chances in helping
you, and it would please us to find out that it wasn't a mistake."

Then Erastus gravely shook hands all around, after which he faded from
their sight in the heavy timber.

"Wonder if we ever will hear from him again?" speculated George.

"If he gets safely across the river I believe we will," replied Jack,
with a positive ring to his voice. "For he looks honest to me, though
perhaps I've had only a small chance to know the Southern black. But
we took the chance, fellows, and something tells me we won't be sorry."

They ate lunch ashore, seeing that they were together, and wanted to
have some apparent excuse for landing. But no one disturbed them, and
a little later the interrupted voyage was resumed again.

George stuck close to the _Tramp_ all the balance of that day.

"Don't seem to pay to run ahead all the time," he remarked when Jack
joked him on this score. "And, besides, it does seem as though you
fellows have a monopoly of all the adventure. Hang the cup, anyway.
It will remain a trophy for the club, no matter who wins. For all of
me the blooming old _Comfort_ may come in ahead yet, because, you know,
we agreed on her having a big handicap on account of her well known
slowness. I'm going to hang by you much of the rest of the trip,
fellows."

"Well," remarked Jack, when the hour for the close of the day's run
drew near; "I can see something away below there that looks like the
mouth of the Sunflower river. We're getting in the neighborhood of
that place, anyhow. Take a look yourself, Skipper George, and say
what's what."

Upon doing so the other pilot agreed with him.

"There's the big island ahead, you see, and, according to my map, the
river empties into the Mississippi exactly opposite that. Then, right
along here is where we expect to make Station Number Five; and wait up
for the rest."

As customary they now drew in closer to the shore, and looked for some
favorable nook in which the boats could have a secure harbor during
their stay, be it long or short.

And once that was found, not far from the junction of the two rivers,
Jack made for a point where he set the red flag that, if seen by the
pilot of the _Comfort_, would inform him that he had arrived at a
stopping place, and that his comrades of the Dixie cup race were nearby.

Having attended to that duty Jack proceeded to take things easy; while
the two rival cooks started to wrestle with the problem of what to