etreat being now cut off by
water, unless we made a new raft. The Indians must be there within
view, I felt; but why did no arrows come; and why did not my companion
plunge at once into the forest?

The explanation came directly, as I struggled on, seeing my route marked
by trampled down reed and broken twig, for Pomp suddenly shouted--

"I got um, Mass' George."

What had he got? Something eatable, I felt, for he was always hungry;
and to obtain this we had lost our raft, and should have all the work to
do over again.

"Hush!" I whispered, angrily; "you will be heard."

"Done matter now," came from close at hand, though I could see nothing
yet. "Pomp fine um."

I struggled out of the low brushwood, and came into a more open part of
the bank, and there stood in astonishment, to find my companion dancing
with delight, and pointing to where, six feet above my head, just as it
had been left by the subsiding of the water, and on a nearly even keel,
was the lost boat, perched among the bushes, and apparently none the
worse for its journey.

"Oh, Pomp!" I cried, as excited now as he, "this is a find."

"See juss lit' bit ob um back up dah, Mass' George," he said. "Come try
and get um down."

I beat and pressed down the bushes as much as I could, and together we
reached the stern of the boat; but as I touched it a fresh thought arose
to damp my spirits.

There was the boat, but in what condition was it? It did not seem
possible that it could have been drifting about in that flood and left
here without damage--a hole made by some jagged projecting tree branch,
or a plank started.

"Now den, Mass' George, pull."

I dragged at the stem, and then uttered a warning cry and threw myself
back, for the boat was so lightly perched on the bushes that it came
down with a rush, and as we started up again, and examined it, as far as
I could see it was completely uninjured, and even the oars were in their
places beneath the thwarts.

The rest of the journey toward the water was not quite so easy, but we
tugged and lifted, and by degrees got it on the few yards farther, and
at last had the satisfaction of sending it crashing down into a bed of
reedy growth, and springing in to push it onward into the stream, where,
once clear of the dense water grasses, it began to glide down easily and
well.

Now that the excitement of the discovery and launching of the boat was
over, it all seemed to have been a kind of day-dream;