their falling
back upon the stock of canned and preserved food provided for such an
emergency, in order to sustain the invalid and restore him to perfect
health. At length, however, Earle pronounced himself so far
convalescent as to be capable of resuming the march; and one morning the
party broke camp and continued their journey. The length of the marches
was of course greatly curtailed, especially during the first two or
three days, to fit them to the diminished powers of the invalid, and at
the expiration of that time the party were fortunate enough to pass into
a belt of forest of a totally different character, where game was again
to be found, and from that moment Earle's progress toward complete
recovery was rapid.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE GREAT SWAMP AND ITS WEIRD DENIZENS.

It was on the eleventh day after the resumption of their march that,
quite early in the afternoon, they finally emerged from the forest and
found themselves upon the edge of a swamp, which stretched away ahead
and on either side of them as far as the eye could reach, except that,
in the extreme distance, and in the direction in which they wished to
travel, there was the suggestion of firm and somewhat hilly ground which
might be about thirty miles distant.

"Gee!" ejaculated Earle, as the party came to a halt by the margin of
the morass-like expanse, "this promises to be a corker, Dick. Eh, what?
Guess we'll have to go into camp for a bit, and explore. I don't at
all like the notion of attempting to force our way across that swamp, if
there is a method of working round it--as of course there is if we are
prepared to travel far enough. This reminds me of Florida, where I once
spent a month shooting 'gators--and other things. I guess there'll be
all the 'gators we want in there, to say nothing of snakes, mosquitos,
scorpions, centipedes, and other `varmint.' No; I guess we'll go round,
if we can; and if we can't, we must make dugouts, and effect the
crossing in them. We'll never be able to do it any other way."

It was indeed a formidable-looking barrier, this vast expanse of swamp,
that stretched itself, mile after mile, right athwart the party's
course, and its aspect was as dreary and depressing as one could well
imagine. All along its margin the soil was soft, boggy and treacherous,
to such an extent, indeed, that while making a preliminary investigation
of the ground before definitely deciding upon a location for the camp,