h' Injuns!" exclaimed Bob.

"Where the evil spirits dwell?" asked Shad.

"Aye, where th' evil spirits dwell." Around them lay a rugged scene of
sub-Arctic grandeur. To the eastward the country was dotted with a
network of small lakes similar to those through which they had been
travelling, while to the northward a much larger lake appeared. The
shores of these lakes supported a forest of black spruce, but every
rise of ground was destitute of other growth than the gray caribou
lichen which everywhere carpets the Labrador forest.

"There's a grand chance t' lay th' trails," said Bob. "We'll be makin'
our trails along th' s'uth'ard lakes an' up t' that big lake, an' Ed's
among th' lakes t' th' n'uth'ard."

"I'd like to see those falls," suggested Shad. "Can't we take the
morning off to visit them?"

"An' you wants," agreed Bob. "We'll be buildin' a tilt down where th'
canoe is, an' another on th' first lake, an' I'm thinkin' another on
th' big lake above."

Accordingly the following morning, leaving their camp pitched and
their canoe on the lake shore, they turned southward upon an exploring
expedition. Their tramp carried them across a series of ridges and
bogs and finally into a forest. With every step the roar increased,
and at length they could plainly feel the earth tremble beneath their
feet.

Suddenly they emerged from the forest to behold a scene of wild and
sublime grandeur. They stood at the very brink of a mighty chasm. From
far above them the river rushed down, a stupendous torrent of
foam-crested billows and swirling whirlpools, impatient to make its
leap into the depths at their feet where it was presently to be
swallowed up in a bank of mist, which shimmered beneath the two
adventurers like a giant opal lighted by all the colours of the
rainbow. Below the rainbow-coloured mist the river again appeared,
rushing in fearful power past beetling, frowning cliffs, which
directly hid it from view. The very rocks upon which they stood
trembled, and a reverberating roar rose from the canyon at their feet,
so loud that conversation was well-nigh impossible.

[Footnote: These are the Grand Falls of Labrador. The river falls
three hundred and sixteen feet with a single leap.]

For half an hour they stood enthralled by the scene, then they turned
up the river, walking along its bank.

"'Tis an awful place down there," remarked Bob. "I'm not wonderin',
now, th' Injuns thinks 'tis possessed by evil spirits."