said Ian.

"One can scarcely be said to act in haste," retorted his father, "who is
almost forced into a course of action. My chief mistake was in putting
too much trust in Gambart."

"Well," said Kenneth, rising and stretching his huge frame as he placed
a hatchet on his shoulder, "there's nothing like a good breakfast for
giving a man heart to face difficulties. I'll away to work. What a
pity that we may not raise some of our timbers on the other side of the
creek, for it is admirably adapted to our purpose. Don't you think we
might, father?"

"No," replied the elder McLeod, "the other side belongs to the
fur-traders, whose rights must be respected."

Ian and his father soon followed Kenneth to the scene of their labours.

The spot was a wild one, but in many respects it was well-suited to the
purpose, for which these adventurers had chosen it. The coast line at
Jenkins Creek was precipitous. Cliffs, crowned with pines, rose in some
places perpendicularly from the shingly beach of the gulf, and elsewhere
the ground was very rugged. The creek itself was a mere streamlet which
ran a short course from the mountains of the interior, brawling down a
wild gully of inconsiderable extent. Near its mouth was a cascade,
divided by a small rock or islet. It was between this rock and the
south shore that the McLeods purposed to erect their dam when the ice
should have cleared away, and here, in the meantime, the three men
busied themselves in cutting and shaping the necessary timbers, and
forming the rougher parts of the machinery of the mill.

They toiled steadily till noon, and then returned to their log-hut for
dinner, which consisted of cold pork, hot tea, biscuit, and salt butter.
They were still in the midst of this meal when the door opened and a
man entered, carrying under his arm a pair of long snow-shoes, which he
had just taken off.

"Glad to see you, Bellew, we had expected you earlier," said the elder
McLeod, rising and shaking hands with the trapper.

"I would have been earlier," replied Bellew, handing a letter to McLeod,
"but for a redskin whom I met on the way, who delayed me somewhat. He
tells me something about a wreck having been seen by some of his tribe,
a good bit down the gulf, but what between the difficulty of makin' out
his lingo, and his stupidity, or unwillingness to communicate all he
knew, I have found out very little about it. This only I feel pretty
sure of, that a wreck must