“Put that back!” said Henry hastily.  “Put it back, Sol!  Their goods we’ll borrow as fair spoil, but we won’t touch their money.  Put it back and none of us will ever take that bag out again.”

“You’re right, Henry,” said Sol soberly.  “I wouldn’t handle a single coin in that bag thar.  Here she goes right under the bottom o’ everything in this locker, an’ thar she’ll stay.  But, Henry, our gall-yun is the biggest find we ever made in our lives.  I never dreamed o’ travelin’ in sech style an’ comfort down the Mississippi.”

“Do you think it’s going to grow lighter?” asked Henry.

“No,” replied Sol decidedly.  “It’s been a shy kind o’ moon to-night, an’ it’s a gittin’ so much shyer that it’s plumb afraid to show its face.  In three minutes it will hide behind a big cloud that’s edgin’ up over thar, an’ we won’t see it no more to-night.”

“Then we’ll pull down to the edge of the woods and see if the Spaniards have given up the chase.”

“An’ be keerful not to run into any snags or sech like.  We don’t want to wreck a magnificent gall-yun like this when we’ve got her.”

They had been lying in the flooded forest about two hours, and now they pulled very cautiously toward the main stream.  It was a large boat for two men, however strong, to handle, but they got through without colliding with snag or tree trunk, or making any noise that could be heard a dozen yards away.

CHAPTER V

ON THE GREAT RIVER

They remained just within the edge of the forest, but, despite the lack of moonlight, they could see far over the surface of the river.  It seemed to be an absolutely clean sweep of waters, as free from boats as if man had never come, but, after long looking, Henry thought that he could detect a half dozen specks moving southward.  It was only for a moment, and then the specks were gone.

“I’m sure it was the Spanish boats,” said Henry, “and I think they’ve given up the hunt.”

“More’n likely,” said Sol, “an’ I guess it’s about time fur us to pull across an’ pick up Paul an’ Tom an’ Jim.  They’ll wonder what hez become o’ us.  An’ say, Henry, won’t they be s’prised to see us come proudly sailin’ into port in our gran’ big gall-yun, all loaded down with arms an’ supplies an’ treasures that we hev captured?”

Sol spoke in a tone of deep content, and Henry replied in the same tone: 

“If they don’t they’ve changed mightily since we left ’em.”

Both, in truth, were pervaded with satisfaction.  They felt that they had never done a better night’s work.  They had a splendid boat filled with the most useful supplies.  As Sol truthfully said, it was one thing to walk a thousand miles through the woods to New Orleans and another to float down on the current in a comfortable boat.  They had cause for their deep satisfaction.

They pulled with strong, steady strokes across the Mississippi, taking a diagonal course, and they stopped now and then to look for a possible enemy.  But they saw nothing, and at last their boat touched the western shore.  Here Sol uttered their favorite signal, the cry of the wolf, and it was quickly answered from the brush.