e miles beyond the foot of the rapids, and
when the swish and roar of water first fell upon our ears we hallooed
most joyfully, for it seemed to us that we had come within reaching
distance of our destination.

"'No,' said John, when we stood on the shore of the river.

"'I think we can,' said I.

"'No,' he repeated.

"The rapids were clear of ice, which had broken from the quiet water
above the verge of the descent, and now lay heaped up from shore to
shore, where the current subsided at the foot. The water was most
turbulent--swirling, shooting, foaming over great boulders. It went
rushing between two high cliffs, foaming to the very feet of them,
where not an inch of bank was showing. At first glance it was no
thoroughfare; but the only alternative was to go round the mountain,
as my father had said, and I had no fancy to lengthen my journey by
four hours, so I searched the shore carefully for a passage.

"The face of the cliff was such that we could make our way one hundred
yards down-stream. It was just beyond that point that the difficulty
lay. The rock jutted into the river, and rose sheer from it; neither
foothold nor handhold was offered. But beyond, as I knew, it would be
easy enough to clamber along the cliff, which was shelving and broken,
and so, at last, come to the trail again.

"'There's the trouble, John,' said I, pointing to the jutting rock.
'If we can get round that, we can go the rest of the way without any
difficulty.'

"'No go,' said John. 'Come.'

"He jerked his head towards the bush, but I was not to be easily
persuaded.

"'We'll go down and look at that place,' I replied. 'There may be a
way.'

"There was a way, a clear, easy way, requiring no more than a bit of
nerve to pass over it, and I congratulated myself upon persisting to
its discovery. The path was by a stout ledge of ice, adhering to the
cliff and projecting out from it for about eighteen inches. The river
had fallen. This ledge had been formed when it was at its highest, and
when the water had subsided the ice had been left sticking to the
rock. The ledge was like the rim of ice that adheres to a tub when a
bucketful of freezing water has been taken out.

"I clambered down to it, sounded it, and found it solid. Moreover, it
seemed to lead all the way round, broadening and narrowing as it went,
but wide enough in every part. I was sure-footed and unafraid, so at
once I determined to essay the passage. 'I am going to try