ed up in
a recent rainstorm. Wading back into deeper water he was just able to
reach the gunwale of the drifting canoe with the forked end of the
bough and, by careful jockeying, to haul it within hand-grasp.

Aided by Higham, he drew the overturned craft to the beach and righted
it. All the time, both men maintained a half-coherent diatribe, whose
language waxed hotter and hotter and whose thunderbolts centered about
the Master and his dog;--particularly about Lad;--and about the dire
legal penalties which were to be inflicted on them.

The Master, still holding Lad's ruff, stood to one side during the work
of salvaging the canoe; and while Rice replaced the paddles and
cushions in it. Only when the two women were helped sputteringly aboard
did he interfere.

"One minute!" he said. "I think you've forgotten your lunch. That and
the ream or two of newspapers you've strewn around: and a few wooden
dishes. I--"

"I picked up all the lunch that was worth saving," grunted Rice. "Your
mangy collie trampled the rest of it, when he ran down here at us. I
wisht it'd had strychnia in it and he'd et it! We'll go eat our dinner
over to the village. And, before we go, I got this much more to say to
YOU:--If--"

"Before you go," interrupted the Master, shifting himself and Lad
between Higham and the canoe, "before you go, let me remind you that
you've left a lot of litter on my clean lawn; and that I asked you to
clean it up."

"Go clean it up, yourself!" snapped Rice, from the boat. "This upstage
talk about 'trespassing' makes me sick! As soon as a guy has a
three-dollar patch of bum land (with a mortgage eating it up, most
likely), he always blats about 'trespassing' whenever decent folks
happens to walk on it. Go clean up the papers, yourself! We ain't your
slaves. You're due to hear a lot from us, later, too. Clean it,
yourself!"

The ladies applauded these stirring proletariat sentiments right
vigorously. But Higham did not applaud. Rice and the women were in the
canoe. Higham had gone back to the picnic site for an overlooked
cushion. On returning toward the beach, he had found the Master and Lad
standing in his way. Loftily, he made as though to skirt them and reach
the canoe.

"WATCH him, Laddie!" whispered the Master, loosing his hold on the
dog's ruff.

This, in the midst of Rice's tirade. Higham stood extremely still. As
the others applauded, he began, very fervently, to swear.

"Higham," suggested the Mast