The crew on the boat watched silently as the pair
marched out of sight.
VIII
"Nice boys, those fellows," said Higgins after a while. "I wonder
where they cut throats for a living? Can you make 'em out?"
Roger shook his head.
"I've heard there were a lot of bad men hiding out down here, and,
strange, but I never believed it. Apparently it's true; and it seems
we've stepped right into the midst of them."
"They called Davis a 'snooper.'"
"Well, I'm not worrying about Davis. From what I saw of him he's quite
able to take care of himself."
"I'll say he is. You too. You've come pretty near making pals of the
fellows we were fighting a little while ago."
"That was business. I don't want a whole lot of enemies strung out
along the river between me and civilization."
"Well, it looks as if the captain was honest about the trail at least,"
said Higgins, leaping over a pool of quivering mud. "It's fair, but
not good."
A cotton-mouth water snake, short, thick as a man's arm and
indescribably loathsome, wriggled on top of the mud as Roger prepared
to leap.
"Whoa, boy!" cried Higgins, glancing back. "Stand still while I get a
club." He broke off a thick branch from a custard apple tree.
"My God! what wood!" he exclaimed in disgust.
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