en I begin
to catch crabs."

There was a boat in the bayou, and Don and Bert Gordon were in it.
They were so close at hand, too, that flight was impossible.

"I don't think there's much difference between riding on horseback
and rowing in a boat, as far as the work is concerned," said the same
voice. "I've done about all I can do to-day. There don't seem to be
any ducks in the bayou; so we'll stop here and take a breathing spell
before we go back."

"Is thar any place in the wide world a feller could crawl into
without bein' pestered by them two oneasy chaps?" whispered Dan,
jumping up from his block of wood and looking all around, as if he
were seeking a way of escape.

"Not a word out of you," replied Godfrey, shaking his fist at his
son.

Following Godfrey's example, Dan threw himself behind one of the
piles of cane, and the two held their breath and listened.

CHAPTER VII.

WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

"You're not going to get out, are you, Don?" asked Bert, and as he
was not more than four or five rods away, every word he uttered was
distinctly heard by the two listeners in the cane.

"I want to stretch my legs a little," was Don's reply. "Come on, and
let's explore the island. You know it used to be a famous bear's den,
don't you?"

"I should think I ought to know it, having heard father tell the
story of the animal's capture a dozen times or more. He must have
been a monster: he was so large and heavy that it was all a span of
mules could do to drag him from the shore of the lake, where he was
taken out of the boat, up to the house."

"And didn't he make things lively before he was killed, though?" said
Don. "He destroyed nine dogs and wounded two men. I'd like to take
part in a hunt like that."

"Well, I wouldn't. It looks gloomy in the cane, doesn't it? What
would we do if we should find a bear in there?"

"I don't know," answered Don, with a laugh. "Our guns are loaded with
small shot, and they would hardly penetrate a bear's thick skin. If
he should come at us, I'd be a goner, sure, for I am so stiff I
couldn't run to save my life. But I don't think we'll find----Halloo!
Bert, just look here!"

A chorus of exclamations followed, and Godfrey and Dan looked at each
other and scowled fiercely.

"That's my canoe," said Don, and they heard the oars rattle as he
stepped into it.

"There's no doubt about that," said Bert, in surprised and delighted
tones; "but how came it here?"

"That's t