If he don't, I--"
The young engineer did not wait to hear more, for at that moment he
spied a back door standing partly open. That was where his man had
gone, and without paying any further attention to the irate shopkeeper,
he dashed out through it with Bim at his heels.
Winn searched high and low, with the utmost faithfulness, until he
reached the outskirts of the town, but without finding a trace of the
missing Don Blossom. There was a growth of timber lining the
river-bank, just beyond the houses, and the boy ventured a little way
into this, arguing that a monkey would naturally take to trees. It was
so wet and dripping in the timber that he only remained there a few
minutes; but as he turned to retrace his steps, his attention was
diverted by a new object of interest.
He was on a bank of the river, beside which was moored a raft. It was
a timber raft, with a single large "shanty," that had a strangely
familiar look, standing amidship.
"It isn't the _Venture_, of course," thought Winn; "but I'll just step
aboard and inquire if they have seen anything of a raft with a 'shanty'
and a tent on it. It will save us some time when we get started down
the river again."
So thinking, the boy stepped lightly aboard. His footfalls were
deadened by the wet, so that he gained the forward end of the "shanty"
without attracting attention.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187