es into a cave
shelter they'd have nothing to eat."

"What you want to do, Jim Boyd, is to cultivate hope. I won't say you're
a grouchy man, 'cause you ain't, but mighty few men are hopeful enough.
Now, I want you to hope that we'll not only find a cave shelter for the
beasts, but water an' grass fur 'em."

"Well, I hope it."

"That bein' the case, I want to tell you that I've been ahead a little,
an' the ground begins to slope off fast. I think we'll soon strike a
canyon or valley a few miles deep, more or less. That canyon or valley
will hev water in it, an' bein' so sheltered it's bound to hev grass,
too. What more could you ask? Thar we'll stay till times grow better."

"You've arranged it all mighty well in your mind."

"An' that bein' the case, let's go on, an' see ef I hevn't arranged it
right."

The Little Giant soon proved that he had read the mountain signs aright,
as they came to a great descent, the steep walls enclosing a valley of
vast depth. Far down Will was able to see the glimmer of a little lake
and the green of grass.

"It's our home for a spell," said Boyd. "You were right, Giant. You're
the only prophet I've ever known."

"You'd do a heap better, Jim Boyd, ef you'd pay more attention. I told
you awhile ago to cheer up an' you cheered, then I told you we'd find a
nice home-like valley, an' here it is, a couple o' thousan' feet deep,
an' with water an' grass, ez young William's glasses tell us, an' with
cave shelter, too, ez my feelin's ez a prophet tell me."

The hunter laughed, and the Little Giant burst into a flood of cheerful,
whistling song. In his optimistic mind all affairs were already arranged
to the satisfaction of everybody. Nevertheless, it took them a long time
to find a way by which the horses could descend, and it required their
utmost skill to prevent falls. When they finally stood upon the floor of
the valley, animals and human beings alike were weak from nervous
strain, and the Little Giant, wiping his perspiring brow, said:

"We're here, but lookin' back I kin hardly see how we ever got here."

"But being here," said Boyd, "we'll now scout around and find the fine
house that you as a prophet have promised to us."

The three, agreeing, began at once the task.

CHAPTER VII

THE BEAVER HUNTER

It was perhaps fortunate for the explorers and fur hunters that the
great mountains of northwestern America abounded in swift, clear streams
and little lakes, many of