"Certainly," was the calm reply. "It is the only market for timber
rafts that I know of south of St. Louis, and as we can't go back, we
are bound to go ahead. So, as I was saying when rudely interrupted,
both you and we want to go to New Orleans. You have no money--real
money, I mean--with which to get there, and we need at least two extra
pair of hands to help us get this raft there. So why not ship your
stuff on board here, and help us navigate this craft to our common
destination?"
"Do you truly mean it, Billy Brackett?"
"I truly mean it. And if you are willing to go as raftmates with us--"
"Are we willing? Well, I should smile! Are we willing? Why, Billy
Brackett, we'd rather go to New Orleans as raftmates with you and Winn
Caspar than to do anything else in the whole world just at present.
Eh, 'Grip'?"
"Well, rather!" answered Binney Gibbs.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE "RIVER-TRADERS" ATTEMPT TO REGAIN POSSESSION.
So it was settled that the three who had been campmates together on the
plains should now, with Winn Caspar to complete the quartet, become
raftmates on a voyage of nearly a thousand miles down the great river.
It is hard to say which of the four was happiest during the busy day
that followed the making of this arrangement. Winn was overjoyed at
recovering the raft lost through his over-confidence in his own wisdom,
and at the prospect of taking a trip so much longer than he had
anticipated at the outset.
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