trunk in a body and Pud followed it. In spite of his
efforts, he gradually disappeared in the dark water. He tried in vain to
get up on the log, but he could not make it and finally had to pull his
body along in the water until he got to the other side. Pud's acrobatic
performance had brought peals of laughter from Bob and Bill. Even the
Indian had a smile on his face as Pud got out of the water.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Pud, as he got ashore, evidently sore
at the joke on him.

"Oh, nothing," said Bob. "Only you reminded me of a fat monkey on a
stick."

"I'll 'fat monkey' you, letting me drown without so much as putting out
your hand," said Pud.

"Letting you drown," said Bill. "You fat porpoise, don't you know that
you couldn't sink if you tried?"

"I bet he was just trying to practice walking the greasy pole so he
could show us how to do that stunt," said Bob.

"That old tree has all the greasy poles you ever saw beaten to death,"
said Pud with disgust.

"Perhaps that was a slippery elm tree," said Bill. "What do you say,
Pud? Did you taste it?"

"No, I didn't taste it. I'll give you both a taste if you don't stop
standing there laughing like two old women," said Pud, as he dashed for
them. He was evidently up to mischief, so they ran up the trail. Pud
soon gave up the chase, and as they came out at a habitant's farm
shortly afterwards, he forgot all about his troubles and regained his
habitual cheerfulness.

Just before they started down a hill on the outskirts of Escoumains,
they all stopped to empty out their shoepacks. All of them had at one
time or other gotten into some hole filled with water and all had wet
feet. They wrung out their socks and then put on their footgear again.

"Holy smoke," said Bill, "if mother saw me do that little stunt she
would call me back home at once."

"What's that?" asked Mr. Waterman, who had thought nothing of the
matter.

"Why, wringing out my socks and then putting them on again," said Bill.
"Mother would be sure that that would mean pneumonia at least."

"Don't worry," said Mr. Anderson. "Before we get home you will probably
have your feet quite dry again and then much wetter. A little water will
not do any one any harm when one is living out in the open air this way.
Of course, in the winter time, it would be different. Then it would be
serious to get one's feet so wet."

"Why so?" asked Pud.

"Because then, wet feet unless one can get to the fir