t and his air of vast leisure; Welton, the lumberman,
red-faced, jolly, popular and ungrammatical. The women guarded baskets.
All greeted the Ordes with various degrees of hilarity. When the noise
had died down, a massive and impressive lady, heretofore unnamed,
stepped forward. She held a jewelled arm straight before her, the hand
drooping slightly, so that, although she was in reality of but medium
stature, she gave the impression of condescending from a height.

"Good morning, Mrs. Owen," greeted Mrs. Orde, shaking the proffered
hand.

"Good morning, my dear," replied Mrs. Owen regally. She swept slowly
sideways to reveal a woman and a little girl of seven or eight years,
immediately behind her. "Allow me to present to you my very dear friend,
Mrs. Carleton. Mrs. Carleton is from the city, staying at the Ottawa for
a few weeks, and I knew you would like the chance to show her some of
our beautiful River." Mrs. Carleton, a pretty, modish woman, with the
ease of city manner, bowed quietly and murmured her pleasure. The little
girl looked half bashfully through a wealth of natural curls at the
grown-ups to whom she was presented in the off-hand method one employs
with children. She was altogether a charming little girl. Her hair was
of the colour of ripe wheat; her skin was of the light smooth brown
peculiar to an exceptional blonde complexion tanned in the sun; her
mouth was full and whimsical; and her eyes, strangely enough in one
otherwise so light, were so black as to resemble spots. Her dress was
very simple, very starched, very white. A big leghorn hat with red roses
half hid her head. She was shy, that was easily to be seen; but shyness
was relieved from the awkwardness so usual and so painful in children of
her age by the results of what must have been a careful training. She
answered when she was spoken to, directly and to the point; and yet it
could not but be evident that her spirit fluttered.

The combination was charming; and Mrs. Orde fell to it at once.

"Celia, my dear," she said kindly, "come with me, we're going to have a
nice day together; and I have a little boy named Bobby who will show you
everything."

But now the _Robert O_ gave two impatient toots. Everybody ceased
greeting everybody else, and began to pile the shawls and lunch baskets
aboard. The thick strong gunwale of the _Robert O_ was a foot or so
below the chute level from the wharf. The women were helped aboard
soberly by the men. Mi