launch, but if he had wronged her he should die--he should

die at my own hands; in this I was determined.

For two days we followed the river northward, cutting off

where we could, but confined for the most part to the game

trails that paralleled the stream. One afternoon, we cut

across a narrow neck of land that saved us many miles, where

the river wound to the west and back again.

Here we decided to halt, for we had had a hard day of it,

and, if the truth were known, I think that we had all given

up hope of overtaking the launch other than by the merest

accident.

We had shot a deer just before our halt, and, as Taylor and

Delcarte were preparing it, I walked down to the water to

fill our canteens. I had just finished, and was

straightening up, when something floating around a bend

above me caught my eye. For a moment I could not believe

the testimony of my own senses. It was a boat.

I shouted to Delcarte and Taylor, who came running to my

side.

"The launch!" cried Delcarte; and, indeed, it was the

launch, floating down-river from above us. Where had it

been? How had we passed it? And how were we to reach it

now, should Snider and the girl discover us?

"It's drifting," said Taylor. "I see no one in it."

I was stripping off my clothes, and Delcarte soon followed

my example. I told Taylor to remain on shore with the

clothing and rifles. He might also serve us better there,

since it would give him an opportunity to take a shot at

Snider should the man discover us and show himself.

With powerful strokes we swam out in the path of the

oncoming launch. Being a stronger swimmer than Delcarte, I

soon was far in the lead, reaching the center of the channel

just as the launch bore down upon me. It was drifting

broadside on. I seized the gunwale and raised myself

quickly, so that my chin topped the side. I expected a blow

the moment that I came within the view of the occupants, but