they
carry us away to the village!" Larry gave vent to his thoughts, as they
stood and waited for the coming of the squatters.

"McGee, he not let that be, I think," Tony hastened to say, so as to
reassure the more timid Larry; who was quivering like a bowl of jelly
over the unknown calamities that hung over their heads.

Now the leaders of the marchers were close up. A dozen strong they
were pushing forward; and at their head strode the tallest of them all,
the man who was head and shoulders above the rest.

"Hello!"

It was Phil who called out, and Larry started as though he had been
shot, so strung were his nerves.

The crowd still came on. Perhaps they thought those on the boat meant
to put up a desperate resistance; and it was policy in that event for
them to be as near as possible, before the word was given to carry the
craft by storm.

"McGee, are you there?" continued Phil; and he was really surprised
himself at the calm manner in which he could handle his voice; now that
the critical moment had really come, all his fears seemed to have
vanished.

"That's me!" came back, in the heaviest voice Phil had ever heard; and
which in fact seemed to accord perfectly with the giant figure of the
head of the clan.

"Come aboard, please," continued the boy, steadily, to the secret
admiration of both his chum and Tony. "I've been expecting to drop in
at your place tomorrow to see you; but you've beat me out."

"Oh! we has, hey?" growled the giant, as with one effort he jumped upon
the boat the curtains of which the boys had drawn up, so that they were
fastened to the inside of the standing roof.

Strange to say the first thing McGee did was to reach out and clutch
his own boy. But if Phil expected to see him embrace Tony, he was very
much mistaken.

On the contrary he shook him much as a dog might a rat, until the boy's
teeth seemed to rattle together. But Tony was used to this sort of
thing, no doubt; and he would not have protested, even though suffering
ten times the amount of pain that may now have racked his slender frame.

"What yuh doin' hyah, boy, tell me that?" roared the big man. "Whar's
yuh leetle sister; and why so did yuh desart her up yander? If so be
any harm's kim tuh Madge, I'll skin yuh alive, d'ye hyah me?"

Phil was on the point of interfering, but on second thoughts he
realized that this was a matter between father and son. Tony could
take care of himself; and he knew best how to