ves, and then walk home; and the
reason that Piccolo ought to hook the boat Friday night was that they
could have all Saturday to get back, when there was no school.

If the boat went two miles an hour, which she always did, even if she was
loaded with stone from Piccolo's father's quarry, she would be fifteen
miles from the Boy's Town by daybreak; and if they kept on travelling
night and day, and Pony drove the horse part of the time, they could reach
the Indian reservation Monday evening, for they would not want to travel
Sunday, because it was against the law, and it was wicked, anyway. If they
travelled on Sunday, and a storm came up, just as likely as not the boat
would get struck by lightning, and if it did, the lightning would run out
along the rope and kill the horse and Piccolo, too, if he was riding. But
the way for Piccolo to do was always to come aboard when it began to
rain, and that would keep Pony company a little, and they could make the
horse go by throwing stones at him.

Pony and Piccolo ought to keep together as much as they could, especially
at night, so that if there were robbers, they could defend the boat
better. Of course, they could not make the horse go by throwing stones at
him in the dark, and the way for them to do was for Pony to get out and
ride behind Piccolo. Besides making it safer against robbers, they could
keep each other from going to sleep by talking, or else telling stories;
or if one of them did doze off, the other could hold him on; and they must
take turn about sleeping in the daytime.

But the best way of all to scare the robbers was to have a pistol, and
fire it off every little once in a while, so as to let them know that the
boat was armed. One of the fellows that had a pistol said he would lend it
to Pony if Pony would be sure to send it back from the reservation by
Piccolo, for he should want it himself on the Fourth, which was coming in
about three weeks. Another fellow that had five cents, which he was saving
up till he could get ten, to buy a pack of shooting-crackers, said he
would lend it to Pony to buy powder, if he only felt sure that he could
get it back to him in time. All the other fellows said he could do it
easily, but they did not say how; one of them offered to go and get the
powder at once, so as to have it ready.

But Pony told him it would not be of any use, for he had promised his
mother that he would not touch a pistol or powder before the Fourth. No