least five years," replied Bob.

"They don't talk real French here anyway," said Pud.

"Oh, yes, they do," said Bill. "It's a kind of dialect, but father tells
me that it is much easier to understand a French-Canadian than many of
the French people from Paris."

"That's very true," said Bob. "My father, as I've told you before, has
been up in the Lake St. John region, and he says that he gets along
quite well with the inhabitants. He says that they have some peculiar
expressions, but that it is quite easy to talk to them as they speak a
pretty pure dialect of French."

They were soon off again, now headed for Quebec. They got a seat in the
dining-car and watched the scenery as they rode along. They found the
quaint little Canadian cottages of the habitants much like the farmers'
homes in New England. The land was rolling and, as usual, they followed
the course of some river. As they went along, they heard less and less
English and Bob was often called on to translate the cries that were
heard at the different stations.

"I'll soon get my French back up here," said Bob. "They seem to talk
pretty good French. I can understand them quite easily."

About ten o'clock, they came into a hilly country and found evidences of
mining being carried on. On Bob's inquiring, they found that they were
asbestos mines and that it was practically a new industry for this part
of Canada. They also noted that many new farms were being cleared by the
young Frenchmen and that much lumber was being transported both by the
rivers and the railroad. The look of the people was quite foreign by
this time and the boys felt that they were indeed in a foreign land.

"Have you ever been in Toronto?" suddenly asked Bill.

"No," said Pud.

"Well, that is certainly different from this part of Canada," said Bill.
"You can hardly tell that you are out of the United States when you are
there."

"I should think that the French talk would make it seem foreign anyway,"
said Pud.

"That's it," said Bob. "You don't hear any more French there than you do
in Chicago, Philadelphia or any other American city. I remember that I
was up there to the great Toronto Fair and I hardly knew that I was in
Canada."

"This is certainly different," said Bill.

"Many people that visit only Quebec and Montreal have an entirely wrong
impression of Canada. They think there are just as many French all over
as they find in those cities. The fact is that outside of the