Snap was right; it was indeed the youthful circus performer. He looked as thin as ever, but his face bore a far more healthy color than when the young hunters had seen him before.
"I say, what do you mean by running off with our boat?" repeated the doctor's son wrathfully.
"Is this your boat?" asked the circus boy calmly.
"It is."
"I didn't run off with it. I found it drifting along the shore, and I took off my shoes and socks and waded in after it."
"You didn't run off with it?" asked Snap.
"I give you my word of honor," replied the boy quickly. He ran the boat to shore and stepped out. "If it's your property, I'm glad to hand it over to you. I—-Say, didn't I see you somewhere before?" he demanded excitedly.
I rather guess you did—-at the circus, replied Shep.
"Oh! You were the fellows who—-who talked to Jones, the ringmaster."
"Exactly. And you're the chap who ran away."