SAM CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY.
Tommy was the spokesman.
"Now then, Sam," he said, holding out his trowsers toward the fire to
dry them, "tell us all about it."
"I can't," replied Sam.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know all about it myself."
"Well, what do you mean by building this shed?"
"Don't call it a shed, Tom," said Billy Bowlegs, "it's a mansion, and
these are our broad acres all around here."
"Yes, and the alligators down in the swamp there are our cattle," said
Sam.
"And here's our fowls," said Billy, slapping at the mosquitoes, "game
ones they are too, ain't they?"
"Stop your nonsense," said Sid Russell, "I want to hear Sam's
explanation. Tell us, Sam, what did you build the shanty for?"
"To live in while it rains, to be sure."
"Yes, but how long are we going to stay here?"
"I don't know."
"Well then, why are we to stop here at all?" asked Tom, "and what have
you been thinking about all the afternoon? You didn't open your head
after it began raining, until we got here; you were working out
something, and this halt means that you've worked it out. What is it?
That's what we want to know."
"You're partly right," said Sam, laughing, "but you're partly wrong. I
have been thinking how to get out of this pocket we're caught in, and
I've partly worked it out, but not entirely. That is to say, I must
wait till morning before I can say precisely what I shall have to do.
Let me show you where we are;" and with that Sam took out his map and
spread it on the ground before him, while the boys clustered around.
"Here we are," pointing to a spot on the map, "near the Nepalgah
river, at the upper end of the peninsula it makes with the Patsaliga
and the Connecuh rivers. You see the Patsaliga and the Nepalgah both
run into the Connecuh, their mouths being not many miles apart. This
peninsula that we're on is low, swampy, and full of creeks, a little
lower down. This heavy rain will raise all the rivers and all the
creeks, and make them spread out all over the low grounds on both
sides. The land is higher on the other side of the Nepalgah river, and
it was my plan to cross over to-day, but when this rain came on I
began to think it not at all likely that we could get to the river
before night, and then I began to lay plans for use in case of a
failure."
"That's what you've been puzzling over all the afternoon, then?" said
Bob Sharp.
"Yes. I've been wondering what we should do, and trying to hit upon
some plan. You see the matter stands thus: we can't go on on this
side, that is certain; the river will be out of its banks to-morrow
morning, and we can't easily get across it; and if we were across it
would still be difficult marching, as there are creeks and swamps
enough to bother us over there."
"What are we to do, then?" asked Tommy, uneasily. "We _mustn't_ go
back. That'll never do."
"Never you mind, Tom," said Sid Russell, whose faith in Sam's
fertility of resource was literally boundless, "never you mind. We
ain't a goin' back if the Captain knows it. He's got it all fixed
somehow in his head, you may bet your bottom dollar. Just wait till he
explains."
"That's so," said Billy Bowlegs, "only it seems to me he's got a
mighty hard sum this time, an' if he's got the right answer I'd like
to see just what it is."
"He's got it, ain't you, Sam?" asked Sid, confidently.
"I believe I have," said Sam.
"What is it?" asked all the boys in a breath.
"Canoe," answered Sam.
"To cross the river with? That's the trick," said Bob Sharp.
"No," replied Sam, "that was what I first thought of; or rather, I
first thought of building some sort of a raft to cross the river on,
and then it occurred to me that we could go on faster on high water in
a canoe than on foot; so my notion is to dig out a good big canoe and
ride all the way in it."
"Can we do that?"
"Yes, the Nepalgah river runs into the Connecuh, and the Connecuh into
the Escambia, and the Escambia runs into Escambia Bay, and Escambia
Bay is an arm of Pensacola Bay. Here, look at it on the map; you see
it's as straight a course as we could go even on land, or pretty
nearly."
"Well, but you said you couldn't tell till morning about it."
"I can't. I am not absolutely sure where we are, but I think we are
within a very short distance of the river. I shall look in the
morning, and if we are, we'll dig the canoe here, or rather, we'll
live here and dig the canoe down by the river, for it must be a big
one to carry all of us, and we can't carry it any distance. If I find
that we are not as near the river as I suppose, we must break up here
and find a camping ground further on. At all events we'll dig the
canoe and ride in it. The rivers will be high, and it will be easy
travelling with the current, while there won't be any danger of
getting the fever from being on the water, as there would have been
before the rain when the water was low. Come, our clothes are dry now
and we must go to sleep, as we've a hard day's work before us."
"How long will it take to dig out the canoe?" asked Bob Sharp.
"One day, I hope, but it may take as much as three. Luckily we've
killed so much game to-day, that we needn't be afraid of running out
of victuals. But we must lose no time."
"Oh, Sam--" began one of the boys after all had laid down for the
night.
"I won't open my mouth again to-night, except to yawn," said Sam, and
it was not long before the whole party were asleep.