hat spalpeen that treated me as he did."

From down the river came the sound of the _Deerfoot's_ exhaust, growing
fainter as the boat sped on its way. The hoarse blast of a steamer's
whistle shuddered through the mist, but the lad saw nothing of either
craft. It was fog, fog on every hand.

He could not straighten out in his mind all that had taken place. More
than one phase of the occurrences was beyond explanation. Overcoming in a
degree the awe he felt for what had occurred in his own person, he
thought:

"If the Captain and second mate didn't know I couldn't swim, I'd belave
it was them that dropped me overboard by way of a joke, as the Barry
brithers explained to the Judge was their raison for hanging Black Mike.
It was thim spalpeens that wint fur the Captain whin he was journeying
through the woods. Begorra! but they are piling up a big debt fur me to
pay! But I'll sittle the same wid int'rist at siven thousand per cent.

"Where's Alvin and Chester all this time? Why didn't they git to the
_Deerfut_ before me instead of laving it fur them chaps? What does it all
maan, anyway?"

One of the singular coincidences of this series of adventures was that
the _Deerfoot_ in going down the Back River passed within a few rods of
the _Water Witch_ coming up. The noise of the respective engines
prevented either party hearing the other, and the fog would have veiled
them had the space between been considerably less.

Not knowing that the launch of their enemies had been moored anywhere
near, Mike did not look for it. Ignorant also of how far he had been
carried while asleep, he could not guess the distance to Beartown
landing. It might be half a mile or ten times as much. In truth, the
former distance was about right.

The pressing question was as to what he should do. His clothing even to
his cap was saturated. The morning was chilly, and he shivered. He must
find a place where he could obtain warmth until his garments dried. When
that was done he would decide upon the next step to take.

Had he suspected that he was so close to the landing, he would have
picked his way thither and then followed the road to the home of Mrs.
Friestone. It seemed to him that there must be a good many scattered
houses, any one of which would give him welcome. He remembered that a
broad highway runs the whole length of big Westport Island. Necessarily
this was parallel with the course of Back River. If he therefore turned
away from the l