ok here, and see me turn up the mark of this log."

Marco watched the log, as it slowly revolved, until presently there came
a sort of hieroglyphical mark upon one end, made by crosses and lines
cut into the wood.

"Every owner has his particular mark," said the millman.

"Whose mark is that?" asked Marco.

"I don't know," said the man, "but they know at the mill. They have a
register of them all at the mill."

"I wish I could turn over a log, standing on it, in that way," said
Marco.

"You couldn't," said the millman. "The only way by which you can sail
safely on logs, would be to put two together, and make a sort of raft."

"How?" asked Marco.

"By nailing short pieces of boards across from one log to another. Then
they would not roll."

"Well," said Marco, "if I could only get a hammer and some nails."

The millman told him that perhaps they would let him have a hammer and
some nails at the mill; and Marco, accordingly, went up to inquire. They
told him they had a hammer, but they had no nails to spare. So Marco
failed of getting the means of making a raft. He forgot to go back to
the millman to get the rest of his story, but, instead of it, he rambled
down the bank of the river, until he came to a place where there was an
old fence, which had fallen down, and the nails were sticking out of the
boards. He now wished that he had borrowed the hammer at the mill, and
he tried to persuade a boy, who was standing there, to go and borrow it
for him.

The boy told him that a stone would do very well for a hammer.

"So it will," said Marco; "find me a good one, and bring it to this old
fence."

The boy brought Marco a stone, and Marco began to knock out the nails.
Very soon, however, he set the boy at work upon the nails, while he went
in pursuit of some short boards, to nail across from one log to the
other. He found some, which he thought would answer, without much
difficulty, and collected them together near the logs; and, soon
afterwards, the boy brought him the nails.

The logs were lying side by side, with two ends resting upon the shore,
the two other ends being out towards the stream. Marco concluded to nail
first the two ends which were towards the shore, they being nearest, and
being also more steady than the others. He accordingly laid one of his
short pieces across, and nailed it as well as he could, using the stone
for a hammer.

"Now," said he to the boy, "I'll put another board across at the