ared him when he was snooping on the bank, and he thought
the safest thing to do was to dive. Right now perhaps he's floating on
the surface of that black looking lagoon yonder, watching us. He never
saw a motor boat before, and perhaps we're the first whites that have
invaded his home here. But jump ashore and take this line, Jimmie."

"Sure, do ye be thinkin' there moight be another of the same waitin'
till grab me by the lig? I'm towld they loike an Irish lad betther
than anything, save a black wan."

"Oh, rats! Here, wait for me," and with the words Jack was on the
shore, ready to make the hawser fast to a convenient tree.

Then Jimmie, shamed by the boldness of his boatmate, consented to join
him. A fire soon flashed up, fed with some of the handy fuel.

"Things don't look quite so bad with a cheery blaze, eh, Jimmie?" asked
the skipper of the marooned _Tramp_, as he glanced around at the weird
picture that met his eyes in every direction.

"Troth, they moight be worse, I suppose," the other admitted
grudgingly; for already they were on short rations, and it may be
remembered that Jimmie was blessed with an appetite second only to the
wonderful capacity of Nick.

"Tomorrow, remember," Jack went on, as he busied himself in various
ways, "I'm going to begin to hunt in earnest all the while we're
looking for an outlet. We may even find a fat wild turkey on one of
these same hard timber ridges. I understand they're known to frequent
such places."

"What if we happen till run acrost a bear?" suggested Jimmie, anxiously.

"Well, the chances are the bear would be ten times more scared than
either of us, and put for the canebrake at top speed. Even if he tried
to attack us, you must remember that a charge of shot delivered at
close quarters can penetrate almost as well as a bullet. And I should
aim for his eyes, or back of his fore leg."

Jimmie sighed heavily.

"Sure, I'd loike a bear steak just as much as Buster said he would; but
p'raps, Jack, darlint, we'd better be contint wid 'possum, 'coon or
muskrats."

"Oh! just as you say, Jimmie. But we haven't run across our bear yet,
so we can't tell just what we'd do. In cases like that, you know, a
fellow has to be governed by circumstances. Suppose the beast was mad,
and insisted on coming at us on his hind legs, ready to squeeze us like
they often do? I would have to shoot then, wouldn't I?"

The supper was soon in progress. Jimmie begrudged ev