lex?" asked Rob. "It looks like fairly good
country, and you might be able to get something."

"We might get a bear," said Alex, "or possibly a moose. For all I
know, the buffalo used to come this far back in from the east. It
doesn't look like sheep country just in here, however, because we have
to go too far to get to the mountains."

"How about caribou?"

Alex shook his head. "You mustn't ask me," said he. "This isn't my
country, and I've never been here before, nor seen any man who has
been here. I know there are caribou in British Columbia, far to the
north."

"Mackenzie talks about seeing reindeer in here."

"Yes, I suppose he meant the black-faced caribou of the mountains, and
not the regular barren-ground animal which goes in the big herds. It's
odd, but those early men didn't seem to know all the animals on which
they depended so much. Without doubt Mackenzie called the musk-ox some
sort of buffalo, and he called these mountain caribou the reindeer.
But we might get one for all of that. How would you like to go with me
across the river, Mr. Rob, and make a little hunt?"

"Fine!" assented Rob, eagerly. "But how about the others?"

"I'll tell you, Rob," said John, who, to tell the truth, was just a
little tired from the hard work of the day before; "you and Alex go
across, and after a while Moise will take Jess and me out on this side
a little way back. We'll all meet here this evening."

This plan was agreed to, and in the course of a few moments Alex and
Rob were pushing across the river in the _Mary Ann_, equipped lightly
for their first hunt after some game which Rob was eager to meet
because it was new to him.

Once more they pushed through heavy undergrowth close to the river,
traveled up a rather lofty bank, and found themselves in flatter
country, beyond which at some distance rose some mountains.

"I'll bet you," said Rob, "that this is just about where Mackenzie
climbed the tree to look around--you can't see much from the river
down there, and his men were complaining about the hard work, and he
didn't know where he was. So he climbed a tree to have a look."

"Well, Mr. Rob," said Alex, "if you don't mind, I'll let you do the
climbing, while I sit here and smoke. I'm not quite as light as I once
was."

"All right," said Rob. And, divesting himself of his cartridge-belt
and jacket, a little later he began to make his way up to the topmost
branches of the tall spruce, breaking off the dead