[1] Sajo, a young Indian girl, and her older brother, Shapian, adopt two orphaned beaver kits, Chilawee and Chikanee.

The children have lost their mother, and the father, Big Feather, must leave them for a time to pay off a debt to the "Company" by working in a "canoe brigade".

They first travel by canoe through a terrifying forest fire to Rabbit Portage, a frontier town on the railroad.

He takes up a collection among the tourists and residents of the town to raise money for their train tickets.

Arriving in the city, they encounter Pat O'Reilly, an Irish policeman, who helps them locate Chikanee and convince the park owner to release the beaver to them.