“You’re both mistook. I could put out that pipe with a mouthful of tobacco juice.”
“Impossible! they must have been within a dozen feet of us—not a bit more.”
“And they wan’t neither. Didn’t you see the canoe?”
“I never once caught sight of it!”
“I seen it as it went by.”
“What a narrow escape!” exclaimed McGowan, appreciating the great danger which had passed them so closely.
“How did you know they were coming?” inquired Stoddard.
“I hear the noise of their paddles.”
“You have sharper ears than any of us if that is the case.”
“Not at all; I expected maybe there was something up, so I jest let my ear drop below the surface, and then heard the paddles. You could have done the same if you only thought of it.”