"Well, I'm glad we made our trip this year," said Rob.

"We haven't made it yet!" smiled Alex. "But I think to-morrow we'll
see what we can do."

They made an early start in the morning, their first task being that
of trying to get the _Jaybird_ up the steep face of the bluff which
rose back of the camp, on top of which the trail, such as it was, made
off through the shoulders of the mountains in a general course toward
the east, the river sweeping in a wide elbow, thirty miles around,
through its wild and impassable gorge, far to the south of them.

Taking a boat, even a little one, overland is no easy task, especially
up so steep an ascent as this. Powerful as was the old hunter, it was
hard enough to make much progress, and at times they seemed to lose as
much as they gained. None the less, Alex was something of a general in
work of this sort, and when they had gained an inch of progress he
usually managed to hold it by means of snubbing the boat's line around
the nearest stump or rock.

"That's awfully strong line, isn't it?" said Rob. "You brought that
over with you--we didn't have that in our country. We use rope. I was
noticing how thin the line was which those two breeds had on their
dugout yesterday."

"That's the sort they use all through the trade in the North,"
answered Alex. "It has to be thin, or it would get too waterlogged and
heavy. You'll see how long it needs to be in order that the men on
shore can get it over all the rocks and stumps and still leave the
steersman headway on the boat. It has been figured out as the right
thing through many years, and I have seen it used without change all
my life."

"Well, it hasn't broken yet," said Rob. "But I think we had better
piece it out by doubling it the best we can. We don't want to break it
up at this work."

Little by little, Alex lifting the main portion of the weight, and
the boys shoving at the stern the best they could, they did edge the
_Jaybird_ at last clear to the top of the bank, where finally she sat
on level keel on a little piece of green among the trees.

While they were resting John idly passed a little way to one side
among the trees, when, much to his surprise, he almost stepped into
the middle of a bunch of spruce-grouse. These foolish birds, although
perhaps they had hardly seen a white man in all their lives, did no
more than to fly up in the low branches of the trees. Alex called out
in a low tone to John to come back. Then