“That’s very well reasoned, John. What do you say, Jesse?”
“Well, I don’t see any good in working the men too hard packing the stuff up from a main camp anywhere else. The devil’s-clubs stick a fellow a good deal. Besides, here we are.”
“And you, Rob?”
Rob looked for a time up at the clouded sky, bright with innumerable stars. “Well,” said he, “it certainly does look as though we were going to have clearer weather. And if so, we will have higher water. I stuck a stick in a bank for a water-mark yesterday, and I’m just wondering how much the river has risen since then.”
“Precisely, and that’s well reasoned, too. You see, I don’t want to take any more chances running these rivers than I have to.”
“How far is it to the Columbia from here, Leo?” inquired Rob.
“Half-day ron—whole day, don’t know. S’pose water all right.”
“Exactly,” rejoined the leader of the party. “We don’t know how long the water will stay all right. Every day we run puts that much behind us. And I want to tell you all that the danger of hunting these grizzlies is nothing at all compared to the risk of running the upper Columbia when the rise is on. I’ve tried both, and I know.”
John protested at this. “Well, Rob has got his bear, but, you see, Jess and I haven’t had a shot yet—though I don’t suppose that is why Rob is willing to go.”
“No, that isn’t the reason,” commented Rob, quietly.