When he related how the boat had been stolen from him, the Indians looked at each other, and each of them gave a grunt.
“Big thieves! big thieves!” said one. “Come down on river and steal boat. Very bad thieves, them!”
The other one nodded.
“Bad thieves! bad thieves!” he said.
Chap now asked the Indians where they supposed the two fellows would take the boat.
“Go up river back here,” said the Indian who did the most talking. “Think you won’t find ’em and go home. Then they shoot ’gators and have fun.”
“But why should they take our boat?” asked Chap. “They have one of their own.”
“P’raps she leak. Yours good boat,” said the other. “But some men bad, nobody knows why.”
To this piece of philosophy the other nodded assent, and then, for a few minutes, the two talked together in their own language.
These men were Seminole Indians, belonging to the remnant of the powerful tribe which once waged war against the United States and Florida. But the Seminoles who may now occasionally be met in the lower part of the State are generally quiet and peaceable, and glad enough to sell some venison or other game to the sportsmen or tourists they may meet in the forests or on the rivers in the unsettled portions of the State.