"How long will it take you, captain?" asked Jim, "to get back to the plateau?"
"I shall make quick time and use the cutoffs," answered the captain. "It won't be much over a week before I am sitting in the armchair, with my feet on the table reading a book, or looking down the canyon from my open door."
"And we will be gliding down the placid Colorado about that time," laughed Jim, "with Tom and Jo serenading the Indian maidens on the banks as we go drifting by."
"It's a beautiful picture," the captain smiled gravely, "but in reality I see you bailing out your boat and dodging rocks and Indian missiles."
"That's about it," I assented. "By the way, you won't forget to mail our letters home, at the settlement, captain."
"Not I," replied the captain. "It will be good news for them to hear that you have arrived so far in safety."
"We never make much of our little adventures," remarked Jim, "when we write home. We want to keep them feeling cheerful."
"That's right," returned the captain. "Now it is time for you to start, the sun will soon be up. Good-bye and the best of luck to you."
He shook hands with each of us and there was the strength of friendship in his grip.
"Good bye," we called.