ught would have been
drowned by the weight of the steel trap.

Cuthbert seemed loth to give over questioning the boy who knew about the
various ways of circumventing these cunning little varmints of the
wilds; he found himself deeply interested in the matter and could not
hear enough on the subject.

To his mind there must ever be a halo of romance connected with the
lives of those old-time French-Canadian voyageurs who, in early days,
used to paddle all the way from Montreal to Fort William on the northern
shore of the "big water," Superior, to collect the great and valuable
bundles of pelts brought in to the post in the Spring by the many
trappers connected with the company, some of them white, but mostly
full-blood Indians or halfbreeds speaking French.

He had read considerable of their doings before making this trip into
the region of the mighty Saskatchewan, being desirous of posting himself
on the subject; but interesting as it may have seemed then, when seated
in his luxurious apartment in a New York hotel, it was doubly so now
that he was on the ground.

Why, these very woods must have witnessed many a scene such as those
described, and he could easily picture the flotilla of batteaux moving
up or down the river, propelled by the muscular arms of the husky
voyageurs, while upon the still air rang out their famous Canadian boat
songs.

It thrilled him to even think of it, and the surroundings assumed a new
aspect in his eyes; perhaps those days were gone, never to return, and
the trappers of today might prove to be merely ordinary Indians, or such
rascally fellows as Stackpole and Dubois; but Cuthbert did hope that
once at the post he might be able to hear some of the songs that have
come down from the old days, filled with the romance of the pines, the
birches, the larches, and the hemlocks that hung over those early
pioneer camps in the wilderness.

"I'd like to ask you one thing," said Eli, as they slowly walked back
in the direction of the camp.

"All right. A dozen if you like, and I'll be only too glad to answer
them if I can. There are some things that even a fellow who has spent
years up here, and kept his eyes and ears open all that time, couldn't
answer. Go on, Eli," said Owen promptly.

"I've taken a few animals myself over in the Peninsula, but not having
had any advice I guess I bungled the job somewhat. Anyhow, they said
down in St. Louis, where I sent my bunch, that they were misfits, an