46 STALKS ABROAD 



and on our arrival at Lillooet lost no time in get- 

 ting rid of them. The next thing to do was to 

 find substitutes. It was the end of the season, and 

 though guides were very scarce we were not so 

 absolutely stuck as we should have been a few 

 weeks earlier. Russell, the Game-Warden at Lil- 

 looet, said he would see what could be done, and 

 came late on the evening of our arrival with the 

 announcement that he had found men who would 

 do. As he was speaking, down between the two 

 lines of wooden houses which constituted the main 

 street, came the sound of a voice upraised in song. 



"That's one of them," said Russell; "I'll call 

 him in." 



The song ended in a quavering wail, and a 

 muttered conversation took place outside. 



Then the Incompetent One entered. 



" Very pleas'd meet you ! " said he. 



We assured him that the pleasure was mutual. 



He was a strange figure. Clad in buck-skins, 

 beautifully embroidered and covered with dangling 

 strips of hide (donned, so Russell said, in honour 

 of his prospective engagement), he had obviously 

 been celebrating our advent. There he stood, 

 swaying feebly from one leg to the other, and 

 grinning amiably at the ceiling. 



He did not look a promising guide, and in a 

 whispered aside we said as much to Russell. Then 

 the situation became apparent. Henry, admittedly 

 the best guide in the district, was the Incompetent 



