Thus they bickered endlessly to pass the time.
Suddenly the door opened and a stranger entered, a white man.
As a rule, the slightest disturbance of their routine was heralded in advance by "moccasin telegraph," and this was like a bolt from the blue. Mahooley's chair came to the floor with a thump.
"Well, I'm damned!" he said, staring.
Stiffy came quickly out of his little box to see what was up.
"How are you?" began the stranger youth diffidently.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Mahooley.
"Sam Gladding."
"Is the York boat in? Nobody told me."
"No, I walked around the lake."