sheets into our faces, we halted on a rough piece of ground just above
the river bank and pitched our tent.

When camp was made Pete took me to a rise of ground a little distance
away, and pointing to the northward exclaimed: "Look, Lake Nipishish!
I know we reach him to-day."

And sure enough, there lay Lake Nipishish close at hand! I was more
thankful than I can say to see the water stretching far away to the
northward, for I felt that now the hardest and roughest part of our
journey to the height of land was completed.

"That's great, Pete," said I. "We'll have more water after this and
fewer and easier portages, and we can travel faster."

"Maybe better, I don't know," remarked Pete, rather skeptically.
"Always hard find trail out big lakes. May leave plenty places. Take
more time hunt trail maybe now. Indian maps no good. Maybe easier
when we find him."

Pete was right, and I did not know the difficulties still to be met
with before we should reach Michikamau.

Duncan was of comparatively little help to us now, and as I knew that
he was more than anxious to return to Groswater Bay, I decided to
dispense with his further services and send him back with letters to
be mailed home. When I returned to the tent I said to him:

"Duncan, I suppose you would like to go home now, and I will let you
turn back from here and take some letters out. Does that suit you?"