Jim Hart, after this speech, so long for him, stopped for want of breath, and Shif’less Sol, regarding him with a look of deep sympathy, held out a brown and sinewy hand.

“Jim Hart,” he said, “shake.  I’ll be proud to hev you do it.  You ain’t no beauty, Jim, an’ somehow you an’ me are kinder disputatious now an’ then, but you are lettin’ flow at this minute a solid stream o’ wisdom, a fountain, ez Paul would say in his highfalutin’ way, at which everybody ought to drink.”

Jim Hart also reached out a brown and sinewy hand and the two met in a powerful and friendly clasp.

“I’m like Jim,” continued Shif’less Sol. “’Tain’t what you git that makes you happy, but thar’s a heap in bein’ suited.  I’m glad I’m livin’ when I am, an’ whar I am.  Me an’ things suit each other.  What Paul says may come true, but it won’t bust my heart, ’cause I won’t be here to see it.”

An hour or so later Henry and Sol went through the woods and watched for the Spanish fleet.  They saw it presently moving in single file down the Mississippi, and showing, so far as they could judge, no signs of damage.

“Twas ez we guessed last night it would be, a dogfall,” said Shif’less Sol, “lots o’ noise and not much done.  Now that Injun crowd hez drawed off to the east, an’ I think we’ve seed the last o’ them, while the Spaniards, thinkin’ they’ve had enough o’ excitement, will keep straight on to New Or-lee-yuns.”

“I’ve no doubt you’re right,” said Henry, “and we’ll follow to-night.  We’ll let them take a good start.”

They watched the little fleet until it passed out of sight down the river and then returned to their own boat.  There they devoted the day to further preparations for a long journey.  As game was close at hand in such abundance, they shot two deer and took the meat on board.  They also undertook to provide shelter, as this was the period of the spring rains and they did not wish to be drenched or have their stores damaged.  Fortunately they found a tarpaulin in one of the lockers and, taking this and the two deerskins, they united all in a larger covering which they could spread over nearly the whole boat.  This all considered a highly important task, and they meant to enlarge the tarpaulin still more as they killed more deer.  Meanwhile they let it lie in the sun, in order that the deerskins might dry.

Their tasks occupied them until about 10 o’clock at night and then they decided to start again, thinking that night traveling would be safer for a day or two.  They rowed down the river until they entered the Mississippi, and then they set their sail again.

No other human beings were afloat on the river, at least not within the range of their vision, but there was a plenty of floating trees and other debris brought down by the spring flood.  Careful steering was necessary, but they went on without any accident.  Shif’less Sol, however, gazed up at the moon with an unquiet eye.