ent
they sat speechless in their saddles, and truly there was in the sight
excuse for Chris' chattering teeth. The little wavelets which broke at
their feet were the color of blood, while the lake itself lay like a
giant ruby in its setting of green; glistening and sparkling in the
sun's bright rays.

Charley dismounted from his horse and from his saddle-bags produced a
small medicine glass, which he filled with the liquid and held up to
the light. The fluid sparkled clear as crystal and of a beautiful
crimson hue.

"It beats me," he announced, "I thought it might be the bottom gave it
that color, but whatever it is, it is in the water itself."

Walter wheeled his horse and studied the encircling trees carefully.
"I've got it," he announced, "do you notice all these trees are of one
kind?"

"You're right," Charley exclaimed, "they are all red bays. It's their
roots that color the water."

The boys turned to chaff Chris, but he had slipped away at the first
words of the explanation. Soon he reappeared with an armful of dry
wood. His face was still ashen, but his teeth had stopped chattering.

"Golly," he exclaimed, pompously, "reckon dis nigger had you-alls scart
dis time. Dis nigger shore had de joke on you dis time."

The boys glanced at each other and grinned. "I wouldn't try it again,
Chris," Charley chuckled; "you might throw a fit next time, you act so
real."

While Chris was making a fire and preparing a bed of coals, Charley
cleaned the gopher.

This animal is very much like a turtle, but the tissue which unites the
upper and lower shells is so hardened as to be impervious to a knife.
Charley solved the problem by wedging it in the fork of a fallen tree,
and after two or three attempts he succeeded in separating the shells
with an axe.

"Let me finish hit, Massa Charley," pleaded Chris; "dis nigger knows
just how to fix him now you got him open."

Charley was nothing loath to turn over the disagreeable task of
cleaning to the little darky, who swiftly completed it. He removed the
meat from the shell, skinned the edible portions, and threw the offal
far from the fire. Next he washed both meat and shells carefully,
salted and peppered the meat, and replaced it in the shell, laying on
top of it a few thin slices of pork. Then, he bound both shells
tightly together with wisps of green palmetto leaves. Lastly, he
wrapped another green leaf around the shell and buried it in the bed of
glowing