e a compass along, Frank, and that old
revolver of yours," growled Bluff.

"Don't you worry about me, now. Perhaps you'll find I'm able to look out
for myself far better than any of you give me credit for," returned the
other, with a show of indignation.

He went aboard to get ready, taking another roll of films along, for, as
he remarked, there could be no telling what might turn up.

"Try to keep your wits about you, Will, and don't venture too far away.
If in doubt, fire the pistol three times, and we'll answer you," said
Frank, who was not wholly easy about the exploring trip.

"Got some grub along?" asked Bluff, for that was a very essential part of
any undertaking, in his eyes.

"Yes to everything. So-long, fellows! Don't let anybody run away with the
motor-boat while I'm gone." And, with a merry laugh, Will dipped his
paddle into the water, sending the little dinghy gliding toward the more
quiet lagoons of the swamp.

He was soon under the spell of his surroundings. These were so weird that
the ardent photographer really forgot everything else. As he paddled
along he saw a dozen pictures around him, and when he thought the light
fair enough he took a time exposure.

So an hour passed away. In all that time he had seen no evidence of life,
save a few alligators, some wary 'coons, a 'possum hanging from a tree by
its tail, and some birds, mostly crows or bluejays.

In the water he had noted a variety of snakes. Remembering what Frank had
told him about these gliding reptiles, Will was careful not to bother
with them; for in all probability they were water moccasins, whose bite,
if not so deadly as that of the diamond-back rattler, would cause a wound
that might never heal, since it seems to put a certain poison into the
flesh that brings about a running sore.

Perhaps he ought to go back. He had succeeded in taking all of half a
dozen good views, besides several of which he was not so certain.

Then it dawned upon Will that, after all, he was not so sure that he knew
which way he ought to go. True, he had a compass, and could tell where
the north lay, as well as all other cardinal points, but the question
was, did the camp lie east or south of where he happened to be just then?

He cudgeled his brains to try to remember, so as to place himself.

"Say! Perhaps I am lost, all right," he remarked, with a laugh, for it
did not look at all serious just then, but more like a joke.

Then he suddenly remember