. We were among a regular group of grown
porcupines--we counted five of them--and at the same time there were two
blue herons in the water, close by. A step away a pair of partridges ran
through the brush and stood looking at us from a fallen log, while an
old duck and her young came sailing across the river. We were nearing
civilization now, but evidently these creatures were not much harassed.
It was like the Garden of Eden before the Fall. It is true the old duck
swam away, calling to her brood, when she saw us; the partridges
presently hid in the brush, and the blue herons waded a bit further off.
But the porcupines went on galumphing around us, and none of the
collection seemed much disturbed. During the afternoon we came upon two
fishermen, college boys, camping, who told us they had seen some young
loons in a nest just above, and Eddie was promptly seized with a desire
to possess them.

In fact we left so hastily that Del forgot his extra paddle, and did not
discover the loss until we were a half-mile or so upstream. Then he said
he would leave me in the canoe to fish and would walk back along the
shore. An arm of the river made around an island just there, and it
looked like a good place. There seemed to be not much current in the
water, and I thought I could manage the canoe in such a spot and fish,
too, without much trouble.

[Illustration: "I never realized before what a crazy thing a canoe can
be when you want it to do something out of its regular line of work."]

It was not as easy as it looked. Any one who has tried to handle a canoe
from the front end with one hand and fish with the other will tell you
so. I couldn't seem to keep out of the brush along the shore, and I
couldn't get near some brush in the middle of the river where I believed
there were trout. I was right about the trout being there, too. Eddie
proved that when he came up with his canoe. He had plenty of business
with big fellows right away. But the fact didn't do me any good. Just
when I would get near the lucky place and ready to cast, a twitch in the
current or a little puff of wind would get hold of the stern of my
craft, which rode up out of the water high and light like a sail, and my
flies would land in some bushes along the bank, or hang in a treetop, or
do some other silly thing which was entertaining enough to Eddie and his
guide, apparently, but which did not amuse me. I never realized before
what a crazy thing a canoe can be w