fuge from the flood on their oasis. Henry, despite the rising
waters, was able to reach the salt spring, and they cured the flesh of
the deer, adding to it a day or two later several wild turkeys that
alighted in their trees. They continued to prepare themselves for a long
stay, and they were not at all averse to it. Rest and freedom from
danger were a rare luxury that every one of the five enjoyed.

Henry's assumption that the great rain would freshen the swamp proved
true. All the mists and vapors were gone. There was no odor of decaying
wood or of slime. It seemed as if the place had been cleaned and
scrubbed until it was like a fine lake. Silent Tom caught bigger fish
than ever, and they agreed that they were better to the taste, although
they agreed also that it might be an effect of fancy. The island itself
was dry and sunny, but from their home they looked upon a wilderness of
bushes, cane and reeds, growing in what was now clear water. The effect
of the whole was beautiful. The swamp had become transformed.

"It will all settle back after a while," said Henry quietly.

But a second rain, though not so hard and long as the first, filled up
the basin again, and they foresaw a delay of at least two weeks before
it returned to its old condition. They accepted the increased time with
thankfulness, and remained in their camp, doing nothing but little
tasks, and gathering strength for the future.

"I should fancy that the warriors would hunt us here some time or
other," said Paul. "Shrewd and cunning as they are, and missing us as
they have, they'd think to penetrate it!"

"It seems so to me," said Henry. "Red Eagle is a great chief, and, after
he searches everywhere else for us and fails to find us, he'll try for a
way into this swamp, unlikely though it looks as a home."

"But lookin' at the water an' the canes, an' the reeds an' the bushes
I've figgered it out that he can't come fur two weeks," said Shif'less
Sol, "an' so I've made up my mind to enjoy myse'f. Think o' it! A hull
two weeks fur a lazy man to do nothin' in! An' I reckon I kin do nothin'
harder an' better than any other man that ever lived. Ef it wuzn't fur
gittin' stiff I wouldn't move hand or foot fur the next two weeks. I'd
jest lay on my back on the softest bed I could make, an' Long Jim Hart
would come an' feed me three times ev'ry day."

"I think," said Henry, "we'd better build a raft. It'll help us with
both the fishing and the hunting, an