"So you went over to the pond for him?"
"Yes, it wouldn't take me so very much longer, an' it was earnin' two dollars mighty easy."
"But what about the telegram?"
"Oh, that's all right. He offered to carry it to the village for me, an' to pay the charges out of his own pocket, though it was to be taken from what he owed me when I got back."
"And you gave it to him?" Jet asked, his face growing very pale.
"Yes, it would get there jest the same, an' I'd be helpin' buy the grub," Jim replied, in a matter-of-fact tone, wholly unconscious of the black looks Jet was bestowing upon him. "I couldn't find anybody 'round the pond, an' I reckon the party must have come that very day, for when I got back to the village the man wasn't there; but I'll have the money when he finishes the job."
"Did you ask the telegraph operator if the message had been sent?"
"No; what was the use of that so long as he'd promised to fix everything? But say," Jim cried, suddenly, as he looked toward the water's edge, "where's the boat?"
"Your friend, the Raquette Lake guide borrowed her this morning."
"So he's been here, eh? Did he say anything about meetin' me?"