"Come!" called the Little Captain to the simple-minded lad, "we will go for help, and soon be back here—if you can guide us."
"Oh, yes, I know the way all over these parts—even in the Everglades."
"Are there Everglades here?" asked Mollie, who had heard much of those strange, floating forests.
"A small patch," answered The Loon, "but not much like the real Everglades. It is a big swampy tract, and the camp is in there."
"A turpentine camp?" asked Grace, filled with sudden hope.
"No, the bosses are getting out a certain kind of wood. Oh! but it is hard work. The wood is partly under water, and the bugs and mosquitoes and alligators are terrible. I ran away, for I couldn't stand it."
"Poor fellow," murmured Amy. "Oh, to think of Tom Osborne and some other young fellow being there."
"Just like my poor brother Will," agreed Grace. "Oh, I wonder if he could be the 'other one' he refers to! Listen," she went on to the simple youth eagerly, "I am going to describe a young man to you. I want you to tell me if he is like the one you once tried to rescue—the time you saved our boat," and she gave a close description of her brother.
"Is the 'other one' like that?" she asked breathlessly.
The Loon shook his head.