The tired grasses in the marsh were bent and gray. Among their dull masses the current of the open stream crept in a maze of silvery lines, that wound back in many retreating loops, and then moved slowly on, seemingly reluctant to enter into the oblivion of the depths beyond the passage through the dunes.
Wedges of wild geese trailed across the great clouds—valiant voyagers along the unseen paths of the sky. In the darkness their turbulent cries came out of the regions of the upper air, faint echoes of the Song of Life from the vault of the Infinite.
“Them winds ’as got an edge on ’em. I guess we gotta git out o’ here, Bill,” declared Sipes, as he warmed his numbed hands before the fire. “The news o’ that jool’ll git ’round, an’ the fust thing we know this country’ll be full o’ robbers. They’ll swipe it, an’ you an’ me’ll ’ave to work the rest of our lives, an’ mebbe eat carps, instid o’ set’n’ on soft cushions an’ smok’n’. The clams is ’bout all cleaned out an’ we got a fort’n’. Wot’s the use o’ try’n’ to grab it all? We got plenty to last us, an’ we can’t take no cash-money to the graveyard with us. We’ll git hold o’ that onion-skinnin’ feller, an’ mebbe ’e c’n peel some o’ them other jools, an’ make ’em wuth a lot more.
“We c’n do anything we want to now. Mebbe we’ll buy a big red church fer Holy Zeke, so ’e c’n git in it an’ spout damnation up the chimbly all by ’imself, an’ not come ’round us. I wonder wot that ol’ cuss is doin’ nowdays? Anyway, we’ll buy ’im a new hard hat, an’ a ticket that’ll carry ’im way off.”
The pearls were carefully concealed on the Crawfish. The sail, which had done duty as a shelter on shore, was put back in its place, and everything was snugly stowed on board. The boat that Narcissus had borrowed “offen Cap’n Peppehs” was attached, with my own, to the stern of the larger craft, and we were ready to push out into the current, when we saw Spotty contemplating us with mild eyes from among the trees.
“Gosh! I gotta bid that ol’ girl good-by,” exclaimed Sipes, as he seized a pail and nimbly hopped ashore. When he returned the homeward voyage began.
We threaded the sinuous channel for hours before we came to the sand-hills.
“This big dump’s full o’ jools,” remarked Sipes, as he indicated the marsh with a broad sweep of his hand. “Next year we’ll come down ’ere an’ bag the whole bunch.”
Narcissus, who had stuck by us faithfully, was anxious to go and spend the winter at the fish shanty. The old men were immensely pleased both with him and his cooking, and cheerfully consented.
The current took us through the hills, and we tied up at the dilapidated pier. We were out of tobacco, and other small necessities, and needed some gasoline, as Sipes wanted to “tune up” the motor, in case we found no wind on the lake. Narcissus was provided with a list, some funds, and the gasoline can, and he went ashore. Sipes considered that he was perfectly reliable up to five dollars in prohibition territory. We saw him swinging his can gayly, as he walked up the little path that led to the village and disappeared around a bend. We had had a wonderful trip, and everybody was in high spirits.