Connorton was frantic. He lost his head completely as he saw the apparent danger of Hartley, and screamed and shouted and swore as his own guide paddled up, to be on hand in case they capsized.
“Make him go splash once more?” suggested Joe, as the other canoe came near.
“No,” returned Hartley, magnanimously. “He has had his bath, and we will not be so cruel as to insist upon another just now.”
“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” screamed Connorton. He had already suffered so much that he felt that he could watch Hartley drown with actual joy; but he could not lose half a million dollars in that spirit.
“Yes, stop it, Joe,” instructed Hartley. “It is time to give him another diversion. Don’t you suppose we could get lost, Joe? He is a rather stout person, and he impresses me as a man who needs exercise. I think he rides in an automobile too much when at home. A nice, long walk through the forest, where it is not too easy going, would do him a world of good; and it might take his mind off business matters if we happened to get lost. Try it, Joe. He’ll follow, for he’s fearful that something may happen to little Willie.”
The Indian made for a portage, and, arriving there, left the canoe on the shore and plunged into the forest.
Connorton and his guide followed, of course. Connorton had great difficulty in following, for a stout man with flabby muscles is at a disadvantage in the forest; but he followed. A man will follow half a million dollars a long, long way and over all sorts of obstructions. And there was plenty to tax temper, muscle, and wind. Joe saw to that. Joe was glad to see to it; he would willingly have seen to it without pay, and might even have paid for the privilege of seeing to it, if that were necessary.
“Better get lost now, Joe,” Hartley finally suggested.
Joe immediately began to show signs of bewilderment. He stopped and looked about him anxiously. He started in one direction, retraced his steps, and tried another. He came back a second time and made another new start.
Connorton’s guide, Jim, interpreted this correctly without half trying. He knew that he was not lost, that he could not possibly be lost in that locality, but that he was going through all the motions of being lost. There was, therefore, some reason for it. Jim may or may not have guessed the reason, but he played up to Joe’s lead.