The lumber was taken on board, the canoe unloaded and laid on the deck of the sloop, the sails reefed and with her skiff drawn close up under her stern the craft was soon flying down the coast.  When she reached the river the reefs were shaken out and in little more than an hour anchor was dropped beside the manatee cove.  It was nearly dark and work was to begin the next morning, but all hands wanted a look at the little manatee.  The fisherman and his son went in their own skiff while Ned and Dick led the way in the canoe.

“Now I’ll show you something worth seeing,” said Ned, as he took hold of the end of the line and pulled it all easily in.  As Ned sat looking at the broken end of the line, half stupefied by the greatness of his surprise, the fisherman laughed and said: 

“That sure was worth seem’, ’nd I reckon I’ve saved you five dollars by not makin’ that box till I got here ’nd saw the critter.”

“I’ll keep the contract.  It isn’t your fault that the manatee has got away.”

“No, I reckon ‘twan’t anybody’s fault, much.  All I want out o’ you is four dollars for one day’s work,” and the fisherman laughed again, adding a moment afterward: 

“I’m ’most ashamed to take that much, but I reckon the joke’s been wuth it ter you.”

Ned paid the four dollars and the boys paddled back to their old camp for the night.  On the way back Ned stopped paddling, and turning back, said to Dick: 

“Did that old fellow mean that he didn’t believe we had caught a manatee at all?”

“If I thought he did, I’d go back and punch his head.”

“No, you wouldn’t.  He isn’t to blame.  He only thought what everybody who hears of it and don’t know us will think.  I hope he won’t tell about it in Myers, so that it will get to Dad’s ears.”

“I shouldn’t think you’d care for that,” said Dick.

“Well, Dad enjoys a joke and I would likely hear of ‘Ned’s manatee’ pretty frequent for some time.”

CHAPTER X

HARPOONING FROM A CANOE

Do you want to go for any more manatees?” asked Dick, the next morning.

“Guess not.  We’re pretty well acquainted with the critters already and if we tackled another it would likely be a bigger one, and the sample we had was about all we could manage.  But the bay here is full of big fish.  Suppose we get out the little harpoon and pick up some drum-fish, channel-bass or a whip-ray?”

When the boys started out for a day of harpooning, Dick sat high up on the stern of the canoe with the paddle, while Ned stood in the bow with the harpoon.

“Hadn’t you better sit down in the bottom of the canoe to paddle?  The canoe feels wobbly to me,” said Ned.

“What’s the matter with your nerves, Neddy?  I’m not going to capsize you.  S’pose I practiced half a day with that papoose for nothing?”

“Most of that practice was swimming, wasn’t it?  I don’t want any of that in mine to-day.”