It was almost the same as if it was a fellow come to rescue me, as you might say.  It was just because it didn’t belong there, I guess.  Of course, I knew it couldn’t rescue me, but it reminded me of people and that kind of cheered me up a little.  Then I began to think about it.  I remembered what our scoutmaster said about a fellow that’s drowning—­that he can think as long as his head is out of water.  And this was like drowning, only slower.  I was wondering how that spark plug got there.  It’s funny how you’ll think about little things like that even when you’re dying.

One thing sure, no automobile ever went through there, and no motorcycle either.  Maybe a fellow in an airplane might have dropped it, or maybe—­

Then, all of a sudden I began to laugh.  And while I was laughing some water flowed into my mouth.  But I didn’t care, I was feeling so good.  I knew all about the whole thing now, and I felt like kicking myself only my feet were down in all that tangle of marsh.  But what cared I, yo ho—­and a couple of yee hees.

Oh, I was some wise little boy scout then, and I had a scout smile long enough to tie in a couple of bow knots.  That spark plug was thrown out of a motor boat.  I could see that the spark points were bad and somebody threw it away because it wouldn’t work and then put in a new one.  And I knew that already the tide was beginning to come up and that pretty soon there would be a creek here and that I could swim in it.

Cracky, you can’t scare me when it’s a question of swimming, for I wasn’t brought up in a bath tub.  Many’s the time I swam across Black Lake.  Water’s all right, but swamps—­good night!  Maybe if you don’t live near meadow lands you won’t understand how it was.  But when the tide rises twice every twenty—­four hours (you learn that in the Fourth Grade), it makes creeks through the meadows and marshes.  Some of them are deep enough for small motor boats even, only you’ve got to be careful not to stay up one of them too long or you’ll get stuck till the next day.  One time that happened to Ed Sanders that owned we Rascal and he was there all night, and he almost died from poison of the mosquitoes.  Anyway I would have been dead before night when the mosquitoes come out—­that’s one good thing.  I don’t mean it’s one good thing, but anyway you know what I mean.

Pretty soon I could push the swamp grass out of the way and swim a little.  Oh, cracky, I was thankful for that tide I I knew it would keep on coming when it once started ’cause the tide never goes back on you.  Of course it goes back, but you know what I mean.  Sometimes if you’re on a hike and telling time by the sun it’ll go under a cloud.  Or sometimes if you’re lost and following the stars, it’ll cloud up and you can’t see them any more.  And crinkums, a trail will go back on you sometimes.  But the tide is sure.  It’s got to come up, and so I knew it was coming up to rescue me and I knew I was all right as soon as I saw that spark plug.