seem to care at all."

On the contrary, Moise seemed to be very much pleased with the
experience. Alex was smoking quietly. Neither said much when finally
they came ashore close where the boys stood.

"That was great work," said Rob. "It was beautiful!"

"These boat she'll not tip over," said Moise calmly. "She's good boat.
I s'pose could carry through maybe a hondred ton or so!"

"Well, maybe not _that_ much!" smiled Alex, "but we've proved that the
channel out there is practicable. We'll go up now and bring down the
other boat. First we'll put this one high up on the bank, so that no
rise in the stream can take it away, because we're apt to need these
boats before we get through."

Suiting the action to the word, the two _voyageurs_ now went back to
the camp, and presently the boys once more saw the nodding and dipping
little craft come around the bend. The _Jaybird_ came through with
quite as good fortune as had the _Mary Ann_. And soon the two canoes,
lightly loaded, were lying side by side on the beach below the rolling
water.

"That's how we'll did done it!" said Moise. "S'pose water will be bad,
go where he'll ain't be so bad. No use for get tip over. S'pose he'll
be too bad, we'll take a rope an' let those boat down little bit to a
time."

"Well," said John, "we don't want to show the white feather, but I
suppose it's just as well that you should take the boats through a bad
place, and not trust to us--we might get rattled in the wrong place
out there."

"Yes," said Rob, "it's better to be too careful than not careful
enough. I can see now what the boats will do, however, and I have more
confidence than I have had at any time about our getting through the
journey all right."

"I can't quite figure out, Mr. Rob," said Alex, "just where we are.
The maps don't seem to look like the country, or the country like the
maps."

"According to my reckoning," Rob answered, "we're now about where
Mackenzie was on June 9th. The day before that--which will be the day
after this as we run down the stream--they had sight of a high, white
mountain in the evening, off to the east, and there were mountains and
valleys in full sight to the south. The valley was wide. That answers
pretty closely to the description of this country here. In the
morning of that day--which will be later on in the day for us as we
go down--they saw a high, white bank on the east. We haven