little darlings, too!"
exclaimed the cook of the expedition, his face relaxing into a happy
grin; and all doubts immediately vanished from his mind.

Tony came slowly into camp. Phil noticed that there was a serious look
on his face, as though more than ever the swamp boy might be troubled
in his mind. Which fact gave Phil a rather startling idea.

Could it be possible that Tony had met with any of the squatters during
his little side hunt? And suppose this to have been the case, what had
happened between them? Of course they must know that Tony had gone
up-river with his little blind sister, so that his presence near the
home settlement would arouse both their curiosity and suspicions.

They must also notice the wonderful pump-gun he was carrying; and that
again would be likely to cause them to demand an explanation. Would
Tony tell all that had happened to him? And might the news be thus
carried ahead of their coming to the terrible McGee, that the son of
the rich man he hated so bitterly was even now in his power?

But Tony said nothing. He was far from being talkative at any time,
and just now he seemed to shut up as "tight as a clam," as Larry
expressed it aside to his chum.

They started down the now wide stream. Since the boys first commencing
this eventful voyage two days back, the river had received many
additions in the way of smaller creeks, so that it was now pouring
quite a volume of water along toward the gulf.

And it was easy to see from the nature of the frequent swamps bordering
the banks that they were drawing near the great cypress belt where the
shingle-makers held forth in all their glory, defying eviction on the
part of any owner of the territory.

It was about the latter part of the afternoon when Larry called
attention to a man on the shore. He was standing on a hamak, and held
an old gun in his hands, as though he might have been hunting up this
way, and his dugout not far off.

The fellow was far from prepossessing looking, to say the least. His
garments were of dingy homespun, and his beard gave him the appearance
of a tramp. But of course Phil realized that he must belong to the
settlement toward which they were gradually drawing closer with every
mile passed over. And if so surely Tony would know him.

He noticed that the man was staring at them as they glided past, with
the motor slowed down to its lowest ebb; as Tony had requested that
they only keep with the curren