breathless. Then they began asking and
answering questions, sometimes by turns and sometimes together, till
they were breathless again.

"How did you come to recognize my voice so quickly?" asked Dick.

"Because I was thinking of you, Dick, and wondering when we could
take the trips we planned in that camp in the North. Now those
wonderful dreams have come true!"

CHAPTER VIII

OLD DREAMS REALIZED

There was a long council around the camp-fire that night, and it was
settled that Ned and Dick were to take the light canoe with their
own stores and start off by themselves on the hunting and exploring
tour of which they had dreamed for years. Johnny was to go on an
alligator hunt with Charley Tommy. Johnny thought the Indian could
stand the work about two months, after which they would go to
Chokoloskee and sell the hides. Ned paid the Indian for his time and
made him a present, in addition, of an outfit of clothing from hat
to shoes, without any objection from Charley. But when Dick came to
settle with Johnny there was trouble. For Johnny refused to take any
pay and said that if Dick paid him for coming to where Ned was he
would have to pay Dick for carrying him to where Charley was. Ned
had to chip in before Johnny could be persuaded to take the pay he
had earned. Ned had a better equipment than Dick and a much larger
lot of stores. These he shared with Johnny, so that the boy was
provided with more luxuries than are often carried on an alligator
hunt.

When the boys were about to start away in the morning, Johnny told
them that Tommy wanted to go to Osceola's camp for a day or two, and
he proposed that the boys come with them. Johnny said that if they
went to the Indian camp with Tommy the Indians would talk and the
boys could learn a lot of Seminole in two or three days, enough to
pull them through in their visits to other camps. The chance was too
good to be lost, and the long, heavy Indian canoe was followed down
the Glades by the light Canadian canoe of the boys.

Ned and Dick were pretty husky youths, and as their canoe didn't
weigh more than one-fourth that of the one just ahead of them, they
thought they were in for a picnic. Very soon they changed their
minds. Sometimes they could paddle, but generally they used their
paddles as poles. They had one oar for pushing, which helped them a
little. A light push sent the canoe forward, but when the push ended
so did the motion. It took a stronger push