Her repartee caused a laugh, and Julie exclaimed, “Verny, I fear you are coming down with chills and fever,—you never were so pessimistic before!”
“Yes, you are awfully lugubrious, Verny. At home you are with us on any wildcat scheme,” added Ruth.
“That’s it! It took a trip to the Rockies to show me what I was at home—for your wildcat schemes. Now I’m learning sense!” declared the Captain.
Mr. Kenmore had a brilliant idea, and he instantly followed it up. He brought the Indian guide who had paddled the canoe to camp, and introduced him to Mrs. Vernon, as his future mistress for the canoe trip.
The Captain saw the tall slender form, the fine muscular development of the Indian, and the polite demeanor. Then she said, “Have you been in the Rockies long?”
“Borned here. My fodder Chief of waterways in Colorado when she was territory and me lee’l boy.” The Indian demonstrated how small he was at that time.
“John tells me he has spent the last twenty years on these streams flowing from the Rockies. So he can be depended upon,” said Mr. Kenmore.
That noon, the party wishing to cross the Divide rode away with the horses and two pack-mules, while the three Indian guides showed Mrs. Vernon the route they proposed taking for the canoe trip. They would follow the creek that eventually emptied its crystal waters into Glacier Creek. But the latter had many fine tributaries, so they would follow one of these to a spot John knew of, where a short carry of a mile would bring them to a splendid river along which they could canoe for miles and miles.
The blankets and other necessities were carefully packed in the bottom of the canoes, and the slat frameworks for the flooring were laid down over them. Then the scouts divided their party and got into the three large canoes, with an experienced guide for each.
When they were once under way, Mrs. Vernon began to enjoy the trip as much as any one of the scouts. She leaned back comfortably in the canoe as she thought to herself, “What’s so enjoyable as this peaceful riding over placid waters, and passing by Nature’s wonder-spots!”