nd no difficulty in keeping the channel
until the skiff passed through the chute at the head of Winn's island.
At this point the false channel seemed, in the darkness, to be as wide
and desirable as the true one, and for a minute he was puzzled as to
which he should take. "Not that I suppose it would make any great
difference," he remarked to Bim. "It's about time to tie up, though,
and we want to be sure to do that on the main channel, so as not to
miss a chance of seeing the raft at daylight."

For answer Bim left his seat, ran to the bow of the boat, uttered a
short bark, and fixed his gaze pointedly down-stream.

"A light, as sure as you are a dog of wisdom!" cried Billy Brackett,
looking in the direction thus indicated. "I vow, Bim, your name ought
to be 'Solomon Minerva,' and I must have a 'howl' engraved on your
collar the first chance I get. That is, if you ever arrive at the
dignity of owning any collar besides that old strap. Your light looks
as though it might proceed from a camp-fire, and I reckon it's on the
main channel too. At any rate, we'll pull down there and make
inquiries."

A few minutes later the skiff was run ashore near the beacon blaze that
Winn Caspar had left on the eastern side of the island, and its
occupants were searching the vicinity for those whom Billy Brackett had
so confidently expected to find near it.

"It is very strange," he muttered. "Some one must have built this
fire; but why he did so if he didn't want to camp beside it beats me.
Hello! What's this? Hooray; we are on the right track after all! But
what foolishness is that boy up to? and what can he be doing on this
island? Thirdly, where is the raft? Eh, Bim! You haven't seen a
stray raft round here, have you? No. I thought you would have
mentioned it if you had. So he is on this island is he? and leaves
word that we can find him by following the trail? Perhaps the trail
leads to the raft; but where is the trail? Hello! you've struck it,
have you? Good dog! Here, let me tie this bit of twine to your
collar. There, now you're better than a lantern."

As we all know, the trail upon which Billy Brackett and Bim were thus
started led directly to the log-hut in the forest. When the former
discovered this, he fully expected to find his nephew within. To his
surprise, although a fire smouldered on the hearth, there was no other
sign of human occupancy. Then the young man searched in vain for some
hit of