the others, "First to carry out his job wins a
_grand coup_!"

"Let the three leaders stake their scalps," said the Woodpecker.

"All right. First winner home gets a scalp from each of the others and
saves his own."

"Say, boys, you better take along; your hull outfit, some grub an'
your blankets," was the Medicine Man's last suggestion. "You may have
to stay out all night."

Yan would rather have had Sam along, but that couldn't be, and
Peetweet proved a good fellow, though rather slow. They soon left the
high ground and came to the bog--flat and seemingly endless and with a
few tall Tamaracks. There were some Cedar-birds catching Flies on
the tall tree-tops, and a single Flycatcher was calling out:
"_Whoit--whoit--whoit!_" Yan did not know until long after that
it was the Olive-side. A Sparrow-hawk sailed over, and later a Bald
Eagle with a Sparrow-hawk in hot and noisy pursuit. But the most
curious thing was the surface of the bog. The spongy stretch of moss
among the scattering Tamaracks was dotted with great masses of Pitcher
Plant, and half concealed by the curious leaves were thousands of
Droserae, or fly-eating plants, with their traps set to secure their
prey.

The bog was wonderful, but very bad walking. The boys sank knee-deep
in the soft moss, and as they went farther, steering only by the sun,
they found the moss sank till their feet reached the water below and
they were speedily wet to the knees. Yan cut for each a long pole to
carry in the hand; in case the bog gave way this would save them from
sinking. After two miles of this Peetweet wanted to go back, but was
scornfully suppressed by Little Beaver.

Shortly afterward they came to a sluggish little stream in the bog
with a peculiar red-and-yellow scum along its banks. It was deep and
soft-bottomed. Yan tried it with the pole--did not dare to wade, so
they walked along its course till they found a small tree lying from
bank to bank, then crossed on this. Half a mile farther on the bog got
dryer, and a mass of green ahead marked one of the islands of high
land. Over this they passed quickly, keeping the northwest course.
They now had a succession of small bogs and large islands. The sun was
hot here and Peetweet was getting tired. He was thirsty, too, and
persisted in drinking the swamp water whenever he found a hole.

"Say, Peetweet, you'll suffer for that if you don't quit; that water
isn't fit to drink unless you boil it."

But Peetweet co