to his feet. Then came the answering "Halloo!" of Jesse,
who came scrambling up to meet them as they hurried down.

"You're safe, then," said Jesse. "Oh, but I'm glad you got here all
right."

"We're glad to meet you safe and sound, too," said Rob. "Yes, we
finished the trip--we even carried our boat through by ourselves, and
she's there now on the bank of the stream, ready to go on down."

"That's fine," said Jess. "These two men, the cousins of Moise, have
been as nice as you please. They said they could fix up the _Mary
Ann_, and they were very glad to have her--there she is, all in a
bundle. They are taking her across in sections. It was hard work
getting up the river, for it was all dirty and high. But we made it--I
think we worked eighteen hours a day all the way round. Moise is a
hustler, all right, besides being a cook."

"So is Alex a hustler, you may depend," rejoined Rob. "We couldn't
have two better men. Well, here we are, together once more, safe and
sound."

"What's the programme now, Rob?" asked John.

"We're to sleep here to-night--although it doesn't seem as though we'd
have very many blankets," answered Rob. "And then in the morning I
suppose Moise would better go and help Alex get the boat down to the
river. But where's the other dugout we were to have, Moise?"

Moise talked awhile further with the two reticent breeds.

"My cousin Billy, he'll say there's old man about five, seex mile
below there, an' he'll got dugout," he said at last. "He'll say twenty
dollar for dugout."

"That's cheaper than Peterboroughs," said Rob, smiling. "Anyhow, we've
got to have it, because you can't buy canoes in shops here on the
Peace River. You tell these two men, Moise, to go down there in the
morning and have the old man, whoever he is, bring his canoe up as
soon as he can to the port. We'll meet, I should say, about noon
to-morrow, if all goes well. And as we're now through the worst of it
and seem to have pretty fair weather yet, I shall be surprised if we
don't get quite a bit farther east inside of the next twenty-four
hours."

"Then hurrah for Uncle Dick!" said John. "He's somewhere down this
river, and maybe it won't be so very long before we run across him."

"Hurrah! for all those boy also!" smiled Moise. "Pretty lucky,
_hein_?"

XXIII

THE LAND OF PLENTY

Rob's plans were approved by Alex and Moise, and worked out so well
that by noon of the next day the entire party had reassembled