"Conceit's good for the consumption, Neddy. What do you want to bet on finding that river in an hour?"
"I'll eat my hat if we don't find it in a quarter of a mile. I won't bet on the time, because at the rate you're working it may take three weeks to get there."
"Ned, you're a wizard, for there is the river."
The river flowed gently between high banks, densely wooded. The waters were alive with fish, and long-legged wading birds of the heron family stalked over the shallows in the stream. An hour's paddling brought the canoe to the mouth of the river, where camp was made. The water beside the camp was fresh, but the salt-water bays spread out for miles before them.
"Everything is easy now," said Ned. "These bays are in the Ten Thousand Islands and lead to the head waters of the rivers of the coast. We may get tangled up in these keys, aground on the flats or cornered up in some of the bays and perhaps lose a few days, but we're safe to get out without hard work or trouble of any kind."
CHAPTER XX
DICK'S FIGHT WITH A PANTHER
"I've always noticed, Ned, that when everything looks simple and easy, it is a good time to expect trouble."
"Not this time, Dick."