Sandy came up from the cold bath. Dick shouted encouragement, extending a paddle to his chum while he alone held the canoes together. In a moment, spluttering and shivering, Sandy crawled back into the loaded canoe.
The leaking canoe was rolling on its side when the last blanket was taken from it. The young men picked up their paddles and struck out with all speed. They feared their pursuers, since they no longer appeared on the sand point, had run back into the forest and were coming along the river bank into rifle range.
“B-r-r-r, that sure was no warm bath,” chattered Sandy.
“Keep paddling, and warm up,” Dick called over his shoulder. “We’ll go ashore and dry your clothes when we’re sure we’ve got away from them.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth when a rifle shot sounded from the shore some distance behind them. A bullet whined over their heads and plunked into the river.
“There they go again!” cried Dick. “Let’s bear toward the other shore and see if we can’t get out of range.”
Crouching over their paddles they swerved to the right and gradually paddled out of range once more.
Until late in the afternoon the boys kept up a killing pace with the paddles. Sandy, warmed by the stiff exercise, would not permit Dick to go in shore on his account, and so they drew into the swift current above Little Moose Portage.
The canoe was beached on the shore opposite the one where the enemy had put in an appearance miles behind. It was an excellent camp site. They were only about three hundred yards above the rapids, whose swift current, filled with sharp stones, made it necessary to go on by land to a point where the river was less dangerous. They could hear the sound of the rushing water.
“We’ll keep sharp watch while we make camp,” said Dick. “Those fellows may have found another canoe and caught up with us.”
“Even if they come on by land they can’t be so very far behind,” Sandy added, shivering a little now that the warming work on the paddle was discontinued.
Dick and Sandy had paddled many miles that day and they were very tired. A year before they could not have kept on that far. But the north country had hardened their already healthy bodies, until they laughed at the exertion that would have put a southland boy flat on his back.