nished and camp
broken Alex had already returned from a trip along the side of the
rapids.

"It's not so very bad," said he, "although the river has come up an
inch or so during the night. The whole rapid is about a quarter of a
mile long, but the worst place is only a couple of hundred yards or
so. We'll drop down to the head of that strip on the line and portage
around there."

They followed this plan, loading the boats and dropping down for a
short time, saving themselves all the portage work they could. In
places the water seemed very wild, tossing over the rocks in long,
rolling waves or breaking in foam and spray. The boys scrambled
alongshore, allowing Alex and Moise to care for the first boat when it
became necessary for them to double up on each trip over the worst
water. Part of the time they bore a hand on the line, and were
surprised to see the strength of the current even on a boat without a
load.

"You see," said Alex, when at length they came to a place where the
water seemed still more powerful and rough, and where it seemed
necessary to haul the boat entirely from the water for a carry of some
distance over the rocks, "it's better to take a little trouble and go
slow rather than to lose a boat in here. If she broke away from us
we'd feel a long way from home!"

After they got the _Mary Ann_ again in the water and at the foot of
the rapids, the men went up after the _Jaybird_, while the boys did
what they could toward advancing the cargo of the _Mary Ann_. In less
than an hour they had everything below the rapids and saw plain
sailing once more ahead of them. Moise expressed his disappointment at
not being allowed to run the Finlay rapids.

"My onkle, she'll always ron those rapeed," said he. "S'pose I'll
tell heem I'll walk aroun', he'll laugh on me, yes!"

"That's all right, Moise," said Rob; "your uncle isn't here, and for
one, I'm glad we took it easy coming through here. That's rough water
either way you look at it, up-stream or down. But now," he continued,
once more consulting his maps and notes, "we ought to have a couple of
days of good, straightaway running, with almost no bad water. It's
about seventy miles from here to the Parle Pas rapids. And speaking of
_rapids_, they tell me that's the worst place on the whole river."

"That's a funny name--why do they call them the Parle Pas rapids?"
asked Jesse.

"Those were Frenchman words," said Moise. "Parle Pas means 'no speak.'
He's a q