G BOUNCER--THE "BULL
BOAT," OR PARCHMENT CANOE--SHOOTING RAPIDS--BLACK FORT ONCE MORE--SANDY
AND PIERRE'S ADVENTURES--OUR YOUNG-LADY VISITORS, ROSE AND LETTY--THE
MEAT PIT.

"Copper-Snake" did not return during the night, nor did we the next
morning see anything of him; we therefore packed up, and began our tramp
in the direction he had pointed out.

The sky had hitherto been clear, but the clouds now began to spread over
it, though there was scarcely a breath of air. In a short time the sun
was so obscured that it no longer enabled us to steer our course. We
had marked a hill, however, in the distance, and marched on guided by
it.

The hill was of less height and not so far off as we supposed, and when
we had crossed it, we could fix on no object to serve as a mark.
Notwithstanding this, we kept straight on till we came to a stream. We
then had to make our way for some distance down it till we could find a
ford. Though the water was very cold, by taking off our shoes and
trousers we waded across without wetting our clothes.

We were unable to decide in what direction the stream ran, and crossing
it somewhat confused us. It might, Pat argued, be running north, or
north-west, and still fall into the Saskatchewan, or be running east.

Neither the appearance of the sky nor the wind served in any way to
guide us. At last we were obliged to camp, as neither of us had
strength to go farther. By the next evening we had exhausted, with the
exception of a few mouthfuls, the whole of our stock of dried venison,
but as we hoped during the next day to reach the fort, we agreed that we
could manage to keep body and soul together with the little which
remained; still, I did not feel very comfortable. The idea would
intrude, that "Copper-Snake" might have misled us, or that we had
wandered out of our course. If so, we should be very hard pressed for
food, or death by starvation might after all be our fate. I remembered
too the anxiety my brother Alick would be enduring about me.

There were in the neighbourhood others who, should they hear that we
were missing, would be greatly concerned about us. Some way off,
farther to the westward, at the foot of the hills, was a missionary
station, of which a Mr Crisp had charge. His two children, Martin and
Rose, were great friends of ours.

In the winter, when we could travel over the country on sleighs, we
frequently paid them a visit at the missionary station, which, in th