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diff --git a/old/68322-0.txt b/old/68322-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d6c9efa..0000000 --- a/old/68322-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3692 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The cruise of the Canoe Club, by W. L. -Alden - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The cruise of the Canoe Club - -Author: W. L. Alden - -Release Date: June 15, 2022 [eBook #68322] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Hulse, hekula03 and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRUISE OF THE CANOE -CLUB *** - - - - - -[Illustration: - - “DON’T THINK FOR A MOMENT OF GETTING ANY OTHER CANOE.” [P. 12. ] - - - - - THE CRUISE OF THE CANOE CLUB - - - BY W. L. ALDEN - AUTHOR OF - “THE MORAL PIRATES” “THE CRUISE OF THE ‘GHOST’” ETC. - - - Illustrated - - - NEW YORK - HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE - 1883 - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by - - HARPER & BROTHERS, - - In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - - - _All rights reserved._ - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - “DON’T THINK FOR A MOMENT OF GETTING ANY OTHER - CANOE” _Frontispiece_ - - “SHE’S HALF FULL OF WATER” 30 - - A STAMPEDE IN CAMP 38 - - NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS 50 - - “HE CAUGHT HOLD OF THE ROOT OF A TREE AND KEPT HIS - CANOE STATIONARY” 70 - - RUNNING THE RAPID 78 - - GETTING BREAKFAST UNDER DIFFICULTIES 94 - - HUNTING FOR A WILD-CAT IN CHAMBLY CASTLE 110 - - SAILING DOWN THE RICHELIEU RIVER 116 - - “THEY FOUND A BEAR FEASTING UPON THE REMAINS OF THEIR - BREAKFAST” 138 - - AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE 146 - - “HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU GET UP THERE?” 160 - - - - -THE CRUISE - -OF - -THE CANOE CLUB. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -It is a very easy thing for four boys to make up their minds to get -four canoes and to go on a canoe cruise, but it is not always so -easy to carry out such a project--as Charley Smith, Tom Schuyler, -Harry Wilson, and Joe Sharpe discovered. - -Canoes cost money; and though some canoes cost more than others, -it is impossible to buy a new wooden canoe of an approved model -for less than seventy-five dollars. Four canoes, at seventy-five -dollars each, would cost altogether three hundred dollars. As the -entire amount of pocket-money in the possession of the boys was -only seven dollars and thirteen cents, it was clear that they were -not precisely in a position to buy canoes. - -There was Harry’s uncle, who had already furnished his nephew -and his young comrades first with a row-boat, and then with a -sail-boat. Even a benevolent uncle deserves some mercy, and the -boys agreed that it would never do to ask Uncle John to spend three -hundred dollars in canoes for them. “The most we can ask of him,” -said Charley Smith, “is to let us sell the _Ghost_ and use the -money to help pay for canoes.” - -Now, the _Ghost_, in which the boys had made a cruise along the -south shore of Long Island, was a very nice sail-boat, but it was -improbable that any one would be found who would be willing to -give more than two hundred dollars for her. There would still be -a hundred dollars wanting, and the prospect of finding that sum -seemed very small. - -“If we could only have stayed on that water-logged brig and -brought her into port we should have made lots of money,” said Tom. -“The captain of the schooner that towed us home went back with a -steamer and brought the brig in yesterday. Suppose we go and look -at her once more?” - -While cruising in the _Ghost_ the boys had found an abandoned brig, -which they had tried to sail into New York harbor, but they had -been compelled to give up the task, and to hand her over to the -captain of a schooner which towed the partly disabled _Ghost_ into -port. They all thought they would like to see the brig again, so -they went down to Burling Slip, where she was lying, and went on -board her. - -The captain of the schooner met the boys on the dock. He was in -excellent spirits, for the brig was loaded with valuable South -American timber, and he was sure of receiving as much as ten -thousand dollars from her owners. He knew very well that, while the -boys had no legal right to any of the money, they had worked hard -in trying to save the brig, and had been the means of putting her -in his way. He happened to be an honest, generous man, and he felt -very rich; so he insisted on making each of the boys a present. - -The present was sealed up in an envelope, which he gave to Charley -Smith, telling him not to look at its contents until after -dinner--the boys having mentioned that they were all to take dinner -together at Uncle John’s house. Charley put the envelope rather -carelessly in his pocket; but when it was opened it was found to -contain four new one-hundred-dollar bills. - -It need hardly be said that the boys were delighted. They showed -the money to Uncle John, who told them that they had fairly earned -it, and need feel no hesitation about accepting it. They had now -money enough to buy canoes, and to pay the expenses of a canoe -cruise. Mr. Schuyler, Mr. Sharpe, and Charley’s guardian were -consulted, and at Uncle John’s request gave their consent to the -canoeing scheme. The first great difficulty in the way was thus -entirely removed. - -“I don’t know much about canoes,” remarked Uncle John, when the -boys asked his advice as to what kind of canoes they should get, -“but I know the commodore of a canoe club. You had better go -and see him, and follow his advice. I’ll give you a letter of -introduction to him.” - -No time was lost in finding the commodore, and Charley Smith -explained to him that four young canoeists would like to know what -was the very best kind of canoe for them to get. - -The Commodore, who, in spite of his magnificent title, wasn’t in -the least alarming, laughed, and said, “That is a question that -I’ve made up my mind never to try to answer. But I’ll give you the -names of four canoeists, each of whom uses a different variety of -canoe. You go and see them, listen to what they say, believe it -all, and then come back and see me, and we’ll come to a decision.” -He then wrote four notes of introduction, gave them to the boys, -and sent them away. - -The first canoeist to whom the boys were referred received them -with great kindness, and told them that it was fortunate they -had come to him. “The canoe that you want,” said he, “is the -‘Rice Lake’ canoe, and if you had gone to somebody else, and -he had persuaded you to buy ‘Rob Roy’ canoes or ‘Shadows,’ you -would have made a great mistake. The ‘Rice Lake’ canoe is nearly -flat-bottomed, and so stiff that there is no danger that you will -capsize her. She paddles easily, and sails faster than any other -canoe. She is roomy, and you can carry about twice as much in her -as you can carry in a ‘Rob Roy.’ She has no keel, so that you can -run rapids easily in her, and she is built in a peculiar way that -makes it impossible for her to leak. Don’t think for a moment of -getting any other canoe, for if you do you will never cease to -regret it.” - -He was such a pleasant, frank gentleman, and was so evidently -earnest in what he said, that the boys at once decided to get ‘Rice -Lake’ canoes. They did not think it worth while to make any farther -inquiries; but, as they had three other notes of introduction -with them, Tom Schuyler said that it would hardly do to throw them -away. So they went to see the next canoeist, though without the -least expectation that he would say anything that would alter their -decision. - -Canoeist No. 2 was as polite and enthusiastic as canoeist No. 1. -“So you boys want to get canoes, do you?” said he. “Well, there -is only one canoe for you to get, and that is the ‘Shadow.’ She -paddles easily, and sails faster than any other canoe. She’s not -a flat-bottomed skiff, like the ‘Rice Laker,’ that will spill you -whenever a squall strikes her, but she has good bearings, and you -can’t capsize her unless you try hard. Then, she is decked all -over, and you can sleep in her at night, and keep dry even in a -thunder-storm; her water-tight compartments have hatches in them, -so that you can stow blankets and things in them that you want to -keep dry; and she has a keel, so that when you run rapids, and -she strikes on a rock, she will strike on her keel instead of her -planks. It isn’t worth while for you to look at any other canoe, -for there is no canoe except the ‘Shadow’ that is worth having.” - -“You don’t think much of the ‘Rice Lake’ canoe, then?” asked Harry. - -“Why, she isn’t a civilized canoe at all,” replied the canoeist. -“She is nothing but a heavy, wooden copy of the Indian birch. She -hasn’t any deck, she hasn’t any water-tight compartments, and she -hasn’t any keel. Whatever else you do, don’t get a ‘Rice Laker.’” - -The boys thanked the advocate of the “Shadow,” and when they -found themselves in the street again they wondered which of the -two canoeists could be right, for each directly contradicted the -other, and each seemed to be perfectly sincere. They reconsidered -their decision to buy “Rice Lake” canoes, and looked forward with -interest to their meeting with canoeist No. 3. - -That gentleman was just as pleasant as the other two, but he did -not agree with a single thing that they had said. “There are -several different models of canoes,” he remarked, “but that -is simply because there are ignorant people in the world. Mr. -Macgregor, the father of canoeing, always uses a ‘Rob Roy’ canoe, -and no man who has once been in a good ‘Rob Roy’ will ever get -into any other canoe. The ‘Rob Roy’ paddles like a feather, and -will outsail any other canoe. She weighs twenty pounds less than -those great, lumbering canal-boats, the ‘Shadow’ and the ‘Rice -Laker,’ and it don’t break your back to paddle her or to carry -her round a dam. She is decked over, but her deck isn’t all cut -up with hatches. There’s plenty of room to sleep in her, and her -water-tight compartments are what they pretend to be--not a couple -of leaky boxes stuffed full of blankets.” - -“We have been advised,” began Charley, “to get ‘Shadows’ or ‘Rice’--” - -“Don’t you do it,” interrupted the canoeist. “It’s lucky for you -that you came to see me. It is a perfect shame for people to try to -induce you to waste your money on worthless canoes. Mind you get -‘Rob Roys,’ and nothing else. Other canoes don’t deserve the name. -They are schooners, or scows, or canal-boats, but the ‘Rob Roy’ is -a genuine canoe.” - -“Now for the last canoeist on the list!” exclaimed Harry as the -boys left the office of canoeist No. 3. “I wonder what sort of a -canoe he uses?” - -“I’m glad there is only one more of them for us to see,” said Joe. -“The Commodore told us to believe all they said, and I’m trying my -best to do it, but it’s the hardest job I ever tried.” - -The fourth canoeist was, on the whole, the most courteous and -amiable of the four. He begged his young friends to pay no -attention to those who recommended wooden canoes, no matter what -model they might be. “Canvas,” said he, “is the only thing that a -canoe should be built of. It is light and strong, and if you knock -a hole in it you can mend it in five minutes. If you want to spend -a great deal of money and own a yacht that is too small to sail in -with comfort and too clumsy to be paddled, buy a wooden canoe; -but if you really want to cruise, you will, of course, get canvas -canoes.” - -“We have been advised to get ‘Rice Lakers,’ ‘Shadows,’ and ‘Rob -Roys,’” said Tom, “and we did not know until now that there was -such a thing as a canvas canoe.” - -“It is very sad,” replied the canoeist, “that people should take -pleasure in giving such advice. They must know better. However, the -subject is a painful one, and we won’t discuss it. Take my advice, -my dear boys, and get canvas canoes. All the really good canoeists -in the country would say the same thing to you.” - -“We must try,” said Joe, as the boys walked back to the Commodore’s -office, “to believe that the ‘Rice Laker,’ the ‘Shadow,’ the ‘Rob -Roy,’ and the canvas canoe is the best one ever built. It seems to -me something like believing that four and one are just the same. -Perhaps you fellows can do it, but I’m not strong enough to believe -as much as that all at one time.” - -The Commodore smiled when the boys entered his office for the -second time and said, “Well, of course you’ve found out what is the -best canoe, and know just what you want to buy?” - -“We’ve seen four men,” replied Harry, “and each one says that the -canoe that he recommends is the only good one, and that all the -others are good for nothing.” - -“I might have sent you to four other men, and they would have told -you of four other canoes, each of which is the best in existence. -But perhaps you have already heard enough to make up your minds.” - -“We’re farther from making up our minds than ever,” said Harry. “I -do wish you would tell us what kind of canoe is really the best.” - -“The truth is,” said the Commodore, “that there isn’t much to -choose among the different models of canoes, and you’ll find that -every canoeist is honestly certain that he has the best one. Now, -I won’t undertake to select canoes for you, though I will suggest -that a light ‘Rob Roy’ would probably be a good choice for the -smallest of you boys. Why don’t you try all four of the canoes that -have just been recommended to you? Then, if you cruise together, -you can perhaps find out if any one of them is really better than -the others. I will give you the names of three or four builders, -all of whom build good, strong boats.” - -This advice pleased the boys, and they resolved to accept it. That -evening they all met at Harry’s home and decided what canoes they -would get. Harry determined to get a “Shadow,” Tom a “Rice Laker,” -Charley a canvas canoe, and Joe a “Rob Roy;” and the next morning -orders for the four canoes were mailed to the builders whom the -Commodore had recommended. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -It was some time before the canoes were ready, and in the mean time -the young canoeists met with a new difficulty. The canoe-builders -wrote to them wishing to know how they would have the canoes -rigged. It had never occurred to the boys that there was more than -one rig used on canoes, and of course they did not know how to -answer the builders’ question. So they went to the Commodore and -told him their difficulty. - -“I might do,” said he, “just as I did when I told you to go and ask -four different canoeists which is the best canoe; but I won’t put -you to that trouble. I rather like the Lord Ross lateen rig better -than any other, but, as you are going to try different kinds of -canoes, it would be a good idea for you to try different rigs. -For example, have your ‘Rob Roy’ rigged with lateen-sails; rig the -‘Shadow’ with a balance-lug, the ‘Rice Laker’ with a ‘sharpie’ -leg-of-mutton, and the canvas canoe with the standing lug. Each one -of these rigs has its advocates, who will prove to you that it is -better than any other, and you can’t do better than try them all. -Only be sure to tell the builders that every canoe must have two -masts, and neither of the two sails must be too big to be safely -handled.” - -“How does it happen that every canoeist is so perfectly certain that -he has the best canoe and the best rig in existence?” asked Tom. - -“That is one of the great merits of canoeing,” replied the -Commodore. “It makes every man contented, and develops in him -decision of character. I’ve known a canoeist to have a canoe so -leaky that he spent half his time bailing her out, and rigged -in such a way that she would neither sail nor do anything in a -breeze except capsize; and yet he was never tired of boasting of -the immense superiority of his canoe. There’s a great deal of -suffering in canoeing,” continued the Commodore, musingly, “but its -effects on the moral character are priceless. My dear boys, you -have no idea how happy and contented you will be when you are wet -through, cramped and blistered, and have to go into camp in a heavy -rain, and without any supper except dry crackers.” - -While the boys were waiting for their canoes they read all the -books on canoeing that they could find, and searched through a -dozen volumes of the London _Field_, which they found in Uncle -John’s library, for articles and letters on canoeing. They thus -learned a good deal, and when their canoes arrived they were -able to discuss their respective merits with a good degree of -intelligence. - -The “Rob Roy” and the “Shadow” were built with white cedar planks -and Spanish cedar decks. They shone with varnish, and their -nickel-plated metal-work was as bright as silver. They were -decidedly the prettiest of the four canoes, and it would have -been very difficult to decide which was the prettier of the two. -The “Rice Laker” was built without timbers or a keel, and was -formed of two thicknesses of planking riveted together, the grain -of the inner planking crossing that of the outer planking at right -angles. She looked strong and serviceable, and before Tom had -been in possession of her half an hour he was insisting that she -was much the handiest canoe of the squadron, simply because she -had no deck. The outside planks were of butternut; but they were -pierced with so many rivets that they did not present so elegant -an appearance as did the planks of the “Shadow” and the “Rob Roy.” -The canvas canoe consisted of a wooden skeleton-frame, covered and -decked with painted canvas. She was very much the same in model as -the “Shadow;” and though she seemed ugly in comparison with her -varnished sisters, Charley claimed that he would get more comfort -out of his canoe than the other boys would out of theirs, for the -reason that scratches that would spoil the beauty of the varnished -wood could not seriously injure the painted canvas. Thus each boy -was quite contented, and asserted that he would not change canoes -with anybody. They were equally well contented with the way in -which their canoes were rigged, and they no longer wondered at the -confident way in which the canoeists to whom the Commodore had -introduced them spoke of the merits of their respective boats. - -Of course the subject of names for the canoes had been settled -long before the canoes arrived. Joe had named his “Rob Roy” the -_Dawn_; Harry’s canoe was the _Sunshine_; Tom’s the _Twilight_; and -Charley’s the _Midnight_. The last name did not seem particularly -appropriate to a canoe, but it was in keeping with the other names, -and, as the canoe was painted black, it might have been supposed to -have some reference to her color. - -The boys had intended to join the American Canoe Association, but -Uncle John suggested that they would do well to make a cruise, -and to become real canoeists, before asking for admission to the -association. They then decided to form a canoe club of their own, -which they did; and Harry was elected the first Commodore of the -Columbian Canoe Club, the flag of which was a pointed burgee of -blue silk, with a white paddle worked upon it. Each canoe carried -its private signal in addition to the club flag, and bore its name -in gilt letters on a blue ground on each bow. - -Where to cruise was a question which was decided and reconsidered -half a dozen times. From the books which they had read the boys -had learned that there is, if anything, more fun in cruising on a -narrow stream than in sailing on broad rivers; that running rapids -is a delightful sport, and that streams should always be descended -instead of ascended in a canoe. They, therefore, wanted to discover -a narrow stream with safe and easy rapids, and also to cruise on -some lake or wide river where they could test the canoes under -sail and under paddle in rough water. They learned more of the -geography of the Eastern States and of Canada, in searching the map -for a good cruising route, than they had ever learned at school; -and they finally selected a route which seemed to combine all -varieties of canoeing. - -The cruise was to begin at the southern end of Lake Memphremagog, -in Vermont. On this lake, which is thirty miles long, the young -canoeists expected to spend several days, and to learn to handle -the canoes under sail. From the northern end of the lake, which is -in Canada, they intended to descend its outlet, the Magog River, -which is a narrow stream, emptying into the St. Francis River at -Sherbrooke. From Sherbrooke the St. Francis was to be descended to -the St. Lawrence, down which the canoes were to sail to Quebec. -They wrote to the postmaster at Sherbrooke asking him if the Magog -and the St. Francis were navigable by canoes, and when he replied -that there were only one or two rapids in the Magog, which they -could easily run, they were more than ever satisfied with their -route. - -The previous cruises that the boys had made had taught them what -stores and provisions were absolutely necessary and what could be -spared. Each canoe was provided with a water-proof bag to hold a -blanket and dry clothes, and with a pair of small cushions stuffed -with elastic felt, a material lighter than cork, and incapable of -retaining moisture. These cushions were to be used as mattresses at -night, and the rubber blankets were to be placed over the canoes -and used as shelter tents. Although the mattresses would have made -excellent life-preservers, Uncle John presented each canoeist with -a rubber life-belt, which could be buckled around the waist in a -few seconds in case of danger of a capsize. Harry provided his -canoe with a canvas canoe-tent, made from drawings published in the -London _Field_, but the others decided not to go to the expense -of making similar tents until Harry’s should have been thoroughly -tested. - -When all was ready the blankets and stores were packed in the -_Sunshine_, the cockpit of which was provided with hatches, which -could be locked up, thus making the canoe serve the purpose of -a trunk. The four canoes were then sent by rail to Newport, at -the southern end of Lake Memphremagog, and a week later the boys -followed them, carrying their paddles by hand, for the reason that, -if they had been sent with the canoes and had been lost or stolen, -it would have been impossible to start on the cruise until new -paddles had been procured. - -Newport was reached, after an all-night journey, at about two -o’clock in the morning. The canoeists went straight to the -freight-house to inspect the canoes. They were all there, resting -on the heads of a long row of barrels, and were apparently all -right. The varnish of the _Dawn_ and the _Sunshine_ was scratched -in a few places, and the canvas canoe had a very small hole punched -through her deck, as if she had been too intimate with a nail in -the course of her journey. The boys were, however, well satisfied -with the appearance of the boats, and so walked up to the hotel to -get dinner and a supply of sandwiches, bread, and eggs for their -supper. - -Dinner was all ready, for, under the name of breakfast, it was -waiting for the passengers of the train, which made a stop of half -an hour at Newport. A band was playing on the deck of a steamer -which was just about to start down the lake, and the boys displayed -appetites, as they sat near the open window looking out on the -beautiful landscape, which rather astonished the waiter. - -A good, quiet place for launching the canoes was found, which was -both shady and out of sight of the hotel. It was easy enough to -carry the three empty canoes down to the shore; but the _Sunshine_, -with her heavy cargo, proved too great a load, and about half-way -between the freight-house and the shore she had to be laid on the -ground and partly emptied. Here Joe, who tried to carry the spars -and paddles of four canoes on his shoulder, found that there is -nothing more exasperating than a load of sticks of different sizes. -No matter how firmly he tried to hold them together, they would -spread apart at every imaginable angle. Before he had gone three -rods he looked like some new kind of porcupine with gigantic quills -sticking out all over him. Then he began to drop things, and, -stooping to pick them up, managed to trip himself and fall with a -tremendous clatter. He picked himself up and made sixteen journeys -between the spot where he fell and the shore of the lake, carrying -only one spar at a time, and grasping that with both hands. His -companions sat down on the grass and laughed to see the deliberate -way in which he made his successive journeys, but Joe, with a -perfectly serious face, said that he was going to get the better of -those spars, no matter how much trouble it might cost him, and that -he was not going to allow them to get together and play tricks on -him again. - -[Illustration: “SHE’S HALF FULL OF WATER.”] - -It was tiresome stooping over, packing the canoes, but finally they -were all in order, and the Commodore gave the order to launch them. -The lake was perfectly calm, and the little fleet started under -paddle for a long, sandy point that jutted out into the lake some -three miles from Newport. The _Sunshine_ and the _Dawn_ paddled -side by side, and the two other canoes followed close behind them. - -“Boys, isn’t this perfectly elegant?” exclaimed Harry, laying down -his paddle when the fleet was about a mile from the shore and -bathing his hot head with water from the lake. “Did you ever see -anything so lovely as this blue water?” - -“Yes,” said Charley; “the water’s all right outside of the canoes, -but I’d rather have a little less inside of mine.” - -“What do you mean,” asked Harry. “Is she leaking?” - -“She’s half full of water, that’s all,” replied Charley, beginning -to bail vigorously with his hat. - -“Halloo!” cried Joe, suddenly. “Here’s the water up to the top of -my cushions.” - -“We’d better paddle on and get ashore as soon as possible,” said -Harry. “My boat is leaking a little too.” - -Charley bailed steadily for ten minutes, and somewhat reduced -the amount of water in his canoe. The moment he began paddling, -however, the leak increased. He paddled with his utmost strength, -knowing that if he did not soon reach land he would be swamped; -but the water-logged canoe was very heavy, and he could not drive -her rapidly through the water. His companions kept near him, and -advised him to drop his paddle and to bail, but he knew that the -water was coming in faster than he could bail it out, and so he -wasted no time in the effort. It soon became evident that his canoe -would never keep afloat to reach the sand-spit for which he had -been steering, so he turned aside and paddled for a little clump -of rushes, where he knew the water must be shallow. Suddenly he -stopped paddling, and almost at the same moment his canoe sunk -under him, and he sprung up to swim clear of her. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -Luckily the water was only four feet deep, as Charley found when he -tried to touch bottom; so he stopped swimming, and, with the water -nearly up to his shoulders, stood still and began to think what to -do next. - -The canoes--including the sunken _Midnight_--were a good mile -from the shore, and although the sandy shoal on which Charley was -standing was firm and hard it was of small extent, and the water -all around it was too deep to be waded. - -“You’ll have to get into one of our canoes,” said Harry. - -“How am I going to do it without capsizing her?” replied Charley. - -“I don’t believe it can be done,” said Harry, as he looked first -at the _Sunshine_ and then at the _Twilight_; “but then you’ve got -to do it somehow. You can’t swim a whole mile, can you?” - -“Of course I can’t, but then it wouldn’t do me any good to spill -one of you fellows by trying to climb out of the water into a canoe -that’s as full now as she ought to be. Besides, I’m not going to -desert the _Midnight_.” - -“I thought the _Midnight_ had deserted you,” said Joe. “If my canoe -should go to the bottom of the lake without giving me any warning, -I shouldn’t think it a bit rude to leave her there.” - -“Don’t talk nonsense!” exclaimed Charley; “but come here and help -me get my canoe afloat again. We can do it, I think, if we go to -work the right way.” - -Charley found no difficulty in getting hold of the painter of his -canoe with the help of his paddle. Giving the end of the painter to -Joe, he took the _Dawn’s_ painter, and by ducking down under the -water succeeded after two or three attempts in reeving it through -the stern-post of the sunken canoe, and giving one end to Harry -and the other to Tom. Then, taking the bow painter from Joe, he -grasped it firmly with both hands, and at a given signal all the -boys, except Joe, made a desperate effort to bring the wreck to the -surface. - -They could not do it. They managed to raise her off the bottom, but -Harry and Tom in their canoes could not lift to any advantage, and -so were forced to let her settle down again. - -“I’ve got to unload her,” said Charley, gloomily. “I think we can -get her up if there is nothing in her except water. Anyhow we’ve -got to try.” - -It was tiresome work to get the water-soaked stores and canned -provisions out of the canoe, and Charley had to duck his head -under the water at least a dozen times before the heaviest part -of the _Midnight’s_ cargo could be brought up and passed into the -other canoes. His comrades wanted to jump overboard and help him, -but he convinced them that they would have great difficulty in -climbing back into their canoes, and that in all probability they -would capsize themselves in so doing. “He’s right!” cried Joe. -“Commodore, please make an order that hereafter only one canoe -shall be wrecked at a time. We must keep some dry stores in the -fleet.” - -When the _Midnight_ was partly unloaded a new and successful effort -was made to raise her. As soon as she reached the surface Charley -rolled her over, bottom upward, and in this position the small -amount of air imprisoned under her kept her afloat. - -The cause of the leak was quickly discovered. There was a hole -through her canvas bottom nearly an inch in diameter, made by some -blow she had received while on the way to the lake. The wonder -was, not that she sunk when she did, but that she had floated long -enough to be paddled a mile. It is probable that the ballast-bag, -which was close by the hole, had partly stopped the leak at first, -but had afterward been slightly moved, thus permitting the water to -rush freely in. - -The surface of painted canvas dries very quickly in the hot sun, -and it was not long before the bottom of the _Midnight_ was dry -enough to be temporarily patched. Harry lighted his spirit-lamp -and melted a little of the lump of rosin and tallow which had been -provided for mending leaks. This was spread over a patch of new -canvas: the patch was then placed over the hole, and more of the -melted rosin and tallow smeared over it. In about fifteen minutes -the patch was dry enough to be serviceable, and Charley righted the -canoe, hailed her out, and by throwing himself across the cockpit, -and then carefully turning himself so as to get his legs into it, -found himself once more afloat and ready to paddle. - -The canoe still leaked, but the leak could be kept under without -difficulty by occasional bailing, and in the course of half an hour -the sand-spit for which the fleet had started was reached. It was -part of a large island with steep, rocky shores and a beautiful -little sandy beach. It was just the place for a camp; and though -the boys had expected to camp some miles farther north, the sinking -of Charley’s canoe had so delayed them that it was already nearly -six o’clock, and they therefore decided to paddle no farther that -day. - -[Illustration: A STAMPEDE IN CAMP.] - -The canoes were hauled out on the beach, and unloaded and shored -up with their rudders, backboards, and a few pieces of drift-wood -so as to stand on an even keel. Then came the work of rigging -shelters over them for the night. Harry’s canoe-tent was supported -by four small upright sticks resting on the deck and fitting -into cross-pieces sewed into the roof of the tent. The sides and -ends buttoned down to the gunwale and deck of the canoe, and -two curtains, one on each side, which could be rolled up like -carriage-curtains in fair weather and buttoned down in rainy -weather, served both as the doors and windows of the tent. The -shelters rigged by the other boys were much less complete. The two -masts of each canoe were stepped, the paddle was lashed between -them, and a rubber blanket was hung over the paddle, with its edges -reaching nearly to the ground. The blankets and the bags which -served as pillows were then arranged, and the canoes were ready for -the night. - -It was a warm and clear night, and a breeze which came up from -the south at sunset blew the mosquitoes away. Harry found his -tent, with the curtains rolled up, cool and pleasant; but his -fellow-canoeists found themselves fairly suffocating under their -rubber blankets, and were compelled to throw them aside. - -Toward morning, when the day was just beginning to dawn, the -canoeists were suddenly awakened by a rush of many heavy, trampling -feet which shook the ground. It was enough to startle any one, -and the boys sprung up in such a hurry that Harry struck his head -against the roof of his tent, knocked it down, upset the canoe, -and could not at first decide whether he was taking part in a -railway collision or whether an earthquake of the very best quality -had happened. The cause of the disturbance was a herd of horses -trotting down to the water’s edge to drink. There were at least -twenty of them, and had the canoes happened to be in their path -they might have stumbled over them in the faint morning light; -in which case the boys would have had the experience of being -shipwrecked on dry land. - -A gentle southerly breeze wrinkled the water while breakfast was -cooking, and the Commodore ordered that the masts and sails should -be got ready for use. It was impossible to make an early start, -for Charley’s blankets had to be dried in the sun, and the hole -in his canoe had to be repaired with a new patch in a thorough -and workmanlike way. It was, therefore, ten o’clock before the -canoes were ready to be launched; and in the mean time the wind -had increased so much that the boys decided to use only their -main-sails. - -The moment the sails drew the canoes shot off at a pace which -filled the young canoeists with delight. The canoes were in good -trim for sailing, as they were not overloaded; and while they were -skirting the west shore of the island the water was quite smooth. -Each canoe carried a bag partly filled with sand for ballast, and -every one except Joe had lashed his ballast-bag to the keelson. -This was a precaution which Joe had forgotten to take, and before -long he had good reason to regret his error. - -As soon as the northern end of the island was passed the canoes -came to a part of the lake where there was quite a heavy sea. The -_Dawn_ and the _Twilight_ were steered by the paddle, which passed -through a row-lock provided for the purpose; and Joe and Tom found -little difficulty in keeping their canoes directly before the wind. -The two other canoes were steered with rudders, and occasionally, -when their bows dipped, their rudders were thrown nearly out of the -water, in consequence of which they steered wildly. All the canoes -showed a tendency to roll a good deal, and now and then a little -water would wash over the deck. It was fine sport running down the -lake with such a breeze, and the boys enjoyed it immensely. - -The wind continued to rise, and the lake became covered with -white-caps. “Commodore,” said Charley Smith, “I don’t mean to show -any disrespect to my commanding officer, but it seems to me this is -getting a little risky.” - -“How is it risky?” asked Harry. “You’re a sailor and know twice as -much about boats as I do, if I am Commodore.” - -“It’s risky in two or three ways. For instance, if the wind blows -like this much longer a following sea will swamp some one of us.” - -“Oh! we’re going fast enough to keep out of the way of the sea,” -cried Joe. - -“Just notice how your canoe comes almost to a dead stop every time -she sinks between two seas, and you won’t feel quite so sure that -you’re running faster than the sea is.” - -The boys saw that Charley was right. The canoes were so light that -they lost their headway between the seas, and it was evident that -they were in danger of being overtaken by a following sea. - -“Tell us two or three more dangers, just to cheer us up, won’t you?” -asked Joe, who was in high spirits with the excitement of the sail. - -“There’s the danger of rolling our booms under, and there is a -great deal of danger that Harry’s canoe and mine will broach-to -when our rudders are out of water.” - -“What will happen if they do broach-to?” - -“They’ll capsize, that’s all,” replied Charley. - -“What had we better do?” asked Harry. “There’s no use in capsizing -ourselves in the middle of the lake.” - -“My advice is that we haul on the port tack, and run over to the -west shore. The moment we get this wind and sea on the quarter we -shall be all right--though, to be sure, we’ve got more sail up than -we ought to have.” - -The canoes were quite near together, with the exception of the -_Twilight_, which was outsailing the others; but even she was still -near enough to be hailed. Harry hailed her, and ordered the fleet -to steer for a cove on the west shore. As soon as the wind was -brought on the port quarter the canoes increased their speed; and -although the _Twilight_ made more leeway than the others, she drew -ahead of them very fast. The wind was now precisely what the canoes -wanted to bring out their sailing qualities. The _Sunshine_ soon -showed that she was the most weatherly, as the _Twilight_ was the -least weatherly, of the fleet. The _Midnight_ kept up very fairly -with the _Sunshine_; and the _Dawn_, with her small lateen-sail, -skimmed over the water so fast that it was evident that if she -could have carried the big balance-lug of the _Sunshine_ she would -easily have beaten her. - -The canoes were no longer in danger of being swamped; but the wind -continuing to rise, the boys found that they were carrying more -sail than was safe. They did not want to take in their sails and -paddle, and though all of the sails except the _Dawn’s_ lateen -could be reefed, nobody wanted to be the first to propose to reef; -and Harry, in his excitement, forgot all about reefing. The wind, -which had been blowing very steadily, now began to blow in gusts, -and the boys had to lean far out to windward to keep their canoes -right side up. - -“We can’t keep on this way much longer without coming to grief,” -Charley cried at the top of his lungs, so that Harry, who was some -distance to windward, could hear him. - -“What do you say?” replied Harry. - -“We’ve got too much sail on,” yelled Charley. - -“Of course we’ll sail on. This is perfectly gorgeous!” was Harry’s -answer. - -“He don’t hear,” said Charley. “I say, Joe, you’d better take -in your main-sail, and set the dandy in its place. You’ll spill -yourself presently.” - -“The dandy’s stowed down below, where I can’t get at it. I guess I -can hold her up till we get across.” - -Tom was by this time far out of hailing distance, and was -apparently getting on very well. Charley did not doubt that he -could manage his own canoe well enough, but he was very uneasy -about Harry and Joe, who did not seem to realize that they were -carrying sail altogether too recklessly. The fleet was nearly two -miles from the shore, and a capsize in the heavy sea that was -running would have been no joke. - -Charley turned part way around in his canoe to see if his life-belt -was in handy reach. As he did so he saw that the water a quarter -of a mile to windward was black with a fierce squall that was -approaching. He instantly brought his canoe up to the wind, so that -the squall would strike him on the port bow, and called out to -Harry and Joe to follow his example. Harry did not hear him, and -Joe, instead of promptly following Charley’s advice, stopped to -wonder what he was trying to do. The squall explained the matter -almost immediately. It struck the _Sunshine_ and the _Dawn_, and -instantly capsized them, and then rushed on to overtake Tom, and -to convince him that Lake Memphremagog is not a good place for -inexperienced canoeists who want to carry sail recklessly in -squally weather. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -From the books they had read Harry and Joe had learned exactly what -to do in case of capsizing under sail, and had often discussed the -matter. “When I capsize,” Harry would say, “I shall pull the masts -out of her, and she’ll then right of her own accord. Then I shall -unship the rudder, put my hands on the stern-post, and raise myself -up so that I can straddle the deck, and gradually work my way along -until I can get into the cockpit. After that I shall bail her out, -step the masts, and sail on again.” Nothing could be easier than to -describe this plan while sitting in a comfortable room on shore, -but to carry it out in a rough sea was a different affair. - -Harry was not at all frightened when he found himself in the water, -and he instantly swum clear of the canoe, to avoid becoming -entangled in her rigging. He then proceeded to unship the masts -and the rudder, and when this was done tried to climb in over the -stern. He found that it was quite impossible. No sooner would he -get astride of the stern than the canoe would roll and throw him -into the water again. After half a dozen attempts he gave it up, -and swimming to the side of the canoe managed to throw himself -across the cockpit. This was the way in which Charley Smith had -climbed into his canoe the day before, and to Harry’s great -surprise--for no such method of climbing into a canoe had been -mentioned in any of the books he had read--it proved successful. - -Of course the deck of the canoe was now level with the water, which -washed in and out of her with every sea that struck her. Harry -seized the empty tin can which he used as a bailer, and which -was made fast to one of the timbers of the canoe with a line, to -prevent it from floating away, but he could not make any headway -in bailing her out. The water washed into her just as fast as he -could throw it out again, and he began to think that he should have -to paddle the canoe ashore full of water. This would have been hard -work, for with so much water in her she was tremendously heavy -and unwieldy; but, after getting her head up to the wind with his -paddle, he found that less water washed into her, and after long -and steady work he succeeded in bailing most of it out. - -Meanwhile Charley, whose help Harry had declined, because he felt -so sure that he could get out of his difficulty by following the -plan that he had learned from books on canoeing, was trying to help -Joe. At first Joe thought it was a good joke to be capsized. His -Lord Ross lateen-sail, with its boom and yard, had floated clear of -the canoe of its own accord, and, as the only spar left standing -was a mast about two feet high, she ought to have righted. But Joe -had forgotten to lash his sand-bag to the keelson, and the result -was that whenever he touched the canoe she would roll completely -over and come up on the other side. Joe could neither climb in -over the stern nor throw himself across the deck, and every attempt -he made resulted in securing for him a fresh ducking. Charley tried -to help him by holding on to the capsized canoe, but he could not -keep it right side up; and as Joe soon began to show signs of -becoming exhausted Charley was about to insist that he should hang -on to the stern of the _Midnight_, and allow himself to be towed -ashore, when Tom in the _Twilight_ arrived on the scene. - -[Illustration: NOT SO EASY AS IT LOOKS.] - -Tom had seen the _Dawn_ and the _Sunshine_ capsize, and was far -enough to leeward to have time to take in his sail before the -squall reached him. It therefore did him no harm, and he paddled -up against the wind to help his friends. It took him some time -to reach the _Dawn_, for it blew so hard that when one blade of -the paddle was in the water he could hardly force the other blade -against the wind. Before the cruise was over he learned that by -turning one blade at right angles to the other--for the two blades -of a paddle are joined together by a ferrule in the middle--he -could paddle against a head-wind with much less labor. - -The _Twilight_, being an undecked “Rice Lake” canoe, could easily -carry two persons, and, with the help of Charley and Tom, Joe -climbed into her. Charley then picked up the floating sail of -the _Dawn_, made her painter fast to his own stern, and started -under paddle for the shore. It was not a light task to tow the -water-logged canoe, but both the sea and the wind helped him, and -he landed by the time that the other boys had got the camp-fire -started and the coffee nearly ready. - -“Well,” said Harry, “I’ve learned how to get into a canoe to-day. -If I’d stuck to the rule and tried to get in over the stern I -should be out in the lake yet.” - -“I’m going to write to the London _Field_ and get it to print my -new rule about capsizing,” said Joe. - -“What’s that?” asked Charley. “To turn somersaults in the water? -That was what you were doing all the time until Tom came up.” - -“That was for exercise, and had nothing to do with my rule, which -is, ‘Always have a fellow in a “Rice Lake” canoe to pick you up.’” - -“All your trouble came from forgetting to lash your ballast-bag,” -remarked Harry. “I hope it will teach you a lesson.” - -“That’s a proper remark for a Commodore who wants to enforce -discipline,” cried Charley; “but I insist that the trouble came -from carrying too much sail.” - -“The sail would have been all right if it hadn’t been for the -wind,” replied Harry. - -“And the wind wouldn’t have done us any harm if we hadn’t been on -the lake,” added Joe. - -“Boys, attention!” cried Harry. “Captain Charles Smith is hereby -appointed sailing-master of this fleet, and will be obeyed and -respected accordingly, or, at any rate, as much as he can make us -obey and respect him. Anyhow, it will be his duty to tell us how -much sail to carry, and how to manage the canoes under sail.” - -“This is the second day of the cruise,” remarked Joe an hour later, -as he crept into his blankets, “and I have been wet but once. There -is something wrong about it, for on our other cruises I was always -wet through once every day. However, I’ll hope for the best.” - -In the middle of the night Joe had reason to feel more satisfied. -It began to rain. As his rubber blanket was wet, and in that state -seemed hotter than ever, Joe could not sleep under the shelter of -it, and, as on the previous night, went to sleep with nothing over -him but his woollen blanket. His head was underneath the deck, and -as the rain began to fall very gently, it did not awaken him until -his blanket was thoroughly wet. - -He roused himself and sat up. He was startled to see a figure -wrapped in a rubber blanket sitting on his deck. “Who’s there?” he -asked, suddenly. “Sing out, or I’ll shoot!” - -“You can’t shoot with a jack-knife or a tin bailer, so I’m not much -afraid of you,” was the reply. - -“Oh, it’s you, Tom, is it?” said Joe, much relieved. “What in the -world are you doing there?” - -“My canoe’s half full of water, so I came out into the rain to get -dry.” - -“Couldn’t you keep the rain out of the canoe with the rubber -blanket?” - -“The canoe is fourteen feet long, and hasn’t any deck, and the -blanket is six feet long. I had the blanket hung over the paddle, -but of course the rain came in at the ends of the canoe.” - -“Well, I’m pretty wet, for I didn’t cover my canoe at all. What’ll -we do?” - -“Sit here till it lets up, I suppose,” replied Tom. “It must stop -raining some time.” - -“I’ve got a better plan than that. Is your rubber blanket dry -inside? Mine isn’t.” - -“Yes, it’s dry enough.” - -“Let’s put it on the ground to lie on, and use my rubber blanket -for a tent. We can put it over a ridge-pole about two feet from the -ground, and stake the edges down.” - -“What will we do for blankets? It’s too cold to sleep without them.” - -“We can each borrow one from Harry and Charley. They’ve got two -apiece, and can spare one of them.” - -Joe’s plan was evidently the only one to be adopted; and so the -two boys pitched their little rubber tent, borrowed two blankets, -and crept under shelter. They were decidedly wet, but they lay -close together and managed to keep warm. In the morning they woke -up rested and comfortable, to find a bright sun shining and their -clothes dried by the heat of their bodies. Neither had taken the -slightest cold, although they had run what was undoubtedly a -serious risk, in spite of the fact that one does not easily take -cold when camping out. - -As they were enjoying their breakfast the canoeists naturally -talked over the events of the previous day and night. Harry had -been kept perfectly dry by his canoe-tent--one side of which he -had left open, so as to have plenty of fresh air; and Charley had -also been well protected from the rain by his rubber blanket, hung -in the usual way over the paddle, although he had been far too warm -to be comfortable. - -“I’m tired of suffocating under that rubber blanket of mine, and -I’ve invented a new way of covering the canoe at night, which will -leave me a little air to breathe. I’ll explain it to you when we -camp to-night, Joe.” - -“I’m glad to hear it, for I’ve made up my mind that I’d rather -be rained on than take a Turkish bath all night long under that -suffocating blanket.” - -“Will your new plan work on my canoe?” asked Tom. - -“No; nothing will keep that ‘Rice Lake’ bathtub of yours dry in a -rain, unless you deck her over.” - -“That’s what I’m going to do when we get to Magog. I’ll buy some -canvas and deck over the ends of my canoe. Sleeping in her in the -rain as she is now is like sleeping in a cistern with the water -running into it.” - -“Now that we’ve had a chance to try our sails, which rig do you -like best, Sailing-master?” asked Harry. - -“That lateen-rig that Joe has,” replied Charley. “He can set -his sail and take it in while the rest of us are trying to find -our halyards. Did you see how the whole concern--spars and -sail--floated free of the canoe of their own accord the moment she -capsized?” - -“That’s so; but then my big balance-lug holds more wind than Joe’s -sail.” - -“It held too much yesterday. It’s a first-rate rig for racing, but -it isn’t anything like as handy as the lateen for cruising; neither -is my standing-lug. I tried to get it down in a hurry yesterday, -and the halyards jammed, and I couldn’t get it down for two or -three minutes.” - -“I can get my leg-of mutton in easy enough,” remarked Tom, “but I -can’t get the mast out of the step unless the water’s perfectly -smooth, and I don’t believe I could then without going ashore.” - -“Now, Commodore,” said Charley, “if you’ll give the order to start, -I’ll give the order to carry all sail. The breeze is light and the -water is smooth, and we ought to run down to the end of the lake by -noon.” - -The little fleet made a beautiful appearance as it cruised down -the lake under full sail. The breeze was westerly, which fact -enabled the canoes to carry their after-sails--technically known as -“dandies”--to much advantage. When running directly before the wind -the “dandy” is sometimes a dangerous sail, as it is apt to make the -canoe broach-to; but with a wind from any other direction than dead -aft it is a very useful sail. - -The canoes sailed faster than they had sailed the day before, -because there was no rough sea to check their headway. They reached -Magog at noon, went to the hotel for a good dinner, bought some -canvas with which to deck Tom’s canoe, and then looked at the -dam which crosses the Magog River a few rods from the lake, and -wondered how they were ever to get through the rapids below it. - -There was a place where the canoes could be lowered one by one over -the breast of the dam and launched in a little eddy immediately -below. The rapids, which extended from below the dam for nearly -a quarter of a mile, were, however, very uninviting to a timid -canoeist. The water did not seem to be more than three or four feet -deep, but it was very swift, and full of rocks. “You boys can’t -never run them rapids in them boats,” said a man who came to look -at the canoes. “You’ll have to get a cart and haul round ’em.” - -The boys did not like to be daunted by their first rapid, and, -as there did not seem to be much risk of drowning, they decided -to take the chances of getting the canoes through it safely. -Harry gave the order to lash everything fast in the canoes that -could be washed overboard, and he prepared to lead the way in the -_Sunshine_. - -It was magnificent sport shooting down the rapid like an arrow. -The canoes drove through two or three waves which washed the -decks, though the canoe-aprons of the _Dawn_, _Sunshine_, and -_Midnight_ kept the water from getting into the cockpits. Harry’s -and Charley’s canoes each struck once on the same rock while in -the rapid, but in each case only the keel struck the rock, and -the current dragged the canoes safely over it. When the fleet was -reunited in the smooth water below the rapid the boys expressed -their enthusiasm by all talking at once at the top of their lungs. -Every one was delighted with the way his canoe had acted, and with -the skill with which he had avoided this or that rock, or had -discovered the best channel just at the right moment. In their -excitement they let the canoes float gently down the stream, until -they suddenly discovered another rapid at the beginning of a sharp -bend in the river just ahead of them. - -It was nothing like as fierce in appearance as the first rapid, -and as Harry led the way the others followed close after him, one -behind the other, fancying that they could run the rapid without -the least trouble. Half-way down Harry’s canoe struck on a rock, -swung broadside to the current, and hung there. Tom was so close -behind him that he could not alter his course, and so ran straight -into the _Sunshine_ with a terrible crash. The _Dawn_ and the -_Twilight_ instantly followed, and as the four canoes thus piled -together keeled over and spilled their occupants into the river, it -began to look as if the rapid had determined to make the irreverent -young canoeists respect it. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -When the boys were compelled to jump overboard they could see that -the water was only about two feet deep; but they did not know -whether they could stand up against the fierce current. They found -that they could, although they had to move slowly to avoid being -swept off their feet. Harry’s canoe was easily pushed off the rock -on which it had run, and the moment it was out of the way the other -canoes were free. Each canoeist seized the stern of his own canoe, -and let it drag him down the rest of the rapid, which fortunately -was a short one. While performing this feat the knees of the -canoeists were scraped over the rocks, and they received several -unpleasant bruises; but they thought it was impossible to get into -their canoes in swift water, and so had no choice except to float -down hanging on to the sterns of the canoes. - -Reaching the smooth water, they swum and pushed the canoes before -them toward the shore. Here they found a great bank of sawdust that -had floated down the river from the mill at Magog, and it was so -soft and elastic that they determined to sleep on it that night, -instead of sleeping in their canoes, since the sky was perfectly -clear and there was no danger of rain. - -The canoes were hauled out on the bank, so that the stores could be -readily taken out of them. The canvas canoe did not seem to be in -the least injured either by the rock on which she had struck or by -the collision with the other canoes. Harry’s canoe had sustained a -little damage where one of the planks had been ground against the -rock on which she had hung so long, but it was not enough to cause -her to leak, and the injuries of the other canoes were confined to -their varnish. - -“All the trouble,” remarked Harry, “came from following too close -after one another. To-morrow, if we find any more rapids, we will -keep the canoes far enough apart, so that if one canoe runs aground -the others can turn out for her.” - -“We could have got into the canoes easy enough if we had only -thought so,” said Tom. “If I’d stood up on the rock and held -the canoe along-side of it, I could have stepped in without any -difficulty.” - -“Why didn’t you do it, then?” asked Harry. - -“Because I didn’t happen to think of it, and because all the rest -of you had started to float down after your canoes.” - -“I noticed one thing about a rapid which if I was Commodore it -would be my duty to impress on your faithful but ignorant minds,” -said Joe. “When you see a big ripple on the water the rock that -makes it isn’t under the ripple, but is about four or five feet -higher up stream.” - -“That’s so!” exclaimed Harry. “I ought to have remembered that, for -Macgregor speaks about it in one of his books.” - -“Whereabouts did your canoe strike, Commodore?” inquired Charley. - -“Oh, about midships.” - -“And of course she swung round broadside to the current.” - -“Didn’t she, though! If I’d jumped out of her on the side I -intended to when she first struck she would have swung against my -legs; but I remembered that you must always jump out of a canoe in -a rapid on the side above her.” - -“What do you mean by the side above her?” asked Tom. - -“I mean that you must not jump out below her.” - -“That’s as clear as anything could be,” said Joe. “Still, I’d like -to know what you mean by ‘below her.’” - -“There’s an upper end and a lower end to every rapid, isn’t there?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, the side of the canoe toward the upper end of a rapid is -what I call ‘above her.’ If you jump out on that side she can’t -float against your legs and smash them.” - -“Now, if you’ve got through with that question,” continued Charley, -“I want to say that if the Commodore had put his stores and his -ballast-bag in the stern of his canoe, so as to make her draw a -good deal more water aft than she did forward, she would have -struck aft of midships, and wouldn’t have swung around.” - -“You’re right. That’s just what Macgregor recommends, but I -forgot it. Boys, I hereby order every canoe to be loaded with all -her ballast and cargo in the after compartment before we start -to-morrow.” - -“And I want to remind you fellows of one more thing,” said Charley. -“When the current is sweeping you toward a concave shore--that is, -where the river makes a bend--don’t try to keep your canoe clear of -the shore by hard paddling. Just backwater on the side of the canoe -that is toward the middle of the river.” - -“That’s Macgregor again!” cried Harry; “but I’d forgotten it. -To-morrow we’ll run our rapids in real scientific style.” - -“Provided there are any more rapids,” suggested Tom. - -“What did that Sherbrooke postmaster say about the Magog rapids?” -inquired Joe. - -“Said there weren’t any, except one or two which we could easily -run,” replied Harry. - -“Then we’ve probably got through with the rapids,” said Charley. -“I’m rather sorry, for it’s good fun running them.” - -Supper was now over, and the canoeists, spreading their rubber -blankets on the sawdust, prepared to “turn in.” They were in -a wild and beautiful spot. The great “Rock Forest,” as it is -called, through which the Magog runs, is of vast extent, and is -inhabited by bears and smaller wild animals. The boys from their -camping-ground could see nothing but the river, the dense woods on -either bank, and the bright moonlit sky above them. The rapid was -roaring as if it was angry at having failed to wreck the canoes, -and the only other sound was the crackling of branches in the -forest, and the occasional sighing of the gentle breeze. The boys -were tired, and, lulled by the sound of the rapids, soon dropped -asleep. - -The recent rains had dampened the sawdust to the depth of about two -inches, but below this depth it was dry and inflammable. A small -fire had been made with which to cook supper, and the dampness of -the sawdust had made the boys so confident that the fire would not -spread, that they had not taken the trouble to put it out before -going to sleep. - -Now, it happened that the damp sawdust on which the fire had been -kindled gradually became dry, and finally took fire. It burnt very -slowly on the surface, but the dry sawdust immediately below burnt -like tinder. About two hours after Harry had closed his eyes he -was awakened from a dream that he had upset a burning spirit-lamp -over his legs. To his horror he saw that the whole bank of sawdust -was on fire. Smoke was everywhere creeping up through the damp top -layer, and at a little distance from the canoes the smouldering -fire had burst into roaring flames. - -Harry instantly called his comrades, and starting up they rushed to -the canoes, threw their blankets and stores into them, and prepared -to launch them. They had not a moment to spare. The flames were -close to them, and were spreading every moment, and as they shoved -the canoes toward the water their feet repeatedly sunk down through -the ashes below the surface, the flames springing up as they -hurriedly drew their feet back. It did not take many minutes to -get the canoes into the water and to embark, but as the canoeists -pushed out into the river the part of the bank where they had been -sleeping burst into flames. - -A light breeze had sprung up which was just enough to fan the fire -and to carry it into an immense pile of dry drift-wood that lay on -the shore below the sawdust bank. The boys waited in the quiet -eddy near the bank and watched the progress of the fire. It licked -up the drift-wood in a very few moments, and then, roaring with -exultation over the work it had done, it swept into the forest. In -half an hour’s time a forest fire was burning which threatened to -make a terrible destruction of timber, and the heat had grown so -intense that the canoeists were compelled to drop down the stream -to avoid it. - -Canoeing at night is always a ticklish business, but on a swift -river, full of rapids, as is the Magog, it is exceedingly -dangerous. The fire lighted the way for the fleet for a short -distance, but before a landing-place was reached a turn on the -river shut out the light, and at the same time the noise of a rapid -close at hand was heard. - -[Illustration: “HE CAUGHT HOLD OF THE ROOT OF A TREE AND KEPT HIS -CANOE STATIONARY.”] - -The boys had no desire to entangle themselves in unknown rapids -in the dark, and paddled at once for the shore opposite to that -where the fire was raging. They found when they reached it that it -was a perpendicular bank on which it was impossible to land. They -floated down a short distance, hoping to find a landing spot, -but none could be found. Then they attempted to cross the stream -to the other shore, hoping that the fire would not spread in that -direction. To their dismay they found that they were already almost -within the clutch of the rapid. The current had become strong and -swift, and it was evident before they had got half-way across the -river that nothing but the hardest paddling could keep them from -being drawn into the rapid. It was an occasion when everybody had -to look out for himself and depend on his own paddles for safety. -The young canoeists struck out manfully. Harry was the first to -reach the shore, where he caught hold of the root of a tree and -kept his canoe stationary. Tom followed closely behind him, and -Harry told him to catch hold of the _Sunshine_ until he could make -the _Twilight’s_ painter fast to the root. Joe arrived a little -later, for his canoe had run on a rock, and for a few minutes he -was in great danger of a capsize. - -The three canoeists succeeded in tying up to the bank, where they -expected every moment to be joined by Charley. The minutes passed -on, but Charley did not appear. His comrades shouted for him, but -there was no answer. Indeed, the rapid made such a noise, now that -they were close upon it, that they could not have heard Charley’s -voice had he been a few yards from them. - -The fear that an accident had happened to Charley made the other -boys very uneasy. Joe cast his canoe loose and paddled out into -the river and nearly across it, looking for some signs of the -_Midnight_ and her owner, but he came back unsuccessful, after -having narrowly escaped being carried down the rapid. There could -no longer be any doubt that the current had swept the _Midnight_ -away, and that Charley had been compelled to make the hazardous and -almost hopeless attempt of running the rapid in the dark. - -As soon as Joe returned Harry said that he would paddle out into -the middle of the river where Charley was last seen, and would let -his canoe drift down the rapid, but Tom and Joe insisted that he -should do no such thing. Said Joe, “Either Charley is drowned or -he isn’t. If he isn’t drowned he is somewhere at the foot of the -rapid, where we’ll find him as soon as it gets light. If he is -drowned it won’t do him any good for another of us to get drowned.” - -“Joe is right,” said Tom. “We must stay here till daylight.” - -“And meanwhile Charley may be drowned!” exclaimed Harry. - -“I don’t believe he is,” replied Tom. “He’s the best canoeist of -any of us, and he is too good a sailor to get frightened. Then, he -is very cautious, and I’ll bet that the first thing he did when he -found himself in the rapid was to buckle his life-belt round him.” - -“If he did that it wouldn’t hurt him if he were capsized.” - -“Not if the rapid is like those we’ve run, and the chances are -that it is. I feel sure that Charley has got through it all right, -and without losing his canoe. We’ll find him waiting for us in the -morning.” - -What Tom said seemed so reasonable that Harry gave up his wild -idea of running the rapid, and agreed to wait until daylight. It -was already nearly one o’clock, and at that time of year the day -began to dawn by half-past three. There was no opportunity for the -boys to sleep, but they occasionally nodded as they sat in their -canoes. About two o’clock Harry poked Tom with his paddle, and in -a low voice called his attention to the crackling of the twigs in -the woods a short distance from the bank. Something was evidently -making its way through the forest and coming nearer every minute to -the canoes. The boys grasped their pistols and anxiously waited. -They remembered that there were bears in the woods, and they fully -believed that one was on its way down to the water. “Don’t fire,” -whispered Harry, “till I give the word;” but while he was speaking -a dark form parted the underbrush on the bank above them and came -out into full view. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -The early morning visitor was not a bear. He was a very welcome -visitor, for as soon as he made himself visible he was seen to be -the missing canoeist. Charley was very wet and cold, but he was -soon furnished with dry clothes and a blanket, and warmed with a -cup of hot coffee made with the help of Harry’s spirit-lamp; and as -he lay on the bank and waited for daylight he told the story of his -midnight run down the rapid. - -When the boys were crossing the river above the rapid Charley’s -canoe was close behind Joe’s. The latter ran on a rock, and in -order to avoid her Charley was compelled to pass below the rock. -In so doing he found himself in great danger of running on another -rock, and in his effort to avoid this he drifted still farther -down the river. Before he was aware of his danger he was caught by -the current at the head of the rapid. He had just time to turn his -canoe so as to head her down stream and to buckle his life-belt -around him. In another second he was rushing down the rapid at a -rate that, in view of the darkness, was really frightful. - -It was useless to attempt to guide the canoe. Charley could see -so little in advance of him that he could not choose his channel -nor avoid any rock that might lie in his path. He, therefore, sat -still, trusting that the current would carry him into the deepest -channel and keep him clear of the rocks. The rapid seemed to be a -very long one, but the _Midnight_ ran it without taking in a drop -of water or striking a single rock. - -As soon as quiet water was reached Charley paddled to the shore, -intending to make his canoe fast and to sleep quietly in her until -morning. He was in high spirits at having successfully run a rapid -in the dark, and he paddled so carelessly that just as he was -within a yard of the shore the canoe ran upon a sunken log, spilled -her captain into the water, and then floated off in the darkness -and disappeared. - -Charley had no difficulty in getting ashore, but he was wet to the -skin, and his dry clothes and all his property, except his paddle, -had gone on a cruise without him. There was nothing for him to do -but to make his way back along the bank to the other boys. This -proved to be a tiresome task. The woods were very thick, and full -of underbrush and fallen trunks. Charley was terribly scratched, -and his clothes badly torn, as he slowly forced his way through the -bushes and among the trees. He was beginning to think that he would -never reach the boys, when he fortunately heard their voices as -they whispered together. - -When morning dawned the canoeists, feeling extremely cramped -and stiff, cast their canoes loose, and started down the river, -intending, if possible, to find Charley’s canoe, and then go -ashore for breakfast and a good long sleep. The rapid had been -run so easily by Charley in the night that they rightly imagined -they would find no difficulty in running it by daylight. Tom took -Charley in the _Twilight_, and the fleet, with Harry leading the -way, passed through the rapid without accident. The boys could not -but wonder how Charley had escaped the rocks in the darkness, for -the rapid, which was much the roughest and swiftest they had yet -seen, seemed to be full of rocks. - -Not very far below the rapid the missing canoe was discovered -aground in an eddy. She was uninjured; and as there was a sandy -beach and plenty of shade near at hand the boys went ashore, made -their breakfast, and, lying down on their rubber blankets, slept -until the afternoon. - -[Illustration: RUNNING THE RAPID.] - -It was time for dinner when the tired canoeists awoke, and by the -time they had finished their meal and were once more afloat it -was nearly three o’clock. They ran three more rapids without any -trouble. Their canoes frequently struck on sunken rocks; but as -they were loaded so as to draw more water aft than they did -forward, they usually struck aft of midships, and did not swing -around broadside to the current. When a canoe struck in this way -her captain unjointed his paddle, and, taking a blade in each hand, -generally succeeded in lifting her clear of the rock by pushing -with both blades against the bottom of the river. In the next rapid -Joe’s canoe ran so high on a rock that was in the full force of -the current that he could not get her afloat without getting out -of her. He succeeded in getting into her again, however, without -difficulty, by bringing her along-side of the rock on which he was -standing, although he had to step in very quickly, as the current -swept her away the moment he ceased to hold her. - -In running these rapids the canoes were kept at a safe distance -apart, so that when one ran aground the one following her had time -to steer clear of her. At Charley’s suggestion the painter of each -canoe was rove through the stern-post instead of the stem-post. By -keeping the end of the painter in his hand the canoeist whose canoe -ran aground could jump out and feel sure that the canoe could not -run away from him, and that he could not turn her broadside to the -stream by hauling on the painter, as would have been the case had -the painter been rove through the stem-post. - -“I want to see that Sherbrooke postmaster!” exclaimed Joe, after -running what was the seventh rapid, counting from the dam at Magog. -“He said there were only one or two little rapids in this river. -Why, there isn’t anything but rapids in it!” - -“There’s something else just ahead of us worse than rapids,” said -Charley. “Look at that smoke.” - -Just a little distance below the fleet the river was completely -hidden by a dense cloud of smoke that rested on the water and rose -like a heavy fog-bank above the tops of the highest trees. It was -caused by a fire in the woods--probably the very fire which the -boys had started on the previous night. How far down the river the -smoke extended, and whether any one could breathe while in it, were -questions of great importance to the canoeists. - -The fleet stopped just before reaching the smoke, and the boys -backed water gently with their paddles while they discussed what -they had better do. It was of no use to go ashore with the hope -of finding how far the smoke extended, for it would have been as -difficult to breathe on shore as on the water. - -“There’s one good thing about it,” said Charley: “the smoke blows -right across the river, so the chances are that it does not extend -very far down stream.” - -“We can’t hear the noise of any rapid,” said Harry, “and that’s -another good thing. There can’t be a rapid of any consequence -within the next quarter of a mile.” - -“Then I’ll tell you what I’ll do, with the Commodore’s permission,” -continued Charley. “There is no use in staying here all day, -for that smoke may last for any length of time. I’ll tie a wet -handkerchief around my mouth and nose, and take the chances of -paddling through the smoke. It isn’t as thick close to the water -as it looks to be, and I haven’t the least doubt that I can run -through it all right.” - -“But suppose you get choked with smoke, or get into a dangerous -rapid?” suggested Tom. - -“There isn’t any rapid near us, or we would hear it, and I don’t -think the smoke will hurt me while I breathe through a wet -handkerchief. At any rate, I’d rather try it than sit here and wait -for the smoke to disappear.” - -It was decided, after farther discussion, that Charley should -attempt to paddle through the smoke, if he really wished to do so; -and that he should blow a whistle if he got through all right, -and thought that the other boys could safely follow his example. -Paddling a little way up stream, so as to have room to get up his -fastest rate of speed before reaching the smoke, Charley started -on his hazardous trip. He disappeared in the smoke with his canoe -rushing along at a tremendous rate, and in a few seconds his -comrades heard him calling to them to come on without fear. - -They followed Charley’s example in covering their mouths and noses -with wet handkerchiefs, and in paddling at the top of their speed. -They were agreeably surprised to find that the belt of smoke was -only a few yards wide, and that almost before they had begun to -find any difficulty in breathing they emerged into pure air and -sunlight. - -“It was a risky business for you, Charley,” said Harry, “for the -smoke might have covered the river for the next quarter of a mile.” - -“But then it didn’t, you see,” replied Charley. “How cheap we -should have felt if we had waited till morning for the smoke to -blow away, and then found that we could have run through it as -easily as we have done!” - -“Still, I say it was risky.” - -“Well, admitting that it was, what then? We can’t go canoeing -unless we are ready to take risks occasionally. If nobody is ever -to take a risk, there ought not to be any canoes, or ships, or -railroads.” - -“That Sherbrooke postmaster isn’t afraid to take risks,” observed -Joe. “If he keeps on telling canoeists that there are no rapids in -this river, some of these days he’ll have an accident with a large -canoeist and a heavy paddle. We’ve run seven rapids already, and -have another one ahead of us. If we ever get to Sherbrooke, I think -it will be our duty to consider whether that postmaster ought to be -allowed to live any longer.” - -Just before sunset the fleet reached Magog Lake, a placid sheet of -water about four miles long, with three or four houses scattered -along its eastern shore. At one of these houses eggs, milk, butter, -bread, a chicken, and a raspberry pie were bought, and the boys -went into camp near the lower end of the lake. After a magnificent -supper they went to bed rather proud of their achievements during -the last day and night. - -The next day the canoeists started in the cool of the morning, and -as soon as they left the lake found themselves at the head of their -eighth rapid. All that day they paddled down the river, running -rapids every little while, jumping overboard when their canoes -ran aground and refused to float, and occasionally slipping on the -smooth rocky bottom of the stream and sitting down violently in the -water. Once they came to a dam, over which the canoes had to be -lowered, and on the brink of which Joe slipped and slid with awful -swiftness into the pool below, from which he escaped with no other -injury than torn trousers and wet clothes. - -“That postmaster said there were no dams in the Magog, didn’t he?” -asked Joe as he prepared to get into his canoe. “Well, I hope he -hasn’t any family.” - -“Why, what about his family?” demanded Tom. - -“Nothing; only I’m going to try to get him to come down the Magog -in a canoe, so he can see what a nice run it is. I suppose his body -will be found some time, unless the bears get at him.” - -“That’s all rubbish, Joe,” said Charley. “We wouldn’t have had half -the fun we’ve had if there hadn’t been any rapids in the river. -We’re none the worse for getting a little wet.” - -“We might have had less fun, but then I’d have had more trousers if -it hadn’t been for that dam. I like fun as well as anybody, but I -can’t land at Sherbrooke with these trousers.” - -“I see Sherbrooke now!” exclaimed Harry; “so you’d better change -your clothes while you have a chance.” - -Sherbrooke was coming rapidly into sight as the fleet paddled down -the stream, and in the course of half an hour the boys landed in -the village, near a dam which converted the swift Magog into a lazy -little pond. While his comrades drew the canoes out of the water -and made them ready to be carted to the St. Francis, Harry went to -engage a cart. He soon returned with a big wagon large enough to -take two canoes at once; and it was not long before the fleet was -resting in the shade on the bank of the St. Francis, and surrounded -by a crowd of inquisitive men, boys, and girls. - -It was difficult to convince the men that the canoes had actually -come from Lake Memphremagog by the river, and the boys were made -very proud of their success in running rapids which, the men -declared, could only be run in skiffs during a freshet. Without -an exception all the men agreed that there were rapids in the St. -Francis which were really impassable, and that it would be foolish -for the boys to think of descending that river. After making -careful inquiries, and convincing themselves that the men were in -earnest, the canoeists retired some distance from the crowd and -held a council. - -“The question is,” said Harry, “shall we try the St. Francis after -what we have heard? The youngest officer present will give his -opinion first. What do you say, Joe?” - -“I think I’ve had rapids and dams enough,” replied Joe; “and I’d -rather try some river where we can sail. I vote against the St. -Francis.” - -“What do you say, Tom?” - -“I’ll do anything the rest of you like; but I think we’d better -give the St. Francis up.” - -“Now, Charley, how do you vote?” - -“For going down the St. Francis. I don’t believe these men know -much about the river, or anything about canoes. Let’s stick to our -original plan.” - -“There are two votes against the St. Francis, and one for it,” said -Harry. “I don’t want to make a tie, so I’ll vote with the majority. -Boys, we won’t go down the St. Francis, but we’ll go to the hotel, -stay there over Sunday, and decide where we will cruise next.” - -“All right,” said Joe, going to his canoe, and taking a paddle -blade in his hand. - -“What in the world are you going to take that paddle to the hotel -for?” asked Harry. - -“I’m going to see the postmaster who said there were no rapids in -the Magog or the St. Francis; that’s all,” replied Joe. “I’ve a -painful duty to perform, and I’m going to perform it.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -A council was held at the hotel, and a dozen different water-routes -were discussed. As the boys still wanted to carry out their -original design of making a voyage to Quebec, they decided to take -the canoes by rail to Rouse’s Point, and from thence to descend -the Richelieu River to the St. Lawrence. The railway journey would -take nearly a whole day, but they thought it would be a rather -pleasant change from the close confinement of canoeing. For it must -be admitted that, delightful as they had found canoeing to be, the -task of sitting for hours in the cockpit of a canoe with scarcely -a possibility of materially changing one’s position was tiresome, -and the boys, after a night’s sleep at the Sherbrooke hotel, felt -decidedly stiff. - -As it would have taken three days to send the canoes to Rouse’s -Point by freight, the canoeists were compelled to take them on -the same train with themselves. They went to the express office -on Monday morning and tried to make a bargain with the express -company. The agent astonished them by the enormous price which he -demanded, and Harry, who acted as spokesman for the expedition, -told him that it was outrageous to ask such a price for carrying -four light canoes. - -The man turned to a book in which were contained the express -company’s rates of charges, and showed Harry that there was a fixed -rate for row-boats and shells. - -“But,” said Harry, “a canoe is not a row-boat nor a shell. What -justice is there in charging as much for a fourteen-foot canoe as -for a forty-foot shell?” - -“Well,” said the agent, “I dunno as it would be fair. But, then, -these canoes of yours are pretty near as big as row-boats.” - -“A canoe loaded as ours are don’t weigh over one hundred and ten -pounds. How much does a row-boat weigh?” - -“Well, about two or three hundred pounds.” - -“Then, is it fair to charge as much for a canoe as for a row-boat, -that weighs three times as much?” - -The agent found it difficult to answer this argument, and after -thinking the matter over he agreed to take the canoes at half the -rate ordinarily charged for row-boats. The boys were pleased with -their victory over him, but they still felt that to be compelled to -pay four times as much for the canoes as they paid for their own -railroad-tickets was an imposition. - -At ten o’clock the train rolled into the Sherbrooke station. To the -great disappointment of the boys, no express-car was attached to -it, the only place for express packages being a small compartment -twelve feet long at one end of the smoking-car. It was obvious -that canoes fourteen feet long could not go into a space only -twelve feet long, and it seemed as if it would be necessary to wait -twelve hours for the night-train, to which a large express-car was -always attached. But the conductor of the train was a man who could -sympathize with boys, and who had ideas of his own. He uncoupled -the engine, which was immediately in front of the smoking-car, and -then had the canoes taken in through the door of the smoking-car -and placed on the backs of the seats. Very little room was left for -passengers who wanted to smoke; but as there were only four or five -of these they made no complaint. The canoes, with blankets under -them, to protect the backs of the seats, rode safely, and when, -late in the afternoon, Rouse’s Point, was reached, they were taken -out of the car without a scratch. - -There was just time enough before sunset to paddle a short distance -below the fort, where a camping-ground was found that would have -been very pleasant had there been fewer mosquitoes. They were the -first Canadian mosquitoes that had made the acquaintance of the -young canoeists, and they seemed to be delighted. They sung and -buzzed in quiet excitement, and fairly drove the boys from their -supper to the shelter of the canoes. - -Harry had a long piece of mosquito-netting, which he threw over the -top of his canoe-tent, and which fell over the openings on each -side of the tent, thus protecting the occupant of the canoe from -mosquitoes without depriving him of air. None of the other boys -had taken the trouble to bring mosquito-netting with them, except -Charley, who had a sort of mosquito-netting bag, which he drew over -his head, and which prevented the mosquitoes from getting at his -face and neck. - -As for Joe and Tom, the mosquitoes fell upon them with great -enthusiasm, and soon reduced them to a most miserable condition. -Tom was compelled to cover his head with his India-rubber blanket, -and was nearly suffocated. Joe managed to tie a handkerchief over -his face in such a way as to allow himself air enough to breathe, -and at the same time to keep off the mosquitoes. Instead of -covering the rest of his body with his blanket, he deliberately -exposed a bare arm and part of a bare leg, in hopes that he could -thus satisfy the mosquitoes and induce them to be merciful. At -the end of half an hour both Tom and Joe felt that they could -endure the attacks of the insatiable insects no longer. They got -up, and, stirring the embers of the fire, soon started a cheerful -blaze. There were plenty of hemlock-trees close at hand, and the -hemlock-boughs when thrown on the fire gave out a great deal of -smoke. The two unfortunate boys sat in the lee of the fire and -nearly choked themselves with smoke; but they could endure the -smoke better than the mosquitoes, and so they were left alone by -the latter. In the course of the next hour a breeze sprung up, -which blew the mosquitoes away, and the sleepy and nearly stifled -boys were permitted to go to bed and to sleep. - -[Illustration: GETTING BREAKFAST UNDER DIFFICULTIES.] - -The wind died down before morning, and the mosquitoes returned. -As soon as it was light the canoeists made haste to get breakfast -and to paddle out into the stream. The mosquitoes let them depart -without attempting to follow them; and the boys, anchoring the -canoes by making the ballast-bags fast to the painters, enjoyed an -unmolested bath. As they were careful to anchor where the water was -not quite four feet deep they had no difficulty in climbing into -the canoes after the bath. Joe’s mishap on Lake Memphremagog had -taught them that getting into a canoe in deep water was easier in -theory than in practice. - -Later in the morning the usual southerly breeze, which is found -almost every morning on the Richelieu, gave the canoeists the -opportunity of making sail--an opportunity that was all the more -welcome since the cruise down the Magog had been exclusively a -paddling cruise. The breeze was just fresh enough to make it -prudent for the canoes to carry their main-sails only, and to give -the canoeists plenty of employment in watching the gusts that came -through the openings in the woods that lined the western shore. - -About twelve miles below Rouse’s Point the fleet reached “Ile aux -Noix,” a beautiful island, in the middle of the stream, with a -somewhat dilapidated fort at its northern end. The boys landed and -examined the fort, and the ruined barracks which stood near it. -The ditch surrounding the fort was half filled with the wooden -palisades which had rotted and fallen into it, and large trees -had sprung up on the grassy slope of the outer wall. The interior -was, however, in good repair, and in one of the granite casemates -lived an Irishman and his wife, who were the entire garrison. In -former years the “Ile aux Noix” fort was one of the most important -defences of the Canadian frontier, and even in its present forlorn -condition it could be defended much longer than could the big -American fort at Rouse’s Point. The boys greatly enjoyed their -visit to the island, and after lunch set sail, determined to make -the most of the fair wind and to reach St. John before night. - -The breeze held, and in less than three hours the steeples and -the railway bridge of St. John came in view. The canoeists landed -at the upper end of the town; and Harry and Charley, leaving -the canoes in charge of the other boys, went in search of the -Custom-house officer whose duty it was to inspect all vessels -passing from the United States into Canada by way of the Richelieu -River. Having found the officer, who was a very pleasant man, -and who gave the fleet permission to proceed on its way without -searching the canoes for smuggled goods, Harry and Charley walked -on to examine the rapids, which begin just below the railway -bridge. From St. John to Chambly, a distance of twelve miles, -the river makes a rapid descent, and is entirely unnavigable for -anything except canoes. A canal around the rapids enables canal -boats and small vessels to reach the river at Chambly, where it -again becomes navigable; but the boys did not like the idea of -paddling through the canal, and greatly preferred to run the rapids. - -The first rapid was a short but rough one. Still, it was no worse -than the first of the Magog rapids, and Harry and Charley made -up their minds that it could be safely run. The men of whom they -made inquiries as to the rapids farther down said that they were -impassable, and that the canoes had better pass directly into the -canal, without attempting to run even the first rapid. Harry was -inclined to think that this advice was good, but Charley pointed -out that it would be possible to drag the canoes up the bank of the -river and launch them in the canal at any point between St. John -and Chambly, and that it would be time enough to abandon the river -when it should really prove to be impassable. - -Returning to the canoes, the Commodore gave the order to prepare to -run the rapids. In a short time the fleet, with the _Sunshine_ in -advance, passed under the bridge; and narrowly escaping shipwreck -on the remains of the wooden piles that once supported a bridge -that had been destroyed by fire, entered the rapid. There was quite -a crowd gathered to watch the canoes as they passed, but those -people who wanted the excitement of seeing the canoes wrecked were -disappointed. Not a drop of water found its way into the cockpit -of a single canoe; and though there was an ugly rock near the end -of the rapid, against which each canoeist fully expected to be -driven as he approached it, the run was made without the slightest -accident. - -Drifting down with the current a mile or two below the town, the -boys landed and encamped for the night. While waiting at St. John, -Joe and Tom had provided themselves with mosquito-netting, but they -had little use for it, for only a few mosquitoes made the discovery -that four healthy and attractive boys were within reach. The night -was cool and quiet, and the canoeists, tired with their long day’s -work, slept until late in the morning. - -Everything was prepared the next day for running the rapids which -the men at St. John had declared to be impassable. The spars and -all the stores were lashed fast; the sand-bags were placed in the -after-compartments; the painters were rove through the stern-posts, -and the life-belts were placed where they could be buckled on at an -instant’s notice. After making all these preparations it was rather -disappointing to find no rapids whatever between St. John and -Chambly, or rather the Chambly railway bridge. - -“It just proves what I said yesterday,” remarked Charley, turning -round in his canoe to speak to his comrades, who were a boat’s -length behind him. “People who live on the banks of a river never -know anything about it. Now, I don’t believe there is a rapid in -the whole Richelieu River, except at St. John. Halloo! keep back, -boys--” - -While he was speaking Charley and his canoe disappeared as suddenly -as if the earth, or rather the water, had opened and swallowed -them. The other boys in great alarm backed water, and then paddling -ashore as fast as possible, sprung out of their canoes and ran -along the shore, to discover what had become of Charley. They found -him at the foot of a water-fall of about four feet in height over -which he had been carried. The fall was formed by a long ledge of -rock running completely across the river; and had the boys been -more careful, and had the wind been blowing in any other direction -than directly down the river, they would have heard the sound of -the falling water in time to be warned of the danger into which -Charley had carelessly run. - -His canoe had sustained little damage, for it had luckily fallen -where the water was deep enough to keep it from striking the rocky -bottom. Charley had been thrown out as the canoe went over the -fall, but had merely bruised himself a little. He towed his canoe -ashore, and in answer to a mischievous question from Joe admitted -that perhaps the men who had said that the Chambly rapids were -impassable were right. - -Below the fall and as far as the eye could reach stretched a fierce -and shallow rapid. The water boiled over and among the rocks with -which it was strewn, and there could not be any doubt that the -rapid was one which could not be successfully run, unless, perhaps, -by some one perfectly familiar with the channel. It was agreed that -the canoes must be carried up to the canal, and after two hours of -hard work the fleet was launched a short distance above one of the -canal locks. - -The lock-man did not seem disposed to let the canoes pass through -the lock, but finally accepted fifty cents, and, grumbling to -himself in his Canadian French, proceeded to lock the canoes -through. He paid no attention to the request that he would open the -sluices gradually, but opened them all at once and to their fullest -extent. The result was that the water in the lock fell with great -rapidity; the canoes were swung against one another and against -the side of the lock, and Charley’s canoe, catching against a bolt -in one of the upper gates, was capsized and sunk to the bottom, -leaving her captain clinging to the stern of the _Sunshine_. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -There is no place more unfit for a sudden and unexpected bath than -the lock of a canal. The sides and the gates are perpendicular and -smooth, and present nothing to which a person in the water can -cling. Charley had no difficulty in supporting himself by throwing -one arm over the stern of Harry’s canoe, but had he been alone in -the lock he would have been in a very unpleasant position. - -As soon as the gates were opened the boys paddled out of the lock, -and went ashore to devise a plan for raising the sunken canoe. Of -course it was necessary that some one should dive and bring up the -painter, so that the canoe could be dragged out of the lock; but, -as canal-boats were constantly passing, it was a full hour before -any attempt at diving could be made. There were half a dozen small -French boys playing near the lock, and Charley, who was by no means -anxious to do any unnecessary diving, hired them to get the canoe -ashore, which they managed to do easily. It was then found that -nearly everything except the spars had floated out of her, and the -rest of the morning was spent in searching for the missing articles -in the muddy bottom of the canal. Most of them were recovered, but -Charley’s spare clothes, which were in an India-rubber bag, could -not be found. - -This was the second time that the unfortunate _Midnight_ had -foundered, and Charley was thoroughly convinced of the necessity of -providing some means of keeping her afloat in case of capsizing. It -was impossible for him to put water-tight compartments in her, such -as the _Sunshine_ and the _Dawn_ possessed, but he resolved to buy -a dozen beef-bladders at the next town, and after blowing them up -to pack them in the bow and stern of his canoe. Tom, whose “Rice -Lake” canoe was also without water-tight compartments, agreed -to adopt Charley’s plan, and thus avoid running the risk of an -accident that might result in the loss of the canoe and cargo. - -When the fleet finally got under way again there was a nice breeze -from the south, which sent the canoes along at the rate of four -or five miles an hour. Chambly, the northern end of the canal, -was reached before four o’clock, the boys having lunched on -bread-and-water while in the canoes in order not to lose time by -going ashore. They passed safely through the three great locks at -Chambly; and entering the little lake formed by the expansion of -the river, and known as Chambly Basin, they skirted its northern -shore until they reached the ruins of Chambly Castle. - -More than one hundred and fifty years ago the Frenchmen built -the great square fort, with round towers at each angle, which is -now called Chambly Castle. At that time the only direct way of -communication between the settlements on the St. Lawrence and -those in the valleys of the Hudson and the Mohawk was up the -Richelieu River, Lake Champlain, and Lake George. It was this route -that Burgoyne followed when he began the campaign that ended so -disastrously for him at Saratoga, and it was at Chambly Castle that -he formally took command of his army. The castle was placed just -at the foot of the rapids, on a broad, level space, where Indians -used to assemble in large numbers to trade with the French. Its -high stone walls, while they could easily have been knocked to -pieces by cannon, were a complete protection against the arrows and -rifles of the savages, and could have withstood a long siege by any -English force not provided with artillery. In the old days when the -castle was garrisoned by gay young French officers, and parties -of beautiful ladies came up from Montreal to attend the officers’ -balls, and the gray old walls echoed to music, and brilliant lights -flashed through the windows, the Indians encamped outside the gates -must have thought it the most magnificent and brilliant place in -the whole world. Now there is nothing left of it but the four -walls and the crumbling towers. The iron bolts on which the great -castle gate once swung are still embedded in the stone, but nothing -else remains inside the castle except grassy mounds and the wild -vines that climb wherever they can find an angle or a stone to -cling to. - -The canoeists made their camp where the Indians had so often camped -before them, and after supper they rambled through the castle and -climbed to the top of one of the towers. They had never heard of -its existence, and were as surprised as they were delighted to find -so romantic a ruin. - -“I haven’t the least doubt that the place is full of ghosts,” said -Charley as the boys were getting into the canoes for the night. - -“Do you really believe in ghosts?” asked Tom, in his matter-of-fact -way. - -“Why,” replied Charley, “when you think of what must have happened -inside of that old castle and outside of it when the Indians -tortured their prisoners, there can’t help but be ghosts here.” - -“I don’t care, provided there are no mosquitoes,” said Joe. “Ghosts -don’t bite, and don’t sing in a fellow’s ears.” - -Any one who has camped near a rapid knows how strangely the running -water sounds in the stillness of the night. Joe, who, although -there were no mosquitoes to trouble him, could not fall asleep, was -sure that he heard men’s voices talking in a low tone, and two or -three times raised himself up in his canoe to see if there were any -persons in sight. He became convinced after a while that the sounds -which disturbed him were made by the water, but, nevertheless, -they had made him rather nervous. Though he had professed not to -be afraid of ghosts, he did not like to think about them, but he -could not keep them out of his mind. Once, when he looked out of -his canoe toward the castle, he was startled to find it brilliantly -lighted up. The light was streaming from the casemates, loop-holes, -and windows, and it was some moments before he comprehended that it -was nothing more ghostly than moonlight. - -Toward midnight Joe fell asleep, but he slept uneasily. He woke up -suddenly to find a dark object with two fiery eyes seated on the -deck of his canoe and apparently watching him. He sprung up, with -a cry of terror, which awakened his comrades. The strange object -rushed away from the canoe, and, stopping near the gate of the -castle, seemed to be waiting to see what the boys would do. - -By this time Joe had recovered his senses, and knew that his -strange visitor was a wild animal. The boys took their pistols. -Tom, who was the best shot, fired at the animal. He did not hit it, -but as Tom advanced slowly toward it the creature went into the -castle. - -“It’s a wild-cat,” cried Charley. “I saw it as it crossed that -patch of moonlight. Come on, boys, and we’ll have a hunt.” - -With their pistols ready for instant service, the canoeists rushed -into the castle. The wild-cat was seated on a pile of stones in -what was once the court-yard, and did not show any signs of fear. -Three or four pistol-shots, however, induced it to spring down -from its perch and run across the court-yard. The boys followed it -eagerly, plunging into a thick growth of tall weeds, and shouting -at the top of their lungs. Suddenly the animal vanished; and though -Tom fancied that he saw it crouching in the shadow of the wall and -fired at it, as he supposed, he soon found that he was firing at a -piece of old stovepipe that had probably been brought to the place -by a picnic party. - -Giving up the hunt with reluctance, the canoeists returned to their -canoes; at least, three of them did, but Joe was not with them. -They called to him, but received no answer, and becoming anxious -about him, went back to the castle and shouted his name loudly, but -without success. - -“It’s very strange,” exclaimed Charley. “He was close behind me -when we chased the wild-cat into those weeds.” - -“Has anybody seen him since?” asked Harry. - -[Illustration: HUNTING FOR A WILD-CAT IN CHAMBLY CASTLE.] - -Nobody had seen him. - -“Then,” said Harry, “the wild-cat has carried him off, or killed -him.” - -“Nonsense!” exclaimed Charley; “a wild-cat isn’t a tiger, and -couldn’t carry off a small baby. Joe must be trying to play a trick -on us.” - -“Let’s go back and pay no attention to him,” suggested Tom. “I -don’t like such tricks.” - -“There’s no trick about it,” said Harry. “Joe isn’t that kind of -fellow. Something has happened to him, and we’ve got to look for -him till we find him.” - -“Harry’s right,” said Charley. “Go and get the lantern out of my -canoe, won’t you, Tom? I’ve got matches in my pocket.” - -When the lantern was lit a careful search was made all over the -court-yard. Harry was greatly frightened, for he was afraid that -Joe might have been accidentally shot while the boys were shooting -at the wild-cat, and he remembered that in his excitement he had -fired his pistol in a very reckless way. It was horrible to think -that he might have shot poor Joe; worse, even, than thinking that -the wild-cat might have seized him. - -The court-yard had been thoroughly searched without finding the -least trace of Joe, and the boys were becoming more and more -alarmed, when Charley, whose ears were particularly sharp, cried, -“Hush! I hear something.” They all listened intently, and heard a -voice faintly calling “Help!” They knew at once that it was Joe’s -voice, but they could not imagine where he was. They shouted in -reply to him, and Charley, seizing the lantern, carefully pushed -aside the tall weeds and presently found himself at the mouth of a -well. - -“Are you there, Joe?” he cried, lying down on the ground, with his -head over the mouth of the well. - -“I believe I am,” replied Joe. “I’m ready to come out, though, if -you fellows will help me.” - -The boys gave a great shout of triumph. - -“Are you hurt?” asked Charley, eagerly. - -“I don’t think I am; but I think somebody will be if I have to stay -here much longer.” - -It was evident that Joe was not seriously hurt, although he had -fallen into the well while rushing recklessly after the wild-cat. -Tom and Harry ran to the canoes and returned with all four of the -canoe-painters. Tying one of them to the lantern, Charley lowered -it down, and was able to get a glimpse of Joe. The well was about -twenty feet deep, and perfectly dry, and Joe was standing, with his -hands in his pockets, leaning against the side of the well, and -apparently entirely unhurt, in spite of his fall. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -It was an easy matter to help Joe out of the old well. He had -fallen into it while running after the wild-cat, but a heap of -decayed leaves at the bottom broke the fall and saved him from any -serious injury. Nevertheless, he must have been a little stunned at -first, for he made no outcry for some time, and it was his first -call for help that was heard by Charley. - -The boys returned to their canoes, and, as it was not yet -midnight, prepared to resume the sleep from which they had been so -unceremoniously awakened. They had little fear that the wild-cat -would pay them another visit, for it had undoubtedly been badly -frightened. Still, it was not pleasant to think that there was a -wild beast within a few rods of them, and the thought kept the -canoeists awake for a long time. - -The wild-cat did not pay them a second visit, and when they awoke -the next morning they were half inclined to think that their -night’s adventure had been only a dream. There, however, were the -marks made by its claws on the varnished deck of Joe’s canoe, and -Joe’s clothing was torn and stained by his fall. With the daylight -they became very courageous, and decided that they had never been -in the least afraid of the animal. The so-called wild-cat of -Canada, which is really a lynx, is, however, a fierce and vicious -animal, and is sometimes more than a match for an unarmed man. - -There was a strong west wind blowing when the fleet started, and -Chambly Basin was covered with white-caps. As the canoes were -sailing in the trough of the sea they took in considerable water -while skirting the east shore of the Basin, but once in the narrow -river they found the water perfectly smooth. This day the fleet -made better progress than on any previous day. Nothing could be -more delightful than the scenery, and the quaint little French -towns along the river, every one of which was named after some -saint, were very interesting. The boys landed at one of them and -got their dinner at a little tavern where no one spoke English, -and where Charley, who had studied French at Annapolis, won the -admiration of his comrades by the success with which he ordered the -dinner. - -[Illustration: SAILING DOWN THE RICHELIEU RIVER.] - -With the exception of the hour spent at dinner, the canoeists -sailed, from six o’clock in the morning until seven at night, at -the rate of nearly six miles an hour. The clocks of Sorel, the town -at the mouth of the Richelieu, were striking six as the canoes -glided into the broad St. Lawrence and steered for a group of -islands distant about a mile from the south shore. It was while -crossing the St. Lawrence that they first made the acquaintance of -screw-steamers, and learned how dangerous they are to the careless -canoeist. A big steamship, on her way to Montreal, came up the -river so noiselessly that the boys did not notice her until -they heard her hoarse whistle warning them to keep out of her way. -A paddle-wheel steamer can be heard while she is a long way off, -but screw-steamers glide along so stealthily that the English -canoeists, who constantly meet them on the Mersey, the Clyde, and -the lower Thames, have nicknamed them “sudden death.” - -Cramped and tired were the canoeists when they reached the nearest -island and went ashore to prepare a camp, but they were proud of -having sailed sixty miles in one day. As they sat around the fire -after supper Harry said, “Boys, we’ve had experience enough by this -time to test our different rigs. Let’s talk about them a little.” - -“All right,” said Joe. “I want it understood, however, that my -lateen is by all odds the best rig in the fleet.” - -“Charley,” remarked Tom, “you said the other day that you liked -Joe’s rig better than any other. Do you think so still?” - -“Of course I do,” answered Charley. “Joe’s sails set flatter than -any lug-sail; he can set them and take them in quicker than we can -handle ours, and as they are triangular he has the most of his -canvas at the foot of the sail instead of at the head. But they’re -going to spill him before the cruise is over, or I’m mistaken.” - -“In what way?” asked Joe. - -“You are going to get yourself into a scrape some day by trying to -take in your sail when you are running before a stiff breeze. If -you try to get the sail down without coming up into the wind it -will get overboard, and either you will lose it or it will capsize -you; you tried it yesterday when a squall came up, and you very -nearly came to grief.” - -“But you can say the same about any other rig,” exclaimed Joe. - -“Of course you can’t very well get any sail down while the wind is -in it; but Tom can take in his sharpie-sail without much danger -even when he’s running directly before the wind, and Harry and I -can let go our halyards and get our lugs down after a fashion, if -it is necessary. Still, your lateen is the best cruising rig I’ve -ever seen, though for racing Harry’s big, square-headed balance-lug -is better.” - -“You may say what you will,” said Tom, “but give me my -sharpie-sails. They set as flat as a board, and I can handle them -easily enough to suit me.” - -“The trouble with your rig,” said Charley, “is that you have a mast -nearly fifteen feet high. Now, when Joe takes in his main-sail he -has only two feet of mast left standing.” - -“How do you like your own rig?” asked Harry. - -“Oh, it is good enough. I’m not sure that it isn’t better than -either yours or Tom’s; but it certainly isn’t as handy as Joe’s -lateen.” - -“Now that you’ve settled that I’ve the best rig,” said Joe, “you’d -better admit that I’ve the best canoe, and then turn in for the -night. After the work we’ve done to-day, and the fun we had last -night, I’m sleepy.” - -“Do you call sitting still in a canoe hard work?” inquired Tom. - -“Is falling down a well your idea of fun?” asked Harry. - -“It’s too soon,” said Charley, “to decide who has the best canoe. -We’ll find that out by the time the cruise is over.” - -The island where the boys camped during their first night on the -St. Lawrence was situated at the head of Lake St. Peter. This lake -is simply an expansion of the St. Lawrence, and though it is thirty -miles long and about ten miles wide at its widest part, it is so -shallow that steamboats can only pass through it by following an -artificial channel dredged out by the government at a vast expense. -Its shores are lined with a thick growth of reeds, which extend -in many places fully a mile into the lake, and are absolutely -impassable, except where streams flowing into the lake have kept -channels open through the reeds. - -On leaving the island in the morning the canoeists paddled down the -lake, for there was not a breath of wind. The sun was intensely -hot, and the heat reflected from the surface of the water and the -varnished decks of the canoes assisted in making the boys feel as -if they were roasting before a fire. Toward noon the heat became -really intolerable, and the Commodore gave the order to paddle over -to the north shore in search of shade. - -It was disappointing to find instead of a shady shore an -impenetrable barrier of reeds. After resting a little while in the -canoes, the boys started to skirt the reeds, in hope of finding an -opening; and the sun, apparently taking pity on them, went under a -cloud, so that they paddled a mile or two in comparative comfort. - -The friendly cloud was followed before long by a mass of thick -black clouds coming up from the south. Soon the thunder was heard -in the distance, and it dawned upon the tired boys that they were -about to have a thunder-storm, without any opportunity of obtaining -shelter. - -They paddled steadily on, looking in vain for a path through the -reeds, and making up their minds to a good wetting. They found, -however, that the rain did not come alone. With it came a fierce -gust of wind, which quickly raised white-caps on the lake. Instead -of dying out as soon as the rain fell the wind blew harder and -harder, and in the course of half an hour there was a heavy sea -running. - -The wind and sea coming from the south, while the canoes were -steering east, placed the boys in a very dangerous position. The -seas struck the canoes on the side and broke over them, and in -spite of the aprons, which to some extent protected the cockpits -of all except the _Twilight_, the water found its way below. It -was soon no longer possible to continue in the trough of the sea, -and the canoes were compelled to turn their bows to the wind and -sea--the boys paddling just sufficiently to keep themselves from -drifting back into the reeds. - -The _Sunshine_ and the _Midnight_ behaved admirably, taking very -little water over their decks. The _Twilight_ “slapped” heavily, -and threw showers of spray over herself, while the _Dawn_ showed a -tendency to dive bodily into the seas, and several times the whole -of her forward of the cockpit was under the water. - -“What had we better do?” asked Harry, who, although Commodore, had -the good-sense always to consult Charley in matters of seamanship. - -“It’s going to blow hard, and we can’t sit here and paddle against -it all day without getting exhausted.” - -“But how are we going to help ourselves?” continued Harry. - -“Your canoe and mine,” replied Charley, “can live out the gale well -enough under sail. If we set our main-sails close-reefed, and keep -the canoes close to the wind, we shall be all right. It’s the two -other canoes that I’m troubled about.” - -“My canoe suits me well enough,” said Joe, “so long as she keeps -on the top of the water, but she seems to have made up her mind to -dive under it.” - -“Mine would be all right if I could stop paddling long enough to -bail her out, but I can’t,” remarked Tom. “She’s nearly half full -of water now.” - -“We can’t leave the other fellows,” said Harry, “so what’s the use -of our talking about getting sail on our canoes?” - -“It’s just possible that Tom’s canoe would live under sail,” -resumed Charley; “but it’s certain that Joe’s won’t. What do you -think about those reeds, Tom--can you get your canoe into them?” - -“Of course I can, and that’s what we’d better all do,” exclaimed -Tom. “The reeds will break the force of the seas, and we can stay -among them till the wind goes down.” - -“Suppose you try it,” suggested Charley, “and let us see how far -you can get into the reeds? I think they’re going to help us out of -a very bad scrape.” - -Tom did not dare to turn his canoe around, so he backed water and -went at the reeds stern-first. They parted readily, and his canoe -penetrated without much difficulty some half-dozen yards into the -reeds where the water was almost quiet. Unfortunately, he shipped -one heavy sea just as he entered the reeds, which filled his canoe -so full that another such sea would certainly have sunk her, had -she not been provided with the bladders bought at Chambly. - -Joe followed Tom’s example, but the _Dawn_ perversely stuck in the -reeds just as she was entering them, and sea after sea broke over -her before Joe could drive her far enough into the reeds to be -protected by them. - -Joe and Tom were now perfectly safe, though miserably wet; but, as -the rain had ceased, there was nothing to prevent them from getting -dry clothes out of their water-proof bags, and putting them on as -soon as they could bail the water out of their canoes. Harry and -Charley, seeing their comrades in safety, made haste to get up sail -and to stand out into the lake--partly because they did not want to -run the risk of being swamped when entering the reeds, and partly -because they wanted the excitement of sailing in a gale of wind. - -When the masts were stepped, the sails hoisted, and the sheets -trimmed, the two canoes, sailing close to the wind, began to creep -away from the reeds. They behaved wonderfully well. The boys had -to watch them closely, and to lean out to windward from time to -time to hold them right side up. The rudders were occasionally -thrown out of the water, but the boys took the precaution to steer -with their paddles. The excitement of sailing was so great, that -Charley and Harry forgot all about the time, and sailed on for -hours. Suddenly they discovered that it was three o’clock, that -they had had no lunch, and that the two canoeists who had sought -refuge in the reeds had absolutely nothing to eat with them. Filled -with pity, they resolved to return to them without a moment’s -delay. It was then that it occurred to them that in order to sail -back they must turn their canoes around, bringing them while so -doing in the trough of the sea. Could they possibly do this without -being swamped? The question was a serious one, for they were fully -four miles from the shore, and the wind and sea were as high as ever. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -Charley and Harry took in their sails, keeping the canoes head to -sea with an occasional stroke of the paddle. When all was made -snug, and the moment for turning the canoes had arrived, they -realized that they were about to attempt the most hazardous feat of -the whole cruise. - -“Can we do it?” asked Harry, doubtfully. - -“We’ve got to do it,” replied Charley. - -“Why can’t we unship our rudders and back water till we get to the -reeds?” - -“It might be possible, but the chances are that we would be -swamped. The seas would overtake us, and we couldn’t keep out of -the way of them. No, we’ve got to turn around and sail back in the -regular way.” - -“You know best, of course,” said Harry; “but what’s the use of -taking in our sails before we turn around? We’ll have trouble in -setting them again with the wind astern.” - -“We can turn the canoes quicker without sails than we could -with the sails set, and every second that we can gain is worth -something. Besides, if we are capsized it will be an advantage to -have the sails furled. But we’re wasting time. Let your canoe get -right astern of mine, so that mine will keep a little of the sea -off of you; then watch for two or three big seas and turn your -canoe when they have passed.” - -Harry followed his friend’s instructions, and succeeded in turning -his canoe without accident. Then Charley, getting into the lee of -the _Sunshine_, did his best to imitate Harry’s successful feat. He -managed to turn the canoe, but while in the act a heavy sea rolled -into the cockpit and filled the _Midnight_ absolutely full. The -beef-bladders, however, kept the canoe afloat, but she lay like a -log on the water, and every successive wave swept over her. - -Charley did not lose his presence of mind. He shouted to Harry to -run up his sail and keep his canoe out of the way of the seas, and -then he busied himself shaking out the reef of his main-sail, so -that he could set the whole sail. The moment the canoe felt the -strain of her canvas she began to rush through the water in spite -of her great weight, and no more seas came aboard her. Steering -with one hand, Charley bailed with his hat with such energy that he -soon freed the canoe of water. Meanwhile he rapidly overtook Harry, -and reached the reeds, while the _Sunshine_ was a quarter of a mile -behind him. - -Tom and Joe were found sitting in their canoes and suffering the -pangs of hunger. Charley put on dry clothes, while Harry prepared -a lunch of dried beef and crackers, after which the canoeists -resigned themselves as cheerfully as they could to spending the -rest of the afternoon and the night in the reeds. It was not a -pleasant place, but the wind kept the mosquitoes away, and the boys -managed to fall asleep soon after sunset. The wind died out during -the night, and the boys found, the next morning, that only a few -rods below the place where they had spent the night there was an -open channel by which they could easily have reached the shore. -This was rather aggravating, and it increased the disgust with -which they remembered Lake St. Peter and its reed-lined shores. - -The voyage down the St. Lawrence seemed monotonous after the -excitement of running the Magog rapids, and the various adventures -of the sail down the Richelieu. The St. Lawrence has very little -shade along its banks, for, owing to the direction in which it -runs, the sun shines on the water all day long. The weather was -exceedingly hot while the boys were on the river, and on the third -day after leaving Lake St. Peter they suffered so greatly that they -were afraid to stay on the water lest they should be sunstruck. -Going ashore on the low sandy bank, they were unable to find a -single tree or even a hillock large enough to afford any shade. -They thought of drawing the canoes ashore and sitting in the shade -of them, but there was not a breath of air stirring, and the very -ground was so hot that it almost scorched their feet. Half a mile -away on a meadow they saw a tree, but it was far too hot to think -of walking that distance. They decided at last to get into their -canoes and to paddle a few rods farther to a place where a small -stream joined the river, and where they hoped to find the water -somewhat cooler for bathing. - -On reaching the mouth of the little stream the bows of the canoes -were run ashore, so that they would not float away, and the boys, -hastily undressing, sprung into the water. They had a delightful -bath, and it was not until they began to feel chilly that they -thought of coming out and dressing. Tom was the first to go -ashore, and as he was wading out of the water he suddenly felt -himself sinking in the sand. Harry and Joe attempted to land a -few yards from the place where Tom was trying to drag his feet -out of the clinging sand, and they too found themselves in the -same difficulty. Harry at once perceived what was the matter, -and, making frantic efforts to get to the shore, cried out to his -comrades that they were caught in a quicksand. - -The struggles made by the three boys were all in vain. When they -tried to lift one foot out of the sand the other foot would sink -still deeper. It was impossible for them to throw themselves at -full length on the quicksand, for there were nearly two feet of -water over it, and they were not close enough together to give one -another any assistance. By the time Charley fully understood the -peril they were in, Tom had sunk above his knees in the sand, and -Joe and Harry, finding that they could not extricate themselves, -were waiting, with white faces and trembling lips, for Charley to -come to their help. - -Charley knew perfectly well that if he ventured too near the other -boys he would himself be caught in the quicksand, and there would -be no hope that any of them could escape. Keeping his presence of -mind, he swum to the stern of one of the canoes, set it afloat, and -pushed it toward Tom so that the latter could get hold of its bow. -He then brought two other canoes to the help of Joe and Harry, and -when each of the three unfortunate canoeists was thus furnished -with something to cling to he climbed into his own canoe. - -“What are we to do now?” asked Harry. - -“Just hold on to your canoes till I can tow them out into the -stream. You can’t sink while you hang on to them.” - -“Won’t the canoes sink with us?” asked Tom. - -“Not a bit of it. You wouldn’t sink yourselves if you could lie -down flat on the quicksand. I was caught in a quicksand once, and -that’s the way I saved myself.” - -“I hope it’s all right,” exclaimed Joe; “but it seems to me -that you’ll have to get a derrick to hoist me out. But I’m not -complaining. I can hang on to my canoe all day, only I don’t want -to be drowned and buried both at the same time.” - -Charley, meanwhile, was busily making his canoe fast to Tom’s -canoe with his painter. When this was done he paddled away from -the shore with all his might, while Tom tried to lift himself -out of the quicksand by throwing the weight of his body on the -canoe. Slowly Tom and his canoe yielded to the vigorous strokes -of Charley’s paddle and were towed out into deep water. By the -same means Joe and Harry were rescued, and then the entire -fleet--Charley paddling, and the others swimming and pushing their -canoes--floated a short distance down stream, and finally landed -where the sand was firm and hard. - -“What should we have done if you’d got into the quicksand, as we -did?” said Harry to Charley, as they were dressing. - -“By this time we should all have disappeared,” replied Charley. - -“I shall never go ashore again while we’re on this river without -making sure that I’m not walking into a quicksand,” continued -Harry. “It was awful to find myself sinking deeper and deeper, and -to know that I couldn’t help myself.” - -“Very likely there isn’t another quicksand the whole length of -the St. Lawrence,” said Charley. “However, it’s well enough to be -careful where we land. I’ve noticed that where a little stream -joins a big one the bottom is likely to be soft; but after all a -regular dangerous quicksand isn’t often met. I never saw but one -before.” - -“Tell us about it,” suggested Joe. - -“No; we’ve talked enough about quicksands, and the subject isn’t a -cheerful one. Do you see that pile of boards? Let’s make a board -shanty, and go to sleep in it after we’ve had some lunch. It will -be too hot to paddle before the end of the afternoon.” - -A shanty was easily made by leaning a dozen planks against the -top of the pile of boards, and after a comfortable lunch the boys -took a long nap. When they awoke they were disgusted to find that -their canoes were high and dry two rods from the edge of the water. -They had reached a part of the river where the tide was felt, and -without knowing it they had gone ashore at high tide. They had to -carry the canoes, with all their contents, down to the water, and -as the receding tide had left a muddy and slippery surface to walk -over the task was not a pleasant one. They congratulated themselves -that they had not gone ashore at low tide, in which case the rising -of the water during the night would have carried away the canoes. - -Sailing down the river with a gentle breeze, and with the help of -the ebbing tide, the canoeists came to the mouth of a small river -which entered the St. Lawrence from the north. They knew by means -of the map that the small river was the Jacques Cartier. It was a -swift, shallow, and noisy stream, flowing between high, precipitous -banks, and spanned by a lofty and picturesque bridge. Taking in -their sails, the boys entered the Jacques Cartier, picking their -way carefully among the rocks, and making headway very slowly -against the rapid current. They stopped under the bridge, just -above which there was an impassable rapid, and went ashore for lunch. - -Near by there was a saw-mill, and from one of the workmen who came -to look at the canoes the boys heard wonderful reports of the -fish to be caught in the stream. It was full of salmon--so the man -said--and about nine miles from its mouth there was a pool where -the trout actually clamored to be caught. The enthusiasm of the -canoeists was kindled; and they resolved to make a camp on the bank -of the stream, and to spend a few days in fishing. - -After having thus excited his young hearers the workman cruelly -told them that the right to fish for salmon was owned by a man -living in Montreal, and that any one catching a salmon without -permission would be heavily fined. The trout, however, belonged to -nobody, and the boys, though greatly disappointed about the salmon, -would not give up their plan of trout-fishing. They hired two carts -from a farmer living a short distance from the river, and, placing -their canoes on the carts, walked beside them over a wretchedly -rough road until they reached a place deep in the woods, where a -little stream, icy cold, joined the Jacques Cartier. Just before -entering the latter the little stream formed a quiet pool, in -which the trout could be seen jumping. The point of land between -the trout-stream and the river was covered with a carpet of soft -grass, and on this the canoes were placed and made ready to be -slept in. - -The workman at the mouth of the Jacques Cartier had not exaggerated -the number of trout in the pool. It was alive with fish. The boys -were charmed with the beauty of their camping-ground and the luxury -of their table. It was rather tiresome to walk two miles every -day to the nearest farm-house for milk, but with the milk rice -griddle cakes were made, and upon these and fresh-killed trout the -canoeists feasted for three delightful days. - -[Illustration: “THEY FOUND A BEAR FEASTING UPON THE REMAINS OF -THEIR BREAKFAST.”] - -They had one real adventure while on the Jacques Cartier. One day, -when they returned to their camp from an exploration of the upper -part of the trout-stream, they found a bear feasting upon the -remains of their breakfast and their bottle of maple-sirup, which -he had upset and broken. The animal was full-grown, and looked -like a very ugly customer, but no sooner did he see the boys than -he started on a rapid run for the woods. By the time the boys -had found their pistols and were ready to follow him the bear had -disappeared, and though they hunted for him all the rest of the day -they could not find him. Had the bear taken it into his head to -hunt the boys he would probably have been much more successful, for -their pistol-bullets would have had little effect upon him, except -to sharpen his appetite for tender and wholesome boys’-meat. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -It sometimes blows very hard on the St. Lawrence. It blew -especially hard the morning the young canoeists returned to the -banks of the great river from their excursion up the Jacques -Cartier. As far as they could see the St. Lawrence was covered with -white-caps. The wind blew directly up the river, and a heavy sea -was breaking on the little island which lay opposite the mouth of -the Jacques Cartier. Paddling against such a wind and sea would -have been nearly impossible, and the boys resolved to wait until -the wind should go down. - -The day was a long one, for there was nothing to do but to watch -the men at work in the saw-mill, and to look out on the river to -see if the wind and sea had gone down. It continued to blow hard -all day and all night, and when Harry awoke his comrades at five -o’clock the next morning it was blowing as hard as ever. - -Nobody wanted to spend another day at the saw-mill. Although the -wind was blowing up the river the tide was ebbing, and would help -the canoes to make some little progress, in spite of the wind and -sea. So after a hurried breakfast the fleet got under way at six -o’clock and gallantly breasted the waves. - -The boys found that paddling against so strong a head-wind was -harder than they had imagined that it could be. It was almost -impossible to force the upper blade of the paddle through the air -when trying to make a stroke, and it was only by turning the two -paddle-blades at right angles to one another, so that the upper -blade would present its edge to the wind, that this could be done. -The seas were so large that the two canoes which were leading would -often be entirely invisible to the other canoes, though they were -but a few yards apart. The _Twilight_, as was her habit when driven -against head-seas, threw spray all over herself, and the _Dawn_ -exhibited her old vice of trying to dive through the seas. The -other canoes were dry enough, but they presented more resistance to -the wind, and hence were harder to paddle. - -Little was said during the first half-hour, for everybody was -working too hard at the paddle to have any breath to spare for -talking; but finally Harry, who was in the advance with Charley, -slackened his stroke, and, hailing Joe and Tom, asked them how they -were getting along. - -“Wet as usual,” replied Joe. “The water is pretty near up to my -waist in the canoe, and two waves out of three wash right over her. -But I don’t care; I’ll paddle as long as anybody else will.” - -“My canoe will float, unless the bladders burst,” said Tom, “but -I’ll have to stop and bail out before long, or she’ll be so heavy -that I can’t stir her.” - -“Never mind,” cried Joe. “Look at the splendid time we’re making. -We’ve come nearly a quarter of a mile, and that means that we’re -paddling at the rate of half a mile an hour. At this rate we’ll -get somewhere in the course of the summer.” - -“There isn’t any use in tiring ourselves out for nothing,” -exclaimed Harry. “Boys! we’ll make that sand-spit right ahead of -us, and wait there till the wind goes down.” - -“All right,” said Joe. “Only it’s a pity to go ashore when the tide -is helping us along so beautifully. That is, the Commodore said it -would help us, and of course he is right.” - -“No reflections on the Commodore will be allowed,” cried Harry. -“Bail out your canoes, you two fellows, and Charley and I will wait -for you.” - -Joe was very anxious to go ashore and rest, for he was nearly tired -out; but he was not willing to let Harry know that he was tired. -The two boys had been disputing while on the Jacques Cartier as -to their respective strength, and Harry had boasted that he could -endure twice as much fatigue as Joe. This was true enough, for -Harry was older and much more muscular, but Joe was determined to -paddle as long as he could swing his arms rather than to admit -that he was the weaker. - -The sandy spit where Harry proposed to rest was half a mile farther -on, but before it was reached poor Joe managed to sprain the -muscles of his left wrist. He was compelled to stop paddling except -just hard enough to keep the _Dawn’s_ head to the sea, and to call -out to the Commodore that he must be allowed to go ashore at once. - -Now, the north shore of the river, near which the canoes were -paddling, was a rocky precipice, rising perpendicularly directly -from the water, and at least two hundred feet high. To land on such -a shore was, of course, impossible, and the sandy spit toward which -the fleet was paddling was the only possible landing-place within -sight, unless the canoes were to turn round and run back to the -Jacques Cartier. - -In this state of things Harry, after consulting with Charley and -Tom, resolved to tow the _Dawn_. Her painter was made fast to the -stern-post of the _Sunshine_, and Harry, bracing his feet and -setting his teeth tight together, began the task of forcing two -heavy canoes through the rough water. He found that he could make -progress slowly, but Joe could not steer the _Dawn_ except by -paddling, and as he was able to do very little of that she kept -yawing about in a most unpleasant way, which greatly added to -Harry’s labor. - -Suddenly, Joe had a happy thought: he set his “dandy” and hauled -the sheet taut, so that the boom was parallel with the keel. The -effect of this was that whenever the canoe’s head fell off the sail -filled and brought her up again. Joe was relieved of the task of -steering, and Harry was able to tow the _Dawn_ much more easily -than before. - -The other canoeists followed Joe’s example, and, setting their -“dandies,” greatly lessened their labor. The canoes kept their -heads to the wind of their own accord, and everybody wondered why -so obvious a method of fighting a head-wind had not sooner been -thought of. - -It was eight o’clock when the sandy spit was reached. The tide had -been ebbing for some hours, and the sand was warm and dry, except -near the edge of the water. The canoes were hauled some distance -over the sand to a spot where there was a clump of bushes, and -where it was reasonable to suppose that they would be perfectly -safe even at high tide. A second breakfast was then cooked and -eaten, after which the boys set out to explore their camping-ground. - -It was simply a low sand-bank, about a hundred feet wide at widest -part, and running out two or three hundred feet into the river. -As has been said, the north bank of the river was a perpendicular -precipice, but now that the tide was out there was a path at the -foot of the precipice by means of which any one could walk from the -sand-spit to a ravine a quarter of a mile away, and thus reach the -meadows lying back of the precipice. This path was covered with -water at high tide; but, as it was sure to be passable for three or -four hours, Harry and Tom set out to procure provisions for the day. - -[Illustration: AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE.] - -The fleet was wind-bound all that day, for neither the wind nor the -sea showed the slightest intention of going down. Harry and Tom -returned after an hour’s absence, with bread, butter, eggs, milk, -and strawberries, and with the cheerful information that, in the -opinion of a gloomy farmer, the wind would continue to blow for at -least two days more. - -After resting and sleeping on the soft sand the boys began to find -the time hang heavily on their hands. They overhauled their sails -and rigging, putting them in complete order. Charley mended a pair -of trousers belonging to Joe in a really artistic way; and Joe, -with his left arm in a sling, played “mumble-te-peg” with Harry. -Tom collected fire-wood, and, when he had got together more than -enough to cook two or three meals, occupied himself by trying to -roll a heavy log into a position near the canoes, where it could be -used as a seat or a table. - -The sand was strewn with logs, big and little, and Harry proposed -that as many logs as possible should be got together, so that an -enormous camp-fire could be started. It was a happy idea, for it -gave the boys employment for the greater part of the day. It became -a matter of pride with them to bring the biggest and heaviest of -the logs up to the fireplace. Some of them could only be stirred -with levers, and moved with the help of rollers cut from smaller -logs. Whenever a particularly big log was successfully moved the -boys were encouraged to attack a still bigger one. Thus they -finally collected an amount of fire-wood sufficient to make a blaze -bright enough to be seen a dozen miles at night. - -When they were tired of rolling logs Tom went fishing, but caught -nothing; while Charley cooked the dinner and watched the rising -tide--half afraid that the water would reach the fire and put it -out before he could get dinner ready. The tide rose so high that it -came within two or three yards of the fire, and almost as near to -the canoes, but it spared the dinner. When the tide was nearly full -only a small part of the sand-spit was out of water, and the path -along the foot of the precipice was completely covered, so that -the waves broke directly against the rocks. - -“It’s lucky for us that the tide doesn’t cover the whole of this -place,” remarked Charley as he placed the dinner on a large log -which served as a table, and beat a tattoo on the frying-pan as a -signal to Tom to give up fishing and come to dinner. “I should hate -to have to take to the canoes again in this wind.” - -“It’s lucky that the tide will ebb again,” said Harry, “for we’re -cut off from the shore as the tide is now, unless we could climb up -the rocks, and I don’t believe we could.” - -“It’s all right,” said Tom, putting his fishing-tackle in his -canoe, “provided the tide doesn’t come up in the night and float -the canoes off.” - -“Oh, that can’t happen!” exclaimed Harry. “The tide’s turned -already, and doesn’t reach the canoes.” - -“I’m going to sleep on the sand,” remarked Joe. “It’s softer than -the bottom of my canoe, and there isn’t any sign of rain.” - -“You don’t catch me sleeping anywhere except in my canoe,” said -Harry. “There isn’t any bed more comfortable than the _Sunshine_.” - -“Can you turn over in her at night?” asked Joe. - -“Well, yes; that is, if I do it very slow and easy.” - -“The bottom-board is a nice soft piece of wood, isn’t it?” -continued Joe. - -“It’s pine-wood,” replied Harry, shortly. “Besides, I sleep on -cushions.” - -“And you like to lie stretched out perfectly straight, don’t you?” - -“I like it well enough--much better than I like to see a young -officer trying to chaff his Commodore,” returned Harry, trying to -look very stern. - -“Oh, I’m not trying to chaff anybody!” exclaimed Joe. “I was only -wondering if your canoe was as comfortable as a coffin would be, -and I believe it is--every bit as comfortable.” - -When the time came for “turning in” Joe spread his water-proof -blanket on the sand close by the side of his canoe. He had dragged -her several yards away from the rest of the fleet, so as to be able -to make his bed on the highest and driest part of the sand, and to -shelter himself from the wind by lying in the lee of his boat. The -other boys preferred to sleep in their canoes, which were placed -side by side and close together. The blazing logs made the camp -almost as light as if the sun were shining, and the boys lay awake -a long while talking together, and hoping that the wind would die -out before morning. - -Joe, whose sprained wrist pained him a little, was the last to fall -asleep. While he had expressed no fears about the tide (for he did -not wish to be thought nervous), he was a little uneasy about it. -He had noticed that when the tide rose during the day it would have -completely covered the sand-spit had it risen only a few inches -higher. Long after his comrades had fallen asleep it occurred to -Joe that it would have been a wise precaution to make the canoes -fast to the bushes, so that they could not be carried away; but -he did not venture to wake the boys merely in order to give them -advice which they probably would not accept. So he kept silent, and -toward ten o’clock fell asleep. - -In the course of the night he began to dream. He thought that he -was a member of an expedition trying to reach the North Pole in -canoes, and that he was sleeping on the ice. He felt that his feet -and back were slowly freezing, and that a polar-bear was nudging -him in the ribs occasionally, to see if he was alive and ready to -be eaten. This was such an uncomfortable situation that Joe woke -up, and for a few moments could not understand where he was. - -The wind had gone down, the stars had come out, and the tide had -come up. Joe was lying in a shallow pool of water, and his canoe, -which was almost afloat, was gently rubbing against him. He sprung -up and called to his companions. There was no answer. The fire was -out, but by the starlight Joe could see that the whole sand-spit -was covered with water, and that neither the other boys nor their -canoes were in sight. The tide was still rising, and Joe’s canoe -was beginning to float away, when he seized her, threw his blankets -into her, and, stepping aboard, sat down, and was gently floated -away. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -Joe was alone on the St. Lawrence in the middle of the night, and -with a sprained wrist, which nearly disabled him so far as paddling -was concerned. Worse than this, his comrades had disappeared, -and there could not be the slightest doubt that their canoes had -floated away with them while they were sound asleep. What chance -had he of finding them? How could he get ashore, with his sprained -wrist; and what probability was there that the three boys thus -carried away in their sleep would escape from their dangerous -situation without any serious accident? - -As these questions presented themselves to Joe his first impulse -was to admit that he was completely disheartened and to burst into -tears. He was, however, far too manly to yield to it, and he -immediately began to think what was the best thing that he could do -in the circumstances. - -The water was perfectly smooth, so that there was really no danger -that the runaway canoes would capsize, unless their owners should -start up in a fright and not fully understand that their canoes -were no longer on solid land. Neither was there much chance that -they would be run down by steamboats, for the steamboat channel -was near the south shore of the river, a long distance from the -sand-spit. Joe remembered how fast the tide had risen the day -before, and he calculated that the missing canoes must have been -afloat about half an hour before the water reached the place -where he was sleeping. They would naturally drift in the same -direction in which the _Dawn_ was drifting; and all that it would -be necessary for Joe to do in order to overtake them would be to -increase the speed at which his canoe was moving. - -There was a scarcely perceptible breeze blowing from the south. -Joe got up his main-mast and set his sail. Light as the breeze -was, the canoe felt it, and began to move through the water. Joe -steered by the stars, and kept the _Dawn_ as nearly as possible on -the course which he supposed the other canoes had taken. He had no -lantern with him, and could see but a little distance ahead in the -dark, but he shouted every few moments, partly in order to attract -the attention of the missing canoeists, and partly in order to warn -any other boat that might be in the neighborhood not to run him -down. - -After sailing in this way for at least an hour, and hearing no -sound whatever but his own voice and the creaking of the canoe’s -spars, Joe was startled at perceiving a black object just ahead of -him. He avoided it with a vigorous movement of his paddle, and as -he drifted close to it with the wind shaken out of his sail he saw -to his great delight that it was a canoe. - -It was the _Sunshine_, with her canoe-tent rigged over her, and her -commander sound asleep. Taking hold of her gunwale, Joe drew the -two canoes together and put his hand gently on Harry’s forehead. -Harry instantly awoke, and hearing Joe begging him as he valued his -life to lie perfectly still, took the latter’s advice, and asked, -with some alarm, what was the matter. When he learned that he was -adrift on the river he sat up, took down his tent, and getting out -his paddle joined in the search for Tom and Charley. - -“They must be close by,” said Harry, “for all three canoes must -have floated away at the same time. Tom and Charley sleep sounder -than I do, and if I didn’t wake up it’s pretty certain that they -didn’t.” - -Presently Charley’s canoe was overtaken. Charley had been awakened -by the sound of Harry’s paddle and the loud tone in which Harry -and Joe were talking. He was sitting up when the _Dawn_ and the -_Sunshine_ overtook him; and having comprehended the situation in -which he found himself on awaking, he was making ready to paddle -ashore. - -There was now only one canoe missing--the _Twilight_. Harry, Joe, -and Charley took turns in shouting at the top of their lungs for -Tom, but they could obtain no answer except the echo from the -cliffs of the north shore. They paddled up the river until they -were certain that they had gone farther than Tom could possibly -have drifted, and then turned and paddled down stream, shouting at -intervals, and growing more and more alarmed at finding no trace of -the lost canoe. - -“She can’t have sunk, that’s one comfort,” exclaimed Harry, “for -the bladders that Tom put in her at Chambly would keep her afloat, -even if he did manage to capsize her in the dark.” - -“He took the bladders out yesterday morning and left them on the -sand just in the lee of his canoe,” said Charley. “Don’t you -remember that he sponged her out after we landed, and that he said -that he wouldn’t put his things back into her until we were ready -to start?” - -“I remember it now,” replied Harry. “And I remember that I did the -same thing. There’s nothing in my canoe now except my water-proof -bag and my blankets. But they’re not of much consequence compared -with Tom. Boys, do you really think he’s drowned?” - -“Of course he isn’t,” cried Joe. “We’ll find him in a few minutes. -He must be somewhere near by, and he’s sleeping so sound that he -don’t hear us. You know how hard it is to wake him up.” - -“Tom is a first-rate swimmer, and if he has spilt himself out of -his canoe and she has sunk, he has swum ashore,” said Charley. -“My opinion is that we had better stay just where we are until -daylight, and then look for him along the shore. He’s worth a dozen -drowned fellows, wherever he is.” - -Charley’s advice was taken, and the boys waited for daylight -as patiently as they could. Daylight--or rather dawn--came in -the course of an hour, but not a glimpse of the missing canoe -did it afford. The tide had already changed, and the top of the -treacherous sand-spit was once more above water, and not very far -distant from the canoes. As soon as it was certain that nothing -could be seen of Tom on the water his alarmed comrades paddled -toward the north shore, hoping that they might find him, and -possibly his canoe, somewhere at the foot of the rocks. - -They were again unsuccessful. While Joe sailed up and down along -the shore, the two other boys paddled close to the rocks, and -searched every foot of space where it would have been possible for -a canoe to land, or a canoeist to keep a footing above the water. -They had searched the shore for a full mile above the sand-spit -and had paddled back nearly half the way, when they were suddenly -hailed, and looking up, saw Tom standing on a ledge of rock ten -feet above the water. - -“Are you fellows going to leave me here all day?” demanded Tom. “I -began to think you were all drowned, and that I’d have to starve to -death up here.” - -[Illustration: “HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU GET UP THERE?”] - -“How in the world did you get up there?” “Where were you when we -came by here half an hour ago?” “Where’s your canoe?” “Are you all -right?” These and a dozen other questions were hurled at Tom by his -excited and overjoyed friends. - -“I was asleep until a few minutes ago,” replied Tom. “I got up here -when the tide was high, and I had hard work to do it, too.” - -“What’s become of your canoe? Is she lost?” asked Harry. - -“She’s somewhere at the bottom of the river. I tried to turn over -in her in the night, thinking she was on the sand-spit, but she -turned over with me, and sunk before I could make out what had -happened.” - -“And then you swum ashore?” - -“Yes. I saw the north-star, and knew that if I could swim long -enough I could find the shore. When I struck these rocks I was -disappointed, for I couldn’t find a place where I could land until -I got my hands on this ledge and drew myself up.” - -“Unless Tom wants to stay where he is we’d better invent some way -of taking him with us,” remarked Joe. - -“He’ll have to get into my canoe,” said Harry. - -“How deep is the water where you are?” asked Tom. - -“It’s anywhere from six feet to sixty. I can’t touch bottom with -the paddle, so it’s certain to be more than seven feet deep.” - -“Then, if you’ll please to give me room, I’ll jump, and somebody -can pick me up.” - -Tom jumped into the water, and had little trouble in climbing into -Harry’s canoe--the water being perfectly quiet. The fleet then -paddled back to the sand-spit, where they landed and breakfasted, -while Tom dried his clothes by the fire. - -Every member of the expedition except Joe had lost something, and -poor Tom had lost his canoe and everything except the clothes -which he was wearing. As long as the water continued to be smooth -Tom could be carried in either Harry’s or Charley’s canoe, but in -case the wind and sea should rise it would be very difficult, if -not impossible, to keep the canoe right side up with two persons -in her. Quebec was still at least twenty-five miles distant, and -it would take nearly a whole day of very hard work to paddle a -heavy canoe, with two boys in her, only one of whom was furnished -with a paddle, twenty-five miles, even in the most favorable -circumstances. Moreover, Joe’s sprained wrist made it impossible -for him to paddle, and the wind was so light that sailing to Quebec -was out of the question. - -It was therefore decided that Harry should take Joe in the -_Sunshine_ back to the Jacques Cartier, and leaving him to walk to -the nearest railway-station, should return to the sand-spit and -join Tom and Charley in paddling down to Quebec, Tom taking Joe’s -canoe. Although the boys had originally intended to end their -cruise at Quebec, they had become so fond of canoeing that they -would gladly have gone on to the Saguenay River and, if possible, -to Lake St. John; but now that Tom was without a canoe no one -thought of prolonging the cruise. - -Quebec was reached by the fleet several hours after Joe had -arrived there by the train. He was at the landing-place to meet -his comrades, and had already made a bargain with a canal-boatman -to carry the canoes all the way to New York for five dollars each. -As the _Sunshine_ was fitted with hatches which fastened with a -lock, and as it would be necessary for the Custom-house officer -at Rouse’s Point to search her, Harry wrote to the Custom-house -at that place, giving directions how to open the lock. It was a -padlock without a key, one of the so-called letter-locks which can -be opened by placing the letters in such a position that they spell -some particular word. Harry had provided the canoe with this lock -expressly in order to avoid trouble at Custom-houses, and in this -instance the plan proved completely successful, for the officer at -Rouse’s Point was able to unlock the canoe and to lock it up again -without a key. - -The boys spent a night and a day at Quebec, and, after seeing their -canoes safely started, they took the train for New York. As they -talked over their cruise on the way home they agreed that canoeing -was far more delightful than any other way of cruising, and that -they would go on a canoe cruise every summer. - -“As soon as I can afford it I shall get a new canoe,” said Tom. - -“Will you get a ‘Rice Laker?’” asked Harry. - -“Of course I will. My canoe was much the best boat in the fleet, -and I shall get another exactly like her.” - -“There’s no doubt that you are a genuine canoeist, Tom,” said -Charley. “You’ve had lots of trouble with your canoe because she -had no deck, and at last she sunk and nearly drowned you, because -she had no water-tight compartments; but for all that you really -think that she was the best canoe ever built. Is everybody else -convinced that his own canoe is the best in the world?” - -“I am,” cried Joe. - -“And I am,” cried Harry. - -“So am I,” added Charley; “and as this proves that we are all -thorough canoeists, we will join the American Canoe Association at -once, and cruise under its flag next summer.” - - -THE END. - - - - -INTERESTING BOOKS FOR BOYS. - - - THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. By THOMAS W. KNOX. Four - Parts. Profusely Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3 00 each. - - Part I. ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN JAPAN AND CHINA. - - Part II. 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