l voice.

"What?" almost screamed Baker, "only three o'clock?"

They favored each other with a cold, hard look and each seized his own
oars again. So they rowed through the bitter morning hours.

Leavenworth and other towns were saluted, crowds always cheering on the
banks, and the following afternoon, almost frozen, they landed at
Kansas City, where for two miles the bank was a solid mass of humanity.
Among those who greeted them was an uncle whom Paul had never seen, Mr.
Peter Behan, a famous guide and one of the first who ever piloted a
wagon train across the plains to California. The voyagers were tendered
the freedom of the city and were hospitably entertained. Next morning
the journey was resumed amid deafening plaudits.

Speed was now the one thing necessary and Boyton knew there would be
some chance of finishing their trip on skates if they did not reach
St. Louis ahead of the cold wave that was setting down the river. They
passed the United States snag boat, Wright, directly after leaving
Kansas City and in the evening paddled by Berlin. Wild geese and ducks
were still seen in great numbers at places and several mud hens were run
down and killed. At Camden and many other towns, bonfires were built by
the enthusiastic citizens who were determined to catch sight of the
hardy navigator, whether he passed by in the night or day.

They had now four hundred miles ahead of them. The winter had closed in
with great severity. The ice formed rapidly in the river and they met
daily snow storms. At the same time the river raised and increased their
speed so that they easily made ten or twelve miles an hour.

Below Wellington, at two o'clock one morning, the voyagers mounted a
pile of driftwood to rest. Building a fire they went to sleep, but
toward daylight they were startled to find their camp was afloat, which
caused them to resume the journey rather earlier than they had intended.

Below Lexington, Paul shot a beautiful pair of white heron measuring
seven feet from tip to tip. After passing Booneville, the banks of
the river became more permanent and they passed through a rich grape
growing country, populated mainly by Germans, who have established large
wine vaults and make much wine. At Jefferson City, they were met by the
Mayor and tendered the freedom of the city. That night they were
shown through a wine vault and learned that the soil in that country was
as rich and identical with that o