“If you like,” answered the old hunter, quietly. “I’ll stay here and sleep, and if you care to, you can sleep there. I don’t doubt you will be glad to see your friend again, and he’ll be glad to see you.”
Tired as the boys had been, they were now so excited that they forgot their fatigue, and trotted along close to Moise as he now turned and struck a steady pace back on the portage trail. It was quite dark when at last they came out on a high bank above a level, at which a camp-fire was glowing. John and Rob put their hands to their mouths and gave a loud “Halloo!” They saw the smaller of the three figures at the fire jump to his feet. Then came the answering “Halloo!” of Jesse, who came scrambling up to meet them as they hurried down.
“You’re safe, then,” said Jesse. “Oh, but I’m glad you got here all right.”
“We’re glad to meet you safe and sound, too,” said Rob. “Yes, we finished the trip—we even carried our boat through by ourselves, and she’s there now on the bank of the stream, ready to go on down.”
“That’s fine,” said Jess. “These two men, the cousins of Moise, have been as nice as you please. They said they could fix up the Mary Ann, and they were very glad to have her—there she is, all in a bundle. They are taking her across in sections. It was hard work getting up the river, for it was all dirty and high. But we made it—I think we worked eighteen hours a day all the way round. Moise is a hustler, all right, besides being a cook.”
“So is Alex a hustler, you may depend,” rejoined Rob. “We couldn’t have two better men. Well, here we are, together once more, safe and sound.”
“What’s the programme now, Rob?” asked John.
“We’re to sleep here to-night—although it doesn’t seem as though we’d have very many blankets,” answered Rob. “And then in the morning I suppose Moise would better go and help Alex get the boat down to the river. But where’s the other dugout we were to have, Moise?”