Shaggam Creek, an' I'm Jake Shaggam," answered the
hermit. "But you-uns said you'd pay me thet twenty-five dollars."

"I will," said Tom, and brought out the amount at once.

"Thank you very much."

"If you'll take us to that houseboat without delay I'll give you
another five dollars," put in Dick.

"I'll do it. But I don't want them fellers on the houseboat to see me."

"Why not?"

"Cos Pick Loring and Hamp Gouch thinks I am their friend. Ef they
knowed as how I give 'em away they'd plug me full o' lead."

"Then the two horse thieves are with Baxter and Flapp," said Songbird.
"If we bag the lot we'll be killing two birds with one stone, as the
saying goes."

"Come on!" cried Paul Livingstone. "I want to get those two horse
thieves by all means. Why, there is a reward of one thousand dollars
for their capture, dead or alive."

"By golly, I'se out fo' dat reward!" came from Aleck, and he pulled
out a horse pistol which he was carrying. "Jess let me see dem
willains." And he flourished the weapon wildly.

The steam tug was led up the creek by Jake Shaggam for a distance of
two miles.

"See that air turn yonder?" he said.

"Yes," said Captain Carson.

"Thet houseboat is behind the trees and bushes around the p'int. Now
whar's the five dollars?"

"There you are," said Dick, and paid him.

"Much obliged. Now I reckon I'll go home an' let you-uns fight it
out," added Jake Shaggam, and tying up his rowboat he stalked off,
just as if he had accomplished nothing out of the ordinary.

"We had better approach with caution," said Paul Livingstone. "Those
horse thieves are desperate characters. They would not be above
shooting us down rather than give up to the law."

In the meantime Baxter and Flapp were much disturbed by the condition
of affairs on board the houseboat. Both Loring and Gouch had been
drinking more or less all night and were in far from a sober condition.

"I don't mind a drink myself, but those chaps make me sick," growled
Dan Baxter.

"I guess we made a mistake to take them into our scheme," said Lew
Flapp. "Look how Gouch blabbed to that old man last night."

"Where are they now?"

"In the captain's stateroom opening a new bottle of liquor. Neither
of them can stand up straight."

"For two pins I'd pitch them overboard. Where is Sculley?"

"He is with them, drinking hard, too."

"If we only knew how to run that launch we could leave them behind
and sail out of here."

"Perhaps w