heir
journey seemed delightful in every way. They did not pause to hunt,
and saw no game excepting one band of four timber wolves, upon which
they came as they swept around a bend, but which hastened under cover
before any one could get a shot. Once in a while they stopped at
little beaches or bars, and almost always saw the trails of large game
in the sand or mud. Always they felt that now they were deep in the
wilderness, and every moment was a pleasure to them.

They did not really know how far below the Finlay rapids they traveled
that day, for continually they discovered that it is difficult to
apply map readings to the actual face of a new country. They made no
great attempt at speed, but sometimes drifted down-stream, the boats
close together. Sometimes when the wind was fair Rob or John would
raise the corner of a tent or blanket to act as a sail. Thus, idling
and chatting along, they made perhaps forty miles down-stream before
they made their next evening camp. The country seemed to them wilder
now, since the bold hills were so close in upon them, though of course
they knew that each day was bringing them closer to the settlements on
the eastern side of the range.

That night was cold, and they had no trouble with mosquitoes. Feeling
no need of hurry, they made a late start and idled on down the river
through a very interesting mountain region, until the afternoon.
Toward evening they began to feel that they might perhaps be near the
dreaded Parle Pas rapids, and they approached each bend with care,
sometimes going ashore for a prospecting trip which proved to be made
only on a false alarm. They had, however, now begun to learn the "feel
of the water," as the _voyageurs_ called it. Rob, who was ahead, at
length noted the glassy look of the river, and called back to Moise
that he believed there were rapids ahead.

"Parle Pas!" cried Moise. "On shore, queek!"

Swiftly they paddled across, to the north side of the river, where
presently they were joined by the other boat.

"She's the Parle Pas, all right," laughed Moise; "look at heem!"

From their place of observation they could see a long ridge, or rim,
the water falling in a sort of cascade well out across the stream.
There seemed to be a chute, or channel, in midstream, but the
back-combing rollers below it looked ominously large for a boat the
size of theirs, so that they were glad enough to be where they were,
on dry land.

Moise was once more for r