THE HALCYON IN CANADA 221 



town, and when, by its "quack, quack," it called 

 upon La Chance for protection, he responded at 

 once. Joe was obliged to liberate it then and there, 

 and to hear the law read and expounded, and be 

 threatened till he turned pale beside. It was evi- 

 dent that they follow the home government in the 

 absurd practice of enforcing their laws in Canada. 

 La Chance said he was under oath not to wink at or 

 permit any violation of the law, and seemed to think 

 that made a difference. 



We were off early in the morning, and before we 

 had gone two miles met a party from Quebec who 

 must have been driving nearly all night to give the 

 black flies an early breakfast. Before long a slow 

 rain set in; we saw another party who had taken 

 refuge in a house in a grove. When the rain had 

 become so brisk that we began to think of seeking 

 shelter ourselves, we passed a party of young men 

 and boys — sixteen of them — in a cart turning back 

 to town, water-soaked and heavy (for the poor horse 

 had all it could pull), but merry and good-natured. 

 We paused a while at the farmhouse where we had 

 got our hay on going out, were treated to a drink of 

 milk and some wild red cherries, and when the rain 

 slackened drove on, and by ten o'clock saw the city 

 eight miles distant, with the sun shining upon its 

 steep tinned roofs. 



The next morning we set out per steamer for the 

 Saguenay, and entered upon the second phase of our 

 travels, but with less relish than we could have 

 wished. Scenery hunting is the least satisfying pur- 



