head. Won't it make George feel down in
the mouth to be last at the stake?"

"Oh! this is only a beginning," remarked Jack. "Nobody can tell what
is going to happen before we bring up at New Orleans. Depend on it,
Jimmie, all of us will know a heap more by then than we do now."

"Herb sees us," observed Jimmie. "Josh is wavin' a flag. And the boat
heads this way, too, makin' better time than I iver saw her do. Hurrah
for thim! Look at the coffin nail gainin'; but I do believe the tub
will win out afther all, I do that."

And so it proved; for, although George evidently risked considerable,
and shoved on every horsepower his engine was rated at, he could not
quite overtake the big clumsy craft he had affected to despise; so that
the _Comfort_ was alongside before the speed boat was more than within
hailing distance.

Jack himself timed the coming of each craft, as was the duty of the one
first at a station. Thus he knew just what a handicap the other boats
labored under as the result of the initial run.

It was already late in the day, and as they were prohibited from
running after the hour of four, a start was out of the question until
another morning.

Accordingly the three craft made preparations for stopping over another
night. A place was found where they could go ashore and camp, though
meaning to sleep aboard their several boats; a necessity that caused
poor Nick many a groan.

"Why, fellows," he grunted, rubbing himself in various places, "I'm
just covered with bruises after one night of it. No room to turn
without the bally old boat heaving and rolling. I give you my word
there were lots of times I really made up my mind the blessed thing
wanted to turn us both out into the creek. And would you believe it, I
haven't yet been able to find those bully water wings anywhere. Seen
anything of 'em, boys? Oh! I hope you have, because half the fun will
be lost to me if I've gone and left my wings behind."

But no one remembered seeing the articles in question after the last
time the owner had been holding them up for admiration, and which was
on the Saturday before the start.

"So, you did pass the night in a creek, then?" asked Jack.

"That's what we did," admitted George, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Engine began to give trouble before two o'clock, and as we were near
the shore we found a convenient creek, where we pushed in; and I've
been working on that motor pretty much all the time si