The boat
we were in ought to have kept on and taken us up the Oclawaha; "but,"
said he, "I suppose that wouldn't suit the hotel-keepers. I expect they
divide the profits with the boats."

By good luck, I thought, the Corny family and ourselves went to
different hotels to spend the night. When I congratulated Rectus on this
fact, he only said:

"It don't matter for one night. We'll catch 'em all bad enough
to-morrow."

And he was right. When we went down to the wharf the next morning, to
find the Oclawaha boat, the first persons we saw were Mr. Chipperton,
with his wife and daughter. They were standing, gazing at the steam-boat
which was to take us on our trip.

"Isn't this a funny boat?" said Corny, as soon as she saw us. It _was_ a
very funny boat. It was not much longer than an ordinary tug, and quite
narrow, but was built up as high as a two-story house, and the wheel was
in the stern. Rectus compared her to a river wheelbarrow.

Soon after we were on board she started off, and then we had a good
chance to see the St. John's. We had been down to look at the river
before, for we got up very early and walked about the town. It is a
pretty sort of a new place, with wide streets and some handsome houses.
The people have orange-groves in their gardens, instead of
potato-patches, as we have up north. Before we started, we hired a
rifle. We had been told that there was plenty of game on the river, and
that most gentlemen who took the trip carried guns. Rectus wanted to get
two rifles, but I thought one was enough. We could take turns, and I
knew I'd feel safer if I had nothing to do but to keep my eye on Rectus
while he had the gun.

There were not many passengers on board, and, indeed, there was not room
for more than twenty-five or thirty. Most of them who could find places
sat out on a little upper deck, in front of the main cabin, which was in
the top story. Mrs. Chipperton, however, staid in the saloon, or
dining-room, and looked out of the windows. She was a quiet woman, and
had an air as if she had to act as shaft-horse for the team, and was
pretty well used to holding back. And I reckon she had a good deal of it
to do.

One party attracted our attention as soon as we went aboard. It was made
up of a lady and two gentlemen-hunters. The lady wasn't a hunter, but
she was dressed in a suitable costume to go about with fellows who had
on hunting-clothes. The men wore long yellow boots that came ever so far
up