moored near the boom, and was pulling towards the stranded raft. He
first examined its position, and assured himself that very little labor
would be necessary to float it; then he stepped aboard, and very nearly
lost his customary self-possession upon the receipt of Winn's warm
greeting. He was on the point of returning it in a manner that would
have proved most unpleasant for poor Winn, when he discovered that his
supposed assailant was only a boy, and that the act was unintentional.
It took the shrewd man but a few minutes to discover the exact state of
affairs aboard the raft, and to form a plan for gaining peaceful, if
not altogether lawful, possession of it. This plan he began to carry
out by the false statement of the situation made to Winn at the
conclusion of the last chapter. This beginning was not made, however,
until he had first gained the lad's confidence by a deed of kindness.

When Winn looked up from his hard thinking he said, "I hate the thought
of throwing the wheat overboard, even to save the raft. There are two
thousand bushels of it, and I know my father expects to get at least
fifty cents a bushel. So it would seem like throwing a thousand
dollars into the river. Then, again, I don't see how it will be
possible to land it, and so lighten the raft. It would take me a month
to do it alone with my canoe. Besides, father is sure to set out on a
hunt for the raft the moment he finds it is gone, and so is likely to
come along most any time."

"All the greater need for haste," thought Mr. Gilder; but aloud he
said, "That is very true, but in the mean time your raft will probably
break up, and your wheat be spilled in the river anyway. Now suppose
you agree to pay me and my partners a hundred dollars to get the wheat
ashore for you and reload it after the raft floats."

"I haven't a cent of money with me," replied Winn.

"That's bad," said the other, reflectively. "It's awkward to travel
without money. But I'll tell you what we'll do. I hate to see a
decent young fellow like you in such a fix, and I'm willing to take a
risk to help him out of it. Suppose I buy your wheat? I told you that
I and my partners were river traders. To be sure, our business is
mostly in logs, lumber, and the like; but I don't mind taking an
occasional flyer in wheat, provided they are willing. You say your
father expects to get fifty cents a bushel for this wheat. Now I'll
give you forty-five cents a bushel f