fish in the loch?"

"No, no; we're going to hit the river yonder, a mile from where it
enters the sea, and work on up toward the fresh-water loch."

"Where is the river, then?"

"You can't see it. Runs down yonder among the trees and rocks. You can
just see where it goes into the loch," continued Kenneth, pointing.
"Hillo! ahoy!"

"Ahoy!" came back from the distance; and Scood and the tall forester
seated themselves on a great block of granite and awaited their coming.

Tavish smiled with his eyes, which seemed to have the same laughing,
pleasant look in them seen in those of a friendly setter, the effect
being that Max felt drawn toward the great Highlander, and walked on by
his side, while Kenneth took the two long rods from Scoodrach, giving
him the basket to carry; and, as they dropped behind, with Kenneth
talking earnestly to the young gillie in a low tone, the latter suddenly
made a curious explosive noise, like a laugh chopped right in two before
it quite escaped from a mouth.

Kenneth was looking as solemn as Scoodrach as Max turned sharply round,
his sensitive nature suggesting at once that he was being laughed at.

Tavish evidently thought that there was something humorous on the way,
for he gave Max a poke with his elbow, and uttered the one word,--

"Cames!"

A quarter of an hour's rough walking brought them to a steep descent
among pines and birches, directly they had passed which Max uttered an
ejaculation, for the scene which opened out before him seemed a wonder
of beauty.

Just in front the ground sloped down amidst piled-up, rugged masses of
rock to a swiftly-flowing river, whose waters were perfectly black in
every deep basin and pool, and one rich, deep, creamy foam wherever it
raced and tumbled, and made hundreds of miniature falls among the great
boulders and stones which dotted the stream. Right and left he could
gaze along a deep winding ravine, while in front, across the river,
there was a narrow band of exquisite green, dotted with pale purple
gentian and fringed with ragwort, and beyond, the mountain rose up
steeply, looking almost perpendicular, but broken by rifts and crevices
and shelves, among which the spiring larch and pine towered up, showing
their contrast of greens, and the lovely pensile birches drooped down
wondrous veils of leaf and lacing delicate twig, as if to hide their
silvery, moss-decked stems.

"Like it?" cried Kenneth.

"Like it!" cried Max enthusiastica