“I kin go another day,” said the trapper. “There hain’t no hurry.”
“But you’re well on your way there now,” Penny remarked. “How long would it take to go and return here—that is, if you went alone?”
“Two hours if I made it fast.”
“Then why not go?” Penny urged generously. “Isn’t there somewhere Louise and I could wait?”
“Without a boat?” Louise interposed in alarm.
“I hain’t suggestin’ ye do it,” said the old trapper. “But there is a safe place ye could wait.”
“Where?” asked Penny.
“On the plank walk.”
“Does it extend so far into the swamp?”
“This is a section of an old walk that was put in years ago,” Joe explained. “It used to hook up with the planking at the entranceway, but it went to pieces. Folks never went to the trouble to rebuild this section.”