aughed Moise. "All same roof on the house,
maybe so."

"You're not scared, are you, Moise?" asked Rob, smiling.

"Moise, she'll sweem all same feesh," was the answer of the
_voyageur_.

"We're not going to do any swimming," said Alex, quietly, "and not
even any more wading than we have to. You see, our party is small, and
we're going over a trail that has already been explored. We travel
light, and have good boats. I think we ought to have rather an easy
time of it, after all."

"One thing," broke in John, "that always makes me think less of these
early explorers, is that they weren't really exploring, after all."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Jesse. "You just said that Mackenzie
and Fraser were the first to come across here."

John shook his head vigorously. "No, they weren't the first--as near
as I can find out, the white men always had some one to tell them
where to go. When Mackenzie was going north there was always some
tribe or other to tell him where he was and what there was ahead. It
was some Indian that told him about coming over this way to the
west--it was Indians that guided him all the way across, for that
matter, clear from here to the Pacific."

"That's right," said Rob. "If some Indian hadn't told him about it, he
probably never would have heard about the creek which leads into these
lakes where we are now. He had a guide when he came here, and he had a
guide west of the Fraser, too--they never would have got through
without Indians to help them."

"That's true," said Alex, not without a certain pride in the red race
which had given him half his own blood. "The whites haven't always
used the Indians well, but without native help they could never have
taken this northern country. The Beaver Indians used to hunt all
through these mountains. It was those men who told Mackenzie how to
get over here. He was told, weeks before he got here, that there was a
carrying-place across the great hills to the western waters. As you
say, young gentlemen, he had guides all the way across. So, after all,
as we have only him and Fraser for guides, we'll take a little credit
to ourselves, just as he did!"

"Yes," said Moise. "My people, she'll own this whole contree. They'll
show the Companee how to take hold, all right. But that's all right;
I'm glad, me."

"It looks a little tame," grumbled John, "coming through here where
those old fur-traders knew every foot of the country."

"Well, we'll see," said