was barely forty feet across, but it was clearly out of the
question to find a pole for a bridge, so Yan stripped off, put all his
things in a bundle, and throwing them over, swam after them. Pete had
to come now or be left.

As they were dressing on the northern side there was a sudden loud
"_Bang--swish_!" A torrent of water was thrown in the air, with
lily-pads broken from their mooring, the water pattered down, the
wavelets settled, and the boys stood in astonishment to see what
strange animal had made this disturbance; but nothing more of it was
seen, and the mystery remained unsolved.

Then Yan heard a familiar "_Quack!_" down the stream. He took his
bow and arrow, while Pete sat gloomily on a hummock. As soon as he
peered through the rushes in a little bay he saw three Mallard close
at hand. He waited till two were in line, then fired, killing one
instantly, and the others flew away. The breeze wafted it within reach
of a stick, and he seized it and returned in triumph to Pete, but
found him ready to cry. "I want to go home!" he said miserably. The
sight of the Mallard cheered him a little, and Yan said: "Come now,
Pete, don't spoil everything, there's a good fellow. Brace up, and if
I don't show you the Pine woods in twenty minutes I'll turn and take
you home."

As soon as they got to the next island they saw the Pine wood--a solid
green bank not half a mile away, and the boys gave a little cheer, and
felt, no doubt, as Mungo Park did when first he sighted the Niger. In
fifteen minutes they were walking in its dry and delightful aisles.

"Now we've won," said Yan, "whatever the others do, and all that
remains is to get back."

"I'm awfully tired," said Pete; "let's rest awhile."

Yan looked at his watch. "It's four o'clock. I think we'd better camp
for the night."

"Oh, no; I want to go home. It looks like rain."

It certainly did, but Yan replied, "Well, let's eat first." He delayed
as much as possible so as to compel the making of a camp, and the rain
came unexpectedly, before he even had a fire. Yet to his own delight
and Peter's astonishment he quickly made a rubbing-stick fire, and
they hung up their wet clothes about it. Then he dug an Indian well
and took lots of time in the preparation, so it was six o'clock before
they began to eat, and seven when finished--evidently too late to move
out even though the rain seemed to be over. So Yan collected firewood,
made a bed of Fir boughs and a windbrea