“Why, we have just had a whale of a meal,” Thede said. “Do you want to stuff us like they do hens for market?”
“That was just a lunch,” laughed the boy. “A little fish breakfast! Before the trip ends, I want a chance to show what I can do in the cooking line.”
So Rube and Buck went back up the river, while the Rambler turned her prow to the east. Of course Alex and Jule had to have another meal.
“Do you think,” smiled Jule, “that we came on this excursion to go hungry? Not much! When we get farther downstream, where we can get ’coons that are good and fat. I’ll show the gang how to cook one. My mouth waters at the thought!”
As the Rambler proceeded on her way, it was plain to be seen that Alex had something on his mind. He kept more than usually still, and the frown between his eyes grew more marked.
Clay noticed the change in the boy and waited for him to give the reason for it. He knew that in time the answer would come.
It came one night when Alex was on watch. It was a brilliant night in June, and the boy had been unusually thoughtful that day.
“Suppose,” Alex began, “that a man died and left a big fortune—not a few thousands, but millions—and he had only one heir.”
Clay knew that the thing which had been bothering Alex was on the way to the surface, and waited for him to go on.
“And suppose this man had a brother who was greedy for the big fortune, and suppose the brother also died, where would the fortune go until the heir became of age?”