red
after the canoe.

He was a gigantic fellow, being at least six feet and six inches in
height, roughly dressed in woolen clothes, wearing long-legged boots and
a wide-brimmed hat. He had a heavy mustache, and a long imperial.

Suddenly his voice rang in a roar across the cove:

"Hold on, thar! Whatever are you doin' with my canoe? Ef yer don't bring
it back, burn my hide ef I don't turn a cannon on yer an' sink yer at
sea!"

The man in the canoe made no immediate reply, but pulled the harder at
the paddle.

"Derned ef yer don't git grapeshot an' canister!" howled the big man.
"I'll riddle yer!"

Then the man in the canoe shouted:

"Don't shoot! You will find two horses hitched to a tree near where we
obtained this canoe. They're yours in exchange."

"W'at do I want uv hawses!" roared the big man. "Bring back thet canoe
instanter! I won't take yer hawses!"

But the man in the canoe continued to pull at the paddle, and the little
craft glided straight out on the tranquil bosom of the lake.

CHAPTER XLI.

BIG GABE.

The big man roared and raged, but he did not do any shooting.

"I'll see yer ag'in," he shouted, "an' burn my eyebrows, ef I don't make
yer settle fer this yar!"

Then he saw the mounted boys on the opposite side of the cove, and he
stared at them inquiringly.

"Wa-al," he shouted, "who be you, an' what do yer want?"

"We will meet you and make an explanation," Frank shouted back.

The two lads began riding along the shore of the cove, and the big man
moved to meet them, regarding them with no little suspicion.

They finally met at the head of the cove, where the giant stood, with
folded arms, scowling blackly at them.

A short distance away two dust-covered horses were standing, hitched to
trees, their heads hanging low, while they still breathed heavily.

They were the animals abandoned by the man and girl.

"Ef you youngsters want ter steal anything, ye'd best mosey outer this
yar part uv ther kentry," growled the big man, sullenly. "First it's a
gang uv pleasure seekers thet comes an' takes my sailboat, then it's a
man an' gal thet kerries off my canoe, an' next it's two boys as ain't
got anything yit, but looks like they want something."

"We do," palpitated Frank. "We want some kind of a boat in which to
follow those people--the man and the girl."

"Wa-al, yer won't git it."

"We will pay you--we have plenty of money."

"Ter thunder with yer money! What duz Gabe