his thing is getting monotonous, and I hope it won't happen again,"
remarked Ned finally, in a very grave voice. "If you fellows had
listened to me this morning we would be sound asleep this minute in some
place down the creek, instead of floating here in the dark with a forced
paddle of ten miles ahead of us."

"It's hard luck, that's a fact," muttered Clay.

"No luck about it," retorted Ned. "It's pure recklessness, and Randy is
chiefly to blame."

"No more than the rest of you," growled Randy. "I wasn't the only one
that wanted to stay."

"I don't mean that," said Ned, "though of course the trouble began
there. I refer to your foolish act a little while ago. If you hadn't
fired that salt cartridge the men would have gone quietly away, and we
could have remained where we were until morning. Now you have made a
bitter enemy, and if he don't give us future annoyance it will only be
through the intercession of Batters' brother--provided he has enough
influence over his companion.

"I feel glad in one way that we stayed. Batters and Joe are good hearted
fellows, if they _are_ rough on the outside, and it was a pleasure to
become acquainted with them. I hope their brother Bug will turn over a
new leaf some day, and be allowed to go home.

"But that wasn't what I started in to talk about," resumed Ned after a
brief pause. "The fact is, Randy, that you must be more careful in
future. You have been to blame for every one of our scrapes so far, and
if you intend to keep this up we may as well abandon the cruise and go
home. This is the second warning I've had to give you. The other one
don't seem to have done much good."

"I think you are getting pretty meddlesome, Ned Chapman," exclaimed
Randy in a sullen tone; "when I want any advice from you I'll ask for
it."

"Don't give way to your temper, now," returned Ned quietly, "I'm talking
for the common good, and you know it in your heart."

"Ned's right," exclaimed Clay. "This cruise has been a chapter of
misadventures from the start, and every one of them lies at your door."

Randy drove his paddle into the water with furious strokes, and was soon
a dozen yards ahead of his companions.

"I'll give you fellows a chance to get out of the dumps," he called back
angrily. "I hope you'll be in a better humor when we meet again."

Then he drove the canoe forward so rapidly that the dip of the paddle
was soon faint in the distance.

"Let him go," said Ned. "He can't come