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We heard a bang, and he came out with a partridge, which we roasted and divided among us. It only served to sharpen our hunger.
"There must be more of these p-partridges in there. I'm g-going to try again. I feel b-better."
"I will go too," said Edmund.
They walked into the woods, and in half an hour I heard a couple of shots, and they came out with two birds. We roasted them, ate them, and felt that we were saved. We kept a good fire going, built a rough shelter of boughs, and slept quite comfortably that night, though the fever troubled me somewhat. The next morning we made an attempt to find more birds, but were unsuccessful. A little after noon we saw a birch coming up the stream with three men in it. They waved their hands to us, and landed where we were at the foot of the falls. They shook hands, and one of them said:—
"You look pretty peaked, boys. I guess a little food and drink won't hurt you."
We ate greedily, and the food put warmth and life into us. We asked about Rogers.
"He's at No. 4. His raft was swept over these falls, and he and his men had a narrow escape. Then he made a new raft and was nearly lost at the falls below. We'd like to stop longer with you, boys, but can't. We're carrying food to the fellows up the river."
"You must get there as quick as you can. We left about seventy men up there, starving and going mad for want of food."
"Some more birches are to follow us in a couple of days, and you'll meet them on your way down."