e had overflowed their
banks, and the lower section of the town was under water. He had come
back for the scow, and to find Scraggy. He was determined to force from
her the whereabouts of his son. He wended his way toward the hut of one
of his friends at the inlet, and hailed the boat that conveyed the
squatters to and fro in flood-time. As the boat lapped the muddy water
breaking into the weeds and brushes, Lem saw Eli Cronk perched in
another boat, with a spear in his hand.

"Eli!" shouted Lem.

Eli greeted him with a wave of the pole.

The boats neared each other, and Lem shouted that he wanted to get into
Cronk's craft.

"What ye doin'?" asked Crabbe, as the boat he had just left shot away
toward the bridge.

"Catching frogs," replied Eli. "I sell a lot of 'em to the hotels, and
this flood is jest the thing to make 'em thick." He lowered his spear
and brought up a struggling frog. Throwing it into a covered box, he
peered again into the water.

"Where's Lon?" he said, straightening again with another victim.

"To Tarrytown."

"What's he to Tarrytown fer?"

"He's a gittin' Flea and Flukey. That's where they runned to."

"He ain't found 'em, has he? Truth, now!"

"Yep, truth," answered Lem; "and he's got a fine-lookin' lawyer-pup to
git 'em for him."

As Eli again and again thrust his spear into the water, Lem told the
story of the finding of the twins. He refrained from speaking of his
experience with Screech Owl; but said finally, as if with little
interest:

"Ye ain't seen Scraggy, has ye?"

"Nope; and she ain't in her hut, nuther; or she wasn't awhile back,
'cause I stopped there, when I was a lookin' for Lon."

"When did ye git back to town?"

"I dunno jest what day it were," responded Cronk, spearing again.

"Can I git up the tracks, Eli?" inquired Lem presently.

"Ye'll have to wade in mud to yer knees fer a spell after ye leave the
boat."

"I can take the hill over the tracks for a way. Will ye row me up as far
as ye can?"

"Yep, I'll row ye up," replied Eli, proceeding with his work.

* * * * *

Late in the afternoon, Lem Crabbe, wet to his knees and covered with
mud, entered the scow. He had stopped at Screechy's hut, knocked, and,
having received no answer, clicked down the hill to the boat.

He made up his mind to stay there until Scraggy came back; then he would
go back to Tarrytown and bring the twins to Ithaca. Every morning Lem
mounted the