low. I'll lead the way with the lantern."

This proposition was far from pleasing to Nugget, but he uttered no
remonstrance. He had implicit faith in Ned by this time.

The canoes were pulled into the water, and without delay the boys
started down the gloomy channel. They pushed the canoes ahead of them,
and in this way supported themselves and lessened the danger of
slipping.

For a while they made fair progress and encountered but few shoals. The
stream was nowhere more than knee deep.

Under these favorable circumstances Ned relaxed his caution, and the
consequence was that his feet slipped on the smooth stone, and down he
went into a pretty deep hole. The lantern fell from his hand was
extinguished, and the canoe shot ahead of him.

Nugget's cry of alarm was the first thing that Ned heard when he
recovered his footing, and he found himself almost breast deep in water.
He was shivering with cold--and with something else as well, for he
realized the full meaning of the disaster, and for a moment he was sick
and faint.

"I'm all right, Nugget," he shouted. "Stay where you are. Don't move a
foot."

Then he waded cautiously forward until the channel was knee deep again,
and shaking the water from his hands as well as he could, he drew out
the precious match and struck a light.

His canoe had lodged on a reef a few feet down stream, but the lantern
was gone beyond recovery. The situation was serious. Nugget's lantern
was in Randy's canoe, and worse than all, only four matches remained in
the box.

"It's a bad fix," thought Ned; "but we must make the best of it.
Nugget," he added aloud, "push your canoe along the right side. I think
the water is shallow there."

Nugget obeyed, and joined his companion without difficulty.

"Have you any matches?" asked Ned.

"Not a single one." Nugget went through his pockets to make sure, and
turned a shade whiter when he saw Ned's scanty stock, two of which were
already exhausted.

"This is terrible," he exclaimed huskily. "What can we do now?"

"Not very much," replied Ned. "Keep your spirits up, though; that's the
important thing. Here, take these, and burn one at a time."

He handed the match box to Nugget, and quickly drew the canoes side by
side. He took a stout fishing line from his pocket and tied them
together at bow and stern.

Then he rummaged the hatches in a vain search for something that would
burn. Even the paper that was around some of the bundles was d