The fugitive seized him as he dropped, turned him over by a deft and powerful movement of hands, arms and body, and promptly sat down on him, holding his arms down on his breast! Alex was practically helpless, although his assailant was much smaller than himself, and panting, too, from the same long swim—mostly under the reddish brown waters of the river. He was not long, however, in realizing the humor of the situation, for he looked up into the freckled face above him with a grin.
Now, Alex’s grin was an alluring thing! He had conquered enemies with it, and secured more than his share of Christmas presents at free distributions in Chicago, when he was still a little tot. The victorious thief “fell for it,” as he would have expressed it, and gave back one that was very much like it!
“What’s doing?” Alex demanded, in a moment.
“What do you mean by spoiling my breakfast?” demanded the other.
Alex roared as heartily as was possible, considering the restrained position in which he found himself. It was too funny!
“Your breakfast!” Alex exclaimed. “You’ve got your nerve! My breakfast! You’ve got your appetite with you, too, if you ate all you stole through the cabin window! You must have been hungry!”
The stranger bounded off Alex and sat down on the sand, keeping a watchful eye on his late prisoner, however. Alex rose to a sitting position and grinned again. The other took a pancake from his pocket and began eating. Alex looked on and wondered at the appetite!
“Does it taste as mussy as it looks?” he asked, referring to the pancake, which looked like a mass of brown dough dripping with honey and crushed into odd shapes by soiled fingers.
“It tastes like something to eat!” was the reply. “Say, but I was about starved to death when I smelt the pancakes. If I’ll go back on board, will you cook me some more? I’m still hungry!”
“Sure I will,” replied Alex. “What did you run away for?”