' mighty glad I am, too," said Shif'less Sol, in the same tone. "I wuz
never so tired before in all my life. I think I must have trotted a
thousan' miles, an' now I'm willin' to let Jim Hart paddle me the rest o'
the way in a canoe."

Tom Ross said nothing, merely showing his white teeth in a smile.

"The Miamis are about," said Paul. "They have been around the lake, and on
it, for days, looking for something."

"We know it," said Henry. "In fact, we've seen some of them not so long
since, though none of them saw us. There are big doings afoot, Paul, and
we must have our part in them."

"Should we go back to the island, then?"

"For the present, yes. We need a base, and the island is safest and best."

The five got cautiously into the canoe, disposing their weight carefully,
and Shif'less Sol, who had taken the paddle from Paul, raised it for the
first sweep. But it did not come down into the water. Instead, he stopped
it in its fall, and he and all the others listened. The same splash that
Jim Hart thought he had heard came now to their ears, and it was repeated.
Paul knew that it was made by paddles sweeping through water, and it was
coming nearer.

"Push back into the bushes," whispered Henry.

They gently shoved the canoe far among the bushes in the shallow water,
and waited. They were completely hidden, but even if seen they could
spring instantly to the land. They waited, and the splashing steadily grew
louder. Paul felt the pressure of Henry's hand on his arm, and he looked
with all his eyes. The Miami navy was abroad that night! A canoe, a long
one with seven or eight warriors in it, was abreast of them, and behind it
came five others. They were not twenty yards away, and Paul, in fancy at
least, saw the savage eyes and the painted faces. What had brought them
out on the lake, what suspicion or precaution, Paul never knew, but there
they were. All were brave hearts in the hidden canoe, but they held their
breath while that silent file passed by. Then, when the last had gone and
was lost in the darkness, they pushed out a little and listened, with all
the keenness of forest-bred ears. Hearing no splash, they paddled in a
straight course for the haunted island.

"I think they've gone toward the north end of the lake, and as they are
likely to keep on their way, now is our time," said Henry.

They pushed farther into the lake, Ross and Shif'less Sol now handling
the paddles with wonderful dexterity. They