this way fur instead
of in a boat?"

Paul could not stand the rapid fire system of the New Hampshire rustics,
and with a pained expression on his face he, pulled silently out of
hearing. The narrowing river brought him closer to the banks, and as he
was forging ahead an old gentleman hailed him. Paul stopped for a
moment and was sorry for it, as the man tried to chill his blood with
doleful stories of the dangers in the river below. "Yeou air goin'
straight ahead tew destruction," he bellowed, "thar's a whirlpool jist
ahead, where six lumbermen was drowned one time."

Boyton had no fear of sharing the fate of the lumbermen, so he pushed
ahead, leaving the old man standing on the bank with clasped hands and
pained expression.

The voyager shortly reached the junction of Squam river, and there
encountered the first waterfall. A crowd of men and boys had assembled
on the bridge and anxiously watched him dash down on the rushing waters,
in which he was for the moment lost. Emerging from the boiling foam at
the foot of the fall, he scrambled on a rock and stood up to look for
the channel. From that point he had a wearisome pull in dead, choppy
water, until he reached New Hampton. At many places along the route,
well disposed persons were liberal with their advice to give up such
an "outlandish" mode of traveling and to "git on land like a human
critter." Though the advice sounded well, Paul noticed on one
occasion at least, that their methods of travel were not devoid of the
danger ascribed to his. Above him, on the grim rocks of a bluff, he saw
the wreck of a light wagon, and floating along with the current, were
the seat and one wheel.

"Where is the driver of that wagon?" inquired Paul. No one knew and he
plied his paddle vigorously in the hope of overtaking the unfortunate
man who had evidently been hurled from the bluff into the stream; but no
trace could be found. Below the sound of rapids was borne to his ear.
The smooth water began to break and start as if suddenly impelled
forward by some subtle influence that meant to tear the rocks from the
bed and crush every obstacle in its course. With all his care in
steering through that rapid, he was thrown against a rock with
considerable force, but caught hold of it and stood up to determine the
course of the channel. Seeing an old lady standing before the door of a
farm house, he rang out a cavalry charge on his bugle. She threw up