"That's what I'm here for," said Bob, in his position up in the bow.
They soon swung into the rapids and it was exhilarating fun at first. Then Bob's heart came up into his throat for a minute as he looked ahead and could see only a smother of foam. Mr. Waterman steered straight for what seemed the worst part of it. In another moment they were in it and Bob thought that the canoe would never rise to the wall of water ahead. But it did. In a second, they were shooting down with Bob paddling for dear life trying as best he could to follow the calm directions of Mr. Waterman. The very speedy part of the descent lasted only a few minutes, but it was very exciting. Then they swung once more into the calm waters of the broad reaches of the river.
"Did we cover those two miles that took us over an hour to do the other day when we were portaging up?" asked Bob.
"That we did," said Mr. Waterman. "We did it very well. After a few trips of this kind, you will qualify as an expert canoeist."
"That's very kind of you to say so," replied Bob. "I know though that if I had hit that water with Pud or Bill that we would have been swimming long before now."
"Well, it does help to have an old stager like me in the back end of the canoe," said Mr. Waterman with quiet satisfaction. "To tell the truth, that is really an easy stretch of water. If you ever go through some of the rapids on the Shipshaw River or some of the larger rivers of this country, you will know what fast water really means. I went down the Shipshaw three years ago with Pierre and there were times when the slightest mistake would have meant death almost surely."
"I'd like to try that sometime," said Bob.
"You may think so, but really it is a foolhardy proposition unless you have very clever guides with you," replied Mr. Waterman.
"That's some sport," said Bill, as his canoe came abreast of theirs.
"I had my troubles," said Jack. "This young baby elephant up in the bow is too heavy and makes the canoe very hard to steer."