and the camp at the foot of the Ozarks, and that,
according to the friendly red men who occasionally visited them, he
believed that the nearest lodge lay nearly two hundred miles to the
north-west of Greville. It was this fact that gave the Hunters of the
Ozark so much confidence in themselves when they went on their long
hunts, though, as you have learned, danger did sometimes come from the
wandering Indians, the father of Terry Clark having lost his life at
their hands.

All this being known to the boys, they had cause to wonder how it was
that an Indian canoe lay hidden under the bushes on the shore. None of
those people would go to the trouble of making such a boat, unless he
expected to use it many times. It would be the same as if you had a
costly rowboat constructed with which to cross only once a canal or
small stream of water.

But, as in many other cases, it was idle to speculate, and the boys did
not allow any feeling of surprise to rob them of the valuable minutes.
Finding no paddle with which to manage the boat, Fred cut a small
sapling and trimmed it so that he had a pole fully twenty feet long.
Then the guns were laid in the bottom, Terry took his seat, and they
carefully pushed from shore, Fred managing the pole.

As they suspected, the water was quite shallow, the depth nowhere being
more than three or four feet; but the current was rapid, and in some
places the bottom of the canoe grated over the gravel. Both had to move
well to the stern to raise the bow, so as to allow them to reach land
with dry feet.

"It's a pity to allow this to float off and be lost," said Fred; "let's
draw it up the bank where the owner won't have any trouble in finding
it."

"I would give a good deal if I could be introduced to that same
gintleman," remarked Terry, who took off his cap and scratched his head
as he added:

"I wonder whither that is one of the canoes from near home?"

"What are you talking about? How could it get _here_?"

"By some subterranean communication, the same as we boys used to sind
notes to the gurls whin I was laarnin' the higher mathematics in
college."

Fred made no comment upon the remark of his friend. The canoe, when
relieved of their weight, was so light that the bow was pulled to the
shore by means of the pole. Then Fred alone drew it up beyond the reach
of the water, and it was left until the owner should come forward to
claim it.

The two now set out to hunt for the trail, with