Maurice went back to the town for supplies after they had eaten
breakfast, while Thad took the dinky and paddled up to where the
other boat was tied to enjoy a little more talk with the jolly
owner.

He met Bob's wife, a little woman who seemed to thoroughly enjoy
the strange experience of being a pilgrim half the year.

There were also a couple of boys, one six and the other eight,
sturdy little chaps, who looked like chips of the old block, and
only eager for the time to come when they could put their
shoulders to the wheel and help "dad."

Finally they got away and waved a farewell to this friendly
couple, who had conceived a sudden and abiding interest in the
future of the two young voyagers starting out in the big world to
seek their fortunes.

"We're going to get it in the neck today, I reckon," remarked
Thad; and if his words were lacking in elegance, they certainly
conveyed a proper notion of what he meant to his comrade, for the
air was biting, and the waves dashed up against the starboard side
of the shanty-boat in a way that was suggestive of storm and little
progress.

So it must always be in making a trip down these inland waters,
where one is at the mercy of a capricious current save when a
favorite of fortune chances to own a motor boat that scorns the
usual drifting process, and speeds along at a ten-mile-an-hour