st as they could be prepared, and what I saw quite removed
any ideas of our taking advantage of the man who had let the fish he
carried slip out of his basket, so that it came with a dart to my side
of the screen of firs.

"That's an easy way of getting a living," said Esau, as we parted in a
friendly way from the Indians, who stared at us in a very heavy, stolid
way. "I think I should like to try that."

"For how long?" cried Gunson, with a laugh. "Why, my good fellow, you'd
be tired of catching the fish in a week, and more tired of eating them
in a fortnight."

"Tired?--of eating salmon?" said Esau, laughing. "Oh, you don't know
me. I had some once, and it was lovely."

"Well, we'll try one of ours when we stop for dinner," said Gunson; "but
we must do a good morning's tramp first."

That good morning's tramp did not seem to progress much, for the way
grew more and more difficult, and it was once taken into consideration
whether we had not better strike in away from the river; and we should
have adopted this course but for the fear of losing ourselves in the
labyrinth of mountains to the north and east, and not being able to
strike the stream again.

"You see, hard as the way is, it is sure," said Gunson; "and as your
goal and mine too are on the upper waters of the river, we had better
keep to it."

It was getting toward midday, and the sun shone forth with such power
that we felt the little air there was come down the valley like the
breath of an oven, and we should have decided to stop at once, cook our
dinner, and rest, but for the fact that there was neither wood nor
shade. For we had quite left the patches of forest behind at this
point, and were tramping slowly over a bare sterile region of the most
forbidding character, low down by the river. Higher up where we could
not climb the tall trees again appeared, and every ledge and slope was
crowned with dwarf pine, fern, and moss.

"We had better keep on past that bare slope," said Gunson. "I can see
trees on beyond it. It looks green, too, as if there was water."

Of course we agreed, for there was not a sign of water where we stood,
and thirst was beginning to trouble us all.

So we tramped on, Gunson now leading, and the rushing sound of the river
below the wall of rock sounding very tantalising as we grew hotter
still, and the heat began to be reflected from the stones in a most
unpleasant way. It would have been bad enough for the unladen