I care not now what befals us, we have lost all that made life dear to us," said Louis gloomily, sinking his head between his knees.
"Hush, Louis, you are older than I, and ought to bear these trials with more courage.

It was our own fault, Indiana's leaving us, we left her so much alone to pine after her lost companion; she seemed to think that we did not care for her.

Poor Indiana, she must have felt lonely and sad." "I tell you what we will do, Hec .-- make a log canoe.

I found an old battered one lying on the shore, not far from Pine-tree Point; we have an axe and a tomahawk,--what should hinder us from making one like it ?" "True! we will set about it to-morrow." "I wish it were morning, that we might set to work to cut down a good pine for the purpose." "As soon as it is done, we will go up the river; anything is better than this dread suspense and inaction." The early dawn saw the two cousins busily engaged chopping at a tree of suitable dimensions, and they worked hard all that day, and the next, and the next, before the canoe was hollowed out, and then, owing to their inexperience and the bluntness of their tools, their first attempt proved abortive; it was too heavy at one end, and did not balance well in the water.
Louis, who had been quite sure of success, was disheartened; not so Hector.
"Do not let us give it up; my maxim is perseverance; let us try again, and again--aye! and a third and a fourth time.

I say, never give it up, that is the way to succeed at last." "You have ten times my patience, Hec." "Yes! but you are more ingenious than I, and are excellent at starting an idea." "We are a good pair then for partnership." "We will begin anew; and this time I hope we shall profit by our past blunders." "Who would imagine that it is now more than a month since we lost Catharine!" "I know it, a long, long, weary month," replied Louis, and he struck his axe sharply into the bark of the pine as he spoke, and remained silent for some minutes.