which went along in front of us like some
curious blanket-clothed creature with thin blue legs.

All at once the rough stony slope of the valley dived down, and Quong,
who had just given his load a hitch up on his shoulders, disappeared. I
was next, for Gunson had stepped back to take off one of his boots, with
Esau holding his pack; and I had reached the spot where I had seen Quong
last, prepared for a jump down on to a lower part or ledge of the valley
slope, when I found myself face to face with the little fellow, and saw
that he had dropped his bundle, and was hurrying back.

As soon as we met, he made a sign for me to be silent, and turned and
pointed toward a clump of young firs. I could see no danger, and I
whispered to him the one word "Bear?"

He shook his head, and pointed again, when, to my utter astonishment,
the green boughs were parted, as there was a flash of silver, and a
great salmon fell about a couple of yards away, to begin beating heavily
with its tail, and flapping from side to side.

I knew that these fish leaped, and I had heard that some of their bounds
up cascades were tremendous, but I had never known that a salmon could
spring fifty feet up out of the water over the top of the rocky wall
which formed the river-bank, and away through a screen of young firs.
There, however, was the fact before me, and with delightful visions of
broiled salmon before my eyes, I dropped my pack and ran forward to
secure the prize before it should take it into its head to make another
gymnastic leap into the water.

It was a splendid fellow, a full yard long, its scales silvery blue and
pearly in the morning sunshine, and regardless of wet and slime, I
dropped on my knees.

"Oh, you beauty!" I exclaimed, and I raised it by the gills, and--
dropped it directly, and remained as if turned to stone, gazing in a
hideous, painted red face, which had been thrust out between the boughs
of the firs, and stared as wildly at me as I at its owner.

For a few moments I forgot that I had friends behind, and rested there
quite still with what seemed to me a terrible silence all around, till
it was broken by the salmon throwing itself over, and giving the stones
upon which it lay a resounding flap.

I fully expected to see the arm belonging to the head thrust out with a
knife in the fist; and when it was darted out from among the bushes, my
own hand went involuntarily to the pistol I carried, but I dropped it
again as