“Good for Eli, then; we can’t get there any too soon to suit me,” declared Davy Jones, who was working a paddle in conjunction with Jim; Allan having done more than his share of the work during various periods in the afternoon just passed.
“Give us half a hour more, and we’ll sure git thar,” said Eli, later on, when the shadows of coming night began to cover the river; and had already swooped down in full force upon the adjacent woods.
They paddled along in silence, except when one of the boys managed to splash in dipping or removing his paddle blade. Those who were new to the work found that they had considerable to learn before they could expect to work as silently as Sebattis, for example. The way the Indian would sent the canoe forward with vigorous thrusts, and yet never removing his paddle from the water, and making no sound whatever, was a never ending source of delight to both Thad and Step Hen. And the latter tried valiantly to imitate his example whenever he took the extra spruce blade in hand.
Finally, when the half hour had about arrived at its conclusion, Eli gave the tired voyagers a pleasant shock by suddenly calling out:
“Land here!”
The three canoes were enabled to find good places to run ashore, by means of Thad’s precious little electric torch, which came in handy in scores of different ways during the Maine expedition, and paid for itself time and again.
Then, first of all, they found where the cabin lay. Eli seemed to know all about it, and claimed to have spent many a night under the shelter of its still fairly well preserved roof; though it had been two years now since last he was here; for on the previous season he took a party along another trail.
Giraffe insisted on starting a little blaze outside. He was always thinking of some excuse for making fires; and in this instance nobody quarreled with him, for they really needed some light in order to unload the canoes, and carry the stuff up to the old cabin.
The door would not go more than half-way shut, but outside of this defect, which was not so very serious, since the wintry blasts had not yet set in, the log cabin seemed to offer a cozy shelter for the night.
Once they got inside, and Giraffe was set to work again, building another fire, this time in the big fireplace, above which yawned the wide-throated chimney.