less than two minutes they were darting across the
lake in their little Indian canoe, which was made of birch-bark, and was
so light that one man could carry it easily.

While they are thus engaged I will introduce the reader to John Heywood.
This individual was a youth of nineteen or twenty years of age, who was
by profession a painter of landscapes and animals. He was tall and
slender in person, with straight black hair, a pale haggard-looking
face, an excitable nervous manner, and an enthusiastic temperament.
Being adventurous in his disposition, he had left his father's home in
Canada, and entreated his friend, Jasper Derry, to take him along with
him into the wilderness. At first Jasper was very unwilling to agree to
this request; because the young artist was utterly ignorant of
everything connected with a life in the woods, and he could neither use
a paddle nor a gun. But Heywood's father had done him some service at a
time when he was ill and in difficulties, so, as the youth was very
anxious to go, he resolved to repay this good turn of the father by
doing a kindness to the son.

Heywood turned out but a poor backwoodsman, but he proved to be a
pleasant, amusing companion, and as Jasper and the Indian were quite
sufficient for the management of the light canoe, and the good gun of
the former was more than sufficient to feed the party, it mattered
nothing to Jasper that Heywood spent most of his time seated in the
middle of the canoe, sketching the scenery as they went along. Still
less did it matter that Heywood missed everything he fired at, whether
it was close at hand or far away.

At first Jasper was disposed to look upon his young companion as a poor
useless creature; and the Indian regarded him with undisguised contempt.
But after they had been some time in his company, the opinions of these
two men of the woods changed; for they found that the artist was wise,
and well informed on many subjects of which they were extremely
ignorant; and they beheld with deep admiration the beautiful and
life-like drawings and paintings which he produced in rapid succession.

Such was the romantic youth who had, for the sake of seeing and painting
the wilderness, joined himself to these rough sons of the forest, and
who now sat in the centre of the canoe swaying his arms about and
shouting with excitement as they quickly drew near to the swimming herd
of deer.

"Keep yourself still," said Jasper, looking over his