Following Rob's advice, each now busied himself at these different tasks. In the course of an hour they had a fire glowing at the centre of the barabbara, which now would otherwise have been quite dark. The smoke did not seriously trouble them after they had learned to keep down low on the floor. Each unrolled his blankets on the deep, sweet-scented grass near-by the fire. Thus, alone and far from home, in a situation stranger than any of them had ever fancied himself about to see, they lay about the fire at midnight of the short Alaskan darkness. Each without instruction took his rifle from its case and put it on the blankets beside him, taking care that it was loaded. Outside they could hear the calls of flying birds; otherwise deep silence reigned. They felt, although they could not see, the presence of the surrounding walls of the great white mountains. Now and then they could hear the faint boom of the sea on the opposite side of the inner wall. It was a wild and new experience for them as at last, one by one, each nodded and dropped back upon his blankets for such sleep as he could find in his first night in camp on the unknown Kadiak coast. VIII THE SALMON RUN Worn out as they were by the adventures of the preceding day, the boys slept long and soundly. When at length Rob awoke he saw that the sun was shining brightly down through the smoke-vent in the roof. He called the others, who rolled over sleepily in their blankets. "Time for breakfast, John," said he, laughing. "Yes, and no breakfast," grumbled John--"at least, nothing but more crackers and tomatoes, and not very much of that." "I'll have a look outside first," said Rob, crawling over to the door and pushing it open. "I say, it's a fine day! You can see the mountains all around as clear as you please. Wherever we are, it's a big country at least." "What was that I heard just now?" exclaimed John, joining him at the door; "it sounded like a splash." They both crawled out of the door and stood up where they could see the surface of the lagoon, which lay but a few yards distant from the front of the hut. Sure enough, a series of spreading wrinkles marked the water. "Must have been a fish," said John. "There he goes again!" Even as he spoke Rob had left him and was running to the edge of the water. "Salmon!" he cried. "Salmon! I thought so. Now we're all right!"