own, rising and falling, but growing larger and blacker every
instant. At last they could see them outlined against the distant
white, rolling waves, and knew that they were through the end of the
chute and practically safe.

In a few moments more the two boats came on, racing by their point,
all the men so busy that they had not time to catch the excited
greetings which the boys shouted to them. But once around the point
the boats swung in sharply, and soon, bow up-stream, made a landing
but a few hundred yards below where they stood. Soon they were all
united once more, shaking hands warmly with one another.

"That's great!" said Uncle Dick. "I'll warrant there was one swell
there over fifteen feet high--maybe twenty, for all we could tell. I
know it reared up clear above us, so that you had to lean your head to
see the top of it. If we'd hit it would have been all over with us."

"She's bad tam, young men," said Moise. "From where we see him she
don't look so bad, but once you get in there--poom! Well, anyway, here
we are. That's more better'n getting drowned, and more better'n walk,
too." And Moise, the light-hearted, used to taking chances, dismissed
the danger once it was past.

"Well, that's what I call good planning and good work," said Rob,
quietly, after a while. "To find the best thing to do and then to do
it--that seems to be the way for an engineer to work, isn't it, Uncle
Dick?"

"Yes, it is, and all's well that ends well," commented the other. "And
mighty glad I am to think that we are safe together again, and that
you don't have to try to make your way alone and on foot from this
part of the country. I wasn't happy at all when I thought of that."

"And we weren't happy at all until we saw you safely through that
chute, either," said Rob.

"Now," resumed the leader, "how far is it to a good camping-place,
Leo? We'll want to rest a while to-night."

"Good camp three mile down," said Leo, "on high bank."

"And how far have we come to-day, or will we have come by that time?"

"Not far," said Leo; "'bout ten mile all."

Uncle Dick sighed. "Well, we're all tired, so let's go into camp
early to-night, and hold ourselves lucky that we can camp together,
too. Maybe we'd better bail out first--it's lucky, for we only took in
three or four pails of water apiece."

"No man I ever know come through Priest Rapids on the high water like
this," said Leo. "That's good fun." And he and George grinned happily