ly is," I replied, "and she don't ship as much water as I
expected."

"She rides light for such a boat, too, keeps her head well above water,"
remarked Jim, "but one thing has got to be done and that is to cut
holes in the sides so the water will drain out quickly. Otherwise we
will be carrying a good many more hundred pounds than we need to."

"You come and try your hand at steering, Jo," said Tom. "It's lots of
fun."

"It's a shame to deprive you of the pleasure," I returned.

Still I had some curiosity to see how she steered, so after awhile I
relieved Tom. It was interesting work where there were no especial
obstructions, and the current was running broadly and smoothly as it was
at this point.

"She steers fine, Jim," I said. "You can get a big purchase on this oar
standing up."

"See how you can get around that rock ahead," he called.

I could see its grey back bulging up from the water ahead, and the foam
bubbling around it. I bent to the oar, swinging the bow around, and went
by the rock in good shape.

"She certainly answers the helm all right," I reported. "We can manage
unless there is a string of rocks right across the stream."

"It will be easier as we go along," said Jim. "Not the river, of course,
that will get worse, but we will understand it better, all its little
curly-cues and cute little ways, like slambanging you into a cliff when
you think that she is going to curve the other way."

In the early afternoon we ran into a broader canyon with great walls set
back from the river and thickly dotted with pines.

The walls were magnificent, over two thousand feet in height, reaching
in curves ahead of us, and curving down to the stream in bold
promontories.

"By Jove, but this is a fascinating business," called Jim, as we
approached a great curve in the canyon. "You never knew what is ahead
the next minute."

"Yes," I replied, "it is, but there is an uncertainty about it that I
don't like. How do we know but there may be a waterfall just around the
corner there?"

"It may be rapids, but no waterfall," replied Jim. "You needn't expect
any Niagara to loom up, because the parties who have been down here
before would have discovered it and that would have been all that they
would have discovered."

"I bet that this stream rises sometimes," interposed Tom. "Just look at
that drift caught up there on that cliff, that must be all of thirty
feet."

"It isn't very low water now," said Jim, "wh