Down an Unknown River 329 



trouble came we had only canoe-riding ahead of us. It 

 is not ideal for a sick man to spend the hottest hours of 

 the day stretched on the boxes in the bottom of a small 

 open dugout, under the well-nigh intolerable heat of the 

 torrid sun of the mid-tropics, varied by blinding, drench- 

 ing downpours of rain; but I could not be sufficiently 

 grateful for the chance. Kermit and Cherrie took care 

 of me as if they had been trained nurses; and Colonel 

 Rondon and Lyra were no less thoughtful. 



The north was calling strongly to the three men of 

 the north — Rocky Dell Farm to Cherrie, Sagamore Hill 

 to me; and to Kermit the call was stronger still. After 

 nightfall we could now see the Dipper well above the hor- 

 izon — ^upside down, with the two pointers pointing to a 

 north star below the world's rim; but the Dipper, with 

 all its stars. In our home country spring had now come, 

 the wonderful northern spring of long glorious days, of 

 brooding twilights, of cool delightful nights. Robin and 

 bluebird, meadow-lark and song sparrow, were singing 

 in the mornings at home ; the maple-buds were red ; wind- 

 flowers and bloodroot were blooming while the last 

 patches of snow still lingered ; the rapture of the hermit- 

 thrush in Vermont, the serene golden melody of the 

 wood-thrush on Long Island, would be heard before we 

 were there to listen. Each man to his home, and to his 

 true love ! Each was longing for the homely things that 

 were so dear to him, for the home people who were 

 dearer still, and for the one who was dearest of all. 



