It seemed ages to the helpless man before he felt his speed slacken and finally found himself in the eddy where they had begun to track.  Here he struck out for the river bank only a few yards distant, and, half drowned, succeeded in pulling himself ashore.  A few minutes later, when the others came running down, they found him, to their great relief, sitting on the bank quite safe, wringing the water from his clothing, and their fear that he was injured was quickly dispelled by his looking up as they approached and remarking, as though nothing unusual had occurred,

“Bathin’s chilly this time o’ year.  Let’s put on a fire an’ boil th’kettle.”

“I don’t know as we got a kettle or anythin’ else,” said Dick, laughing at Ed’s bedraggled appearance and matter-of-fact manner.  “We better go back an’ see.  I hitched th’ trackin’ line to a rock, but I don’t know’s she’s held.”

“Well, let’s look.  I’m a bit damp, an’ thinkin’ I wants a fire, whatever.”

A cold northwest wind had sprung up in the afternoon and the snow was drifting unpleasantly and before the boat was reached Ed’s wet garments were frozen stiff as a coat of mail and he was so chilled through that he could scarcely walk.  The line had held and they found the boat in an eddy below a high big boulder.  It was submerged, but quite safe, with everything, thanks to the careful lashings, in its place, save a shoulder of bear’s meat that had loosened and washed away.

“I thinks, lads, we’ll be makin’ camp here.  Whilst I puts a fire on an’ boils th’ kettle t’ warm Ed up, you pitch camp.  ’Twill be nigh sun-down afore Ed gets dried out, an’ too late t’ go any farther,” suggested Dick.

In a few minutes the fire was roaring and Ed thawing out and drinking hot tea as he basked in the blaze, while Dick chopped fire-wood and Bob and Bill unloaded the boat and put up the tent and made it snug for the night.

Heretofore they had found the outside camp-fire quite sufficient for their needs, and had not gone to the trouble of setting up the stove, but it was yet some time before dark, and as the wet clothing and outfit could be much more easily and quickly dried under the shelter of the heated tent than in the drifting snow by the open fire, it was decided to put the stove in use on this occasion.  Bob selected a flat stone upon which to rest it, for without this protection the moss beneath, coming into contact with the hot metal, would have dried quickly and taken fire.

When everything was brought in and distributed in the best place to dry, Bob took some birch bark, thrust it into the stove and lighted it.  Instantly it flared up as though it had been oil soaked.  This made excellent kindling for the wood that was piled on top, and in an incredibly short time the tent was warm and snug as any house.  Ed left the open fire and joined Bob and Bill, and in a few minutes Dick came in with an armful of wood.