mboats broke
over the raft, their contents would not be injured. In front of the
central building, or "shanty," was a bed of sand six feet square,
enclosed by wooden sides, on which the camp-fires were to be built.
Much of the cooking would also be done here. Besides this there was a
small stove in the "shanty" for use during cold or wet weather.

The "shanty" had a door and three windows, and was in other ways made
unusually comfortable. The Major said that after four years of
roughing it, he now meant to take his comfort wherever he could find
it, even though it was only on a raft. So the _Venture's_ "shanty" was
very different from the rude lean-to or shelter of rough boards, such
as was to be seen on most of the timber rafts of the great river. Its
interior was divided into two rooms, the after one of which was a tiny
affair only six by ten feet. It was furnished with two bunks, one
above the other, a table, two camp-chairs, and several shelves, on one
of which were a dozen books of travel and history. This was the
sleeping-room that Winn was to share with his father.

A door from this opened into the main living-room of the "shanty."
Here were bunks for six men, a dining-table, several benches, barrels,
and boxes of provisions, and the galley, with its stove and ample
supply of pots, pans, and dishes. The bunks were filled with fresh,
sweet-smelling wheat straw, covered with heavy army blankets, and the
whole affair was about the most comfortable "shanty" ever set up on a
Mississippi timber raft. To Winn it seemed as though nothing could be
more perfect or inviting, and he longed for the time when it should be
his temporary home.

For a whole month after the raft was finished, loaded, and ready to set
forth on its uncertain voyage, it remained hard and fast aground where
it was built. To Winn's impatience it seemed as though high-water
never would come.

"I don't believe this old raft is ever going to float any more than the
mill itself," he remarked pettishly to his sister Elta one day in
October, as they sat together on the _Venture_ and watched the sluggish
current of the little river.

"Father thinks it will," answered Elta, quietly.

"Oh yes. Of course father thinks so; but he may be mistaken as well as
other folks. Now if I'd had the building of this craft, I would have
floated all the material down to the mouth of the creek. Then
everything would have been ready for a start as soon as she