The Washington herald., 1911-06-11

@T was the Mississippi River-not the
great Father of waters, but small
stream of the same name in Eastern
0ntario-hurrying petulantly over
rocky fall before 1t emptied itself
into the Ottawa.
Not great many miles from its mouth,
and Just below the small town OF Almonte
there was a stretch q, mile and hall
long between the big falls running. the num-
erous wooden mills Of Almonte and the rap
Ids below.
This sunny July afternoon there was scarce
Sy a ripple on it. Out. in the middle the
40 the shore, where the bottom showed clear
I'm the sunlight it was pale amber.
The banks sheered perpendicularly upward,
and were covered to the very waters edge
with thick growth of straight, slender birch
and popular saplings, with here and there
a tall pine or stout cedar towering, old and
sired-looking, from amid this fresh, vigor-
GUS young life.
sight. There was not habitation of any
kind visible, and it would have been hard
70 find quieter or more deserted looking
erot than this pretty little stretch of wa
! Most of the townspeople who owned boats
kept them on. the upper part Of the river,
above the falls, where there were several
tniles of river suitable for boating purposes,
SO that this quiet bit below was not often
ulbLuTDcu ny the bOu0Q Vi Ihtuutcy anu
in the autumn the wild ducks and the
cranes had it mostly TO themselves.
But this was only July, and there were no
more important birds than a couple of king
fishers to be disturbed this afternoon, when
skif, containing small party of young
folks, rounded the point and glided along
ihe shady side.
The slIiff belonged to Mr. Meredith, the
owner OF the largest woolen mill in Al
monte.
The two little boys of six and seven in
IL were his sons, and the slender young girl
of sixteen. who handled the cars SO grace
fully, was his niece Helen Gilmour, from
Montreal
ooh, boys, isn't IL pretty here?" .ss;ed
Helen, enthusiastically, resisting on her oars,
and letting her soft gray eyes wander idly
Oyer the peaceful scene.
ITS awful quiet, Helen" answered George,
Che elder of the two lads.
1t feels like church, added Reggie, the
younger, in a whisper.
,;..son Quiet " Why, X boys, where are your earsH
cat-bird call! And, listen, there's squir-
rel chattering. Perhaps she's telling her lit
re ones that she has good supper for
Like our mother" said Reggie.
"And can't you hear the swish of the
rapid. and the roar of the water over the
".Yes. Wen soon be able to see the
TT1plus. Aneys coming close, replied
Indeed they are close! See how strong
thc current isl We can't go much fur.
Would us, feel bad if we went over the
rapids! asked Reggie, his big blue eyes
ter.
Indeed us would, Reggie; for don't
thnk there would be much of us left to
tell the tale, especially if we took In the
dam. I'm going to land here and see Il
can find a few raspberries up ON the hill.
and then We must go home. for it is get.
The bow of the boat grated against the
sloping shore. Jumping out, Helen pujl-
ed the skif up a little, and then began
scrambling up the bank.
Keep still, boys, and I'll bring YOU bacl,
some berries, she called out, tossing her
loung braid of brown hair over her shoulder.
and pulling herself nimbly up through the
thick young trees
But the pretty girlish figure, in the dark
blue serge skirt and white blouse, had hardly
been lost to their view among the green
shadows before it entered into the boys