"If I had a pistol I'd shoot the brutes!"
"That might get us into more trouble. For all we know, we may be on private property. Most likely we are—if there is a house near."
"Wish I was on that flatboat just about now."
"Or the scow."
The boys relapsed into silence, and seeing this, the bloodhounds took positions under the tree and proceeded to make themselves comfortable.
"The imps are going to stay," said Mark, with a deep sigh. "Bob, we are booked for the night."
"Yes, and in the meantime the scow may float further. I don't think she is caught very tightly. A change in the wind, or in the flow of water, may loosen her once more."
"Do you think we can fool the dogs by climbing into the next tree?"
"We can try it, but I don't think it will work."
Without caution they went up to another limb and from this swung themselves gently into the next tree. They had hardly done so when the bloodhounds began to shift also.