"
Milton looked long at Enoch's tired face; then he lifted himself on one
elbow.
"All right, Judge, I'm through belly-aching! We'll put it through
somehow and if I have decent luck, early Spring will see me right here,
beginning where I left off. After all, Powell had to take two trials
at it."
"That's more like you, Milton! Is that dawn breaking yonder?"
"Yes," replied Milton. "Keep your ear and eye out for any sort of
critters in this little spot, Judge."
But, though Enoch, and the others, when he had roused them, beat the
tiny blind alley thoroughly, not so much as a cottontail reward their
efforts.
"Curious!" grumbled Enoch, "up at Mack's camp where we really needed
nothing, I found all the game in the world. The perversity of nature
is incomprehensible. Even the fish have left this part of the river,"
as Jonas with a sigh of discouragement tossed his improvised fishing
tackle into the fire.
Agnew pulled his belt a notch tighter. His brown face was beginning to
look sagged and lined. "Well," cheerfully, "there are some advantages
in being fat. I've still several days to go before I reach your's and
Jonas' state of slats, Judge."
"Don't get sot up about it, Ag," returned Enoch. "You look a good deal
like a collapsed balloon, you know! Shall we launch the good ship Ida,
fellows?"
"She ain't anything to what the Na-che was," sighed Jonas, "but she's
pretty good at that.
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