"Let's hurry back, then," he said, breaking the silence, "so they won't know what we tried to do."
The run to the boat landing and back, a distance of little more than two hundred yards, had scarcely consumed five minutes, and the four spectators were again on the scene of the fight before the combatants had noticed their absence. They were just in time to see Sweet Jackson strike the ground heavily beneath the weight of his antagonist, who now partly rose, placing his knee upon the breast of the vanquished.
"You got enough?" shouted Buck. "If you ain't, say so, and I'll give you a whole bellyful."
Sweet said nothing, but ceased to struggle, whereupon Buck let go his hold and rose.
"I'll git even with you yet, Buck Hardy," declared the defeated man with black looks after he had painfully gathered himself up and was limping off into the woods.
The victor disdained a retort, and, turning, walked back to the camp, where he was followed by the boys and the negro. At the noon hour Sweet Jackson had not reappeared and it was evident that the work on his "permeter" shelter would not be resumed that day.
Assured of this by the time dinner had been served and his subsequent work about the camp had been finished, July proposed a job of another kind.
"Mr. Hardy," he said, "kin I take Cap'n Ted wid me to build dat turkey pen dis evenin' an' lef' Hubut yuh to play wid Billy?"
"Sure—if he wants to go," consented Buck. "I think I'll take 'em both on a deer hunt tomorrow."
On their way to the selected site of the turkey pen, about half a mile away in the pine woods near the border of the swamp, July broke a brief silence as follows: