Coming to the small wide waters, halfway between Tutter and Ashton, we anchored the scow close to the right-hand wooded shore, putting out the required lights. Then we turned in.
Just before I dozed off I heard a fish flop close to the boat. It must have been a big carp. Then a screech owl settled on a limb directly over the boat and told us, in mournful, plaintive hoots, what it thought of us. There were thousands of fireflies in the air. The night was wonderfully still. I filled my lungs with the cool air. Wouldn’t it be fine, I thought, if I could always live like this, and never again had to sleep in a bed in a stuffy bedroom?
Peg was the first one up the following morning. We heard him give a yell, which was followed by a loud splash. [[74]]
“Come on in, you sleepy-eyed bums,” he shrieked, splashing around in the water.
“Next!” I shouted, skinning out of my underwear. Losing my balance, I bumped against Red. We both went rolling.
“Let’s get Scoop,” he whispered. So, in this scheme, we kept rolling until we bumped against the leader. Jumping up, we threw a blanket over the tricked one’s head. While he was fighting the blanket, to free himself, we ran and jumped into the canal, giving him the horselaugh.
“I’ll get even with you fellows to-morrow morning,” he told us from the deck.
“Jump in,” we cried. “If you don’t, we’ll come there and throw you in.”
“I’m after the red-headed engineer,” the leader cried, and leaping, he struck the water a few feet from where the chased one was frantically scrambling up the bank. Red managed to get out of the canal before his pursuer could touch him, and racing along the tow path he made a flying dive. Scoop was close behind him. Pretty soon the two of them came to the surface, sputtering and splashing.
“Here he is, fellows,” Scoop panted, hanging to the prisoner by the hair. “I’ve captured the engineer.” [[75]]