he edge of the river, and
towards these he was evidently directing his course under the water.

At each emersion he appeared some yards nearer them, until at length he
rose within a few feet of their margin, and diving again was seen no
more! He had crept in among the sedge, and no doubt was lying with only
his head, or part of it, above the water, his body concealed by the
broad leaves of the _nymphae_, while the head itself could not be
distinguished among the white flowers that lay thickly along the
surface.

The eagles now wheeled over the sedge, flapping the tops of the
bulrushes with their broad wings, and screaming with disappointed rage.
Keen as were their eyes they could not discover the hiding-place of
their victim. No doubt they would have searched for it a long time, but
the canoe--which they now appeared to notice for the first time--had
floated near; and, becoming aware of their own danger, both mounted into
the air again, and with a farewell scream flew off, and alighted at some
distance down the river.

"A swan for supper!" shouted Francois, as he poised his gun for the
expected shot.

The canoe was headed for the bulrushes near the point where the
trumpeter had been last seen; and a few strokes of the paddles brought
the little craft with a whizzing sound among the sedge. But the culms of
the rushes were so tall, and grew so closely together, that the
canoe-men, after entering, found to their chagrin they could not see six
feet around them. They dared not stand up, for this is exceedingly
dangerous in a birch canoe, where the greatest caution is necessary to
keep the vessel from careening over. Moreover, the sedge was so thick,
that it was with difficulty they could use their oars.

They remained stationary for a time, surrounded by a wall of green
bulrush. They soon perceived that that would never do, and resolved to
push back into the open water. Meanwhile Marengo had been sent into the
sedge, and was now heard plunging and sweltering about in search of the
game. Marengo was not much of a water-dog by nature, but he had been
trained to almost every kind of hunting, and his experience among the
swamps of Louisiana had long since relieved him of all dread for the
water. His masters therefore had no fear but that Marengo would "put up"
the trumpeter.

Marengo had been let loose a little too soon. Before the canoe could be
cleared of the entangling sedge, the dog was heard to utter one of his
loud