Both men looked at the boy curiously.
“Well, my name’s Harrison,” said the man in the punt. “This is Dan McLeod, my guide. Is there anybody at your ranch?”
“I’m there,” Tom assured him, growing somehow uneasy.
“Yes, but your father? Or any of the rest?”
“Why, they’re all away for a while,” Tom explained cautiously. “The house got burned, you see.”
“And in the meantime you’re holding down their homestead for them?”
“I surely am,” said Tom firmly. “Sorry I missed you the other day. Are you on a fishing trip yourself, or—what?” with a curious glance at the glass-bottomed boat.
Harrison laughed.
“Want to see? Take a look, then.”
Tom leaned over and tried to look, finally getting into the punt and putting his face close to the glass plate. The water, though deep, was extremely clear, and the stones and sunken logs could be seen distinctly on the floor of the lake.