“Good enough,” said Dick, the more loquacious of the pair. “Look for us at tomorrow’s camp.”
Supplied with bacon and a little flour sufficient for a meal or two, guns at the trail, the pair struck swiftly on the back trail, disappeared among the trees at the bend and were gone from sight.
“All right, boys,” said Farnum. “Let’s get going. Can you manage your canoe all right by yourselves?”
Mr. Hampton laughed.
“I think they can scrape along, Farnum,” he said. “Probably we’ll be asking one of them to help us before long. Well, come on.”
Paddles dipped into the stream once more, the canoes shot away, and, with Farnum leading to set the course, the boys fell in behind. In the leading canoe, as the two men settled down to the stroke a low-voiced conversation began that lasted a long time. What Mr. Hampton and Farnum were saying could not be heard, for the gap between the two canoes, though not great, was considerable. Moreover, they spoke in low tones. But the boys sensed an undercurrent of anxiety felt by both the older men. As for themselves, however, they were not worried. On the contrary, the excitement of finding themselves trailed had brightened them wonderfully.
“Old expedition was getting too monotonous, anyway,” said Bob presently.
“Oh, I suppose you’ll want to challenge the best Indian wrestler now, won’t you?” said Jack, in a tone of mock seriousness.
“Yes, Bob, why didn’t you go back with Dick and Art and send in your challenge?” asked Frank, in the same jollying manner. “You know you haven’t been in a match with anybody for some time. Here was your chance, and you went and let it slip away from you. But, don’t worry, perhaps the Indians will return. Who knows? You may even have a chance to exchange courtesies with no less a personage than Lupo the Wolf himself.”
The big fellow grinned, but made no reply. And so the two canoes swept on between the low banks of the stream, one weighted with anxiety, the other filled with light-heartedness. The boys were not simpletons. They realized, indeed, that they were in a precarious situation. They were deep in the far northern wilderness. An enemy of superior numbers dogged their heels. In all that vast country, was none to whom they could look for help. But, for all that, they saw no occasion to worry. It was not the first time in which they found themselves in a ticklish situation. They had come unscathed out of other perils, even winning some honor in the encounter. They would do the same again. Thus they put the matter to themselves.