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Show ()0 a log on the lmnk in a littll\ npl'll plac . \Vh re the log forked I con1d p(\<\p through. By-:.nHl-by she co1nc alon o·, and . h drifted in so clo,c tltat they conl<l a run out a plank ancl walk d a bor . 1\Io. t e vcn ·hody wn~ on the boat. Pnp_, ancl Judge Thatch r, nnd lh·:;; ~i(' '1'hat ch0r, nncl J o lim-per, nnd T on1 Sa\vy r, and his old Atmt Polly antl Nitl and l\iary~ and plenty rnore. Everybody w:1s ta lking abont. th 1nnrclcr, hnt the captain broke in and . ays : ' Look sh arp, now; the cnrrcn t , \t · in the clo e t h ere nnd rnaybe ltc'"' ''"af'h ecl asl1 ore ancl got tangled a1nong: t the bruJt at t lH\ water': cclge. I hope so, anyway.'' I d idn "t hop so. 'l'h y all crow<lecl up ancl lean eel over the n·ai 1 ·, 1warl y in 1ny fn c<', :.1 ncl k t"~pt till, watebing with all t heir JnighL I co nlcl .·ee the1n fir:-;t-rale, but they couldn't ee nH:. ~Th e n the captain ung ont: "HtatHl HWtlY !' and th · cannon let off such a bla~t rigl1t. b for 1ne that it made DlC dcef with the n oi e an l pret ty n ar )lind with t lt ) stnok(·, and I j lHJgecl I was g nc. 1 f th ey'd a h(Hl ..,mne l>ullets in lreckou tbey'cl a bot the corpse they wns :after. \r ll, 1 sec I \Yarn't hurt, thanks to g oodness . 'l'lH' boat float ed on ar. d wcnL out of sight around the shoulder of ~ he islantl. I coulcl hear the bo01ning, n ow and then, furtlwr ~l nd furth rr off, and by-antl-hy after an hour, I dicln 't hcnr jt. no 1norr . The i 'land was three tnile long. I jntlged they hil<l got. to the foot, and wa · giving it up. But thry didn't :y (·t a- 'dllle · 'l'l1 ey t·u rnccl aroun d t l le foot of the i ~land and start c(l up th.e chann.el on the J\Tis sonri . icle, l!ndcr ste:un, and booming once 111 a wh1le a· they went. I cro sed o~er to that side and '\rat h eel them. \Vhen they got abrea t the head of the isle~nd they quit hooting and dropped over to the lVIi souri shor and went hotne to the town. I knowed I 'vas all right now. N obocly else ·would come n-h u n tin o- :1ft er m c I cro t t . ~. f 1 b • b n1y lap:; out o t 1c canoe and 1nacle E.YPLORI)..,.G 'l'JIR ISLA SD. Gi 1nc a nic camp in the thick wood:-;. ln1ade a kind f a i nt out of my blank t to put 1ny thin g ~ nHd r . o th rain conldn' get aJ t h 1n. I catch ed a cat-fi.sb and haggled him open with n1y saw, and t owards undown I .·tented 1ny carnp fir and had ~upp r. Then I et ont a lin to catch so1ne fi sh for br a k-f< 1 ·t. \Yh nit "·as dark I set by 1ny c:nnp fire ~ 1noking, and fePl-j ng pr tty ·ati fi d ; but by-and-by it. got sort of lon so1n , aucl so I "·ent and :ct on the hank and ]i s1Pn d to th c nr rrnt ~ wa hing along, and count ·d th s1an; ancl drift-log· and raft .' that co1ne down, and th n " ·r nt to b d; the re a in't no bcit cr way to put in titnc when you an' lone 'OIHC ; you cn u'( .- tny . o, you oon get ovt'r it. Ancl so for thr days an<lnig ht s. Xo (liffcrcncc-ju t the-same thing. ]~ut the n xt dny I 'rent cxpl ori11g nronnd down throu()'h th i sland. I " ·a: bos,· of it; it <lll heloD !!r<l to 1nr , .o b ll io .ay, and I wanted t o kno\Yall about it· but Jna inly iwant C'<l to put in the ti1n e. I found plrn t y st r:nYbcrri s, rip\ <nHl prin1e ; and green sunnn r-g rnpcs, an(l gr n n1zberrie: ; an(l 1 h crre n blackbcrrie \Va,· J·ust beu-innincr to ·h ow. They b . ~ } would all eo1nc handy by-and-by, I j ndged. \Y 11, I went fooling along in t h d eep ''"ood ~ till I j ndgcd I warn t far fron1 the foot oft he i ~]ancl. l had 1ny gnn al ng, hut I hadn't shot nothing; it· was for prot ction ; t hou()'ht I would kill some game nigh hotn . About thi~ t i1n I mjght y n car tepped on a good-sizecl snak(l, nn<l )t " ·ent ·liding off through the grass and flower , and l n ft er j t, trying to g(•t a. shot at it. I clipped along, and all of a ·nctd n I bounded ri <rht on to the a h es of a ctunp fire that. wa.· still smoking. ~'ly heart jumped up a1nong t 1ny lungs. I n ever 'vait ed for to look further, but uncock (l 1ny gun and w nt sn aking hn ·k on my tip-toes as fast as e,·er I could. l~vcry now and then I topped a second, among~t the thick leaYcs, and li~ten d |
