CHAPTER XXVII.
IN THE EVERGLADES.
"Gone!"
"Disappeared!"
The exclamations came from Frank and Professor Scotch.
Barney's chuckle changed to a shiver, and his teeth chattered.
"Th' Ould B'y's in it!" he chatteringly declared.
"The Old Boy must have been in that canoe," agreed the professor.
Frank was puzzled and disappointed. He still refused to believe therewas anything supernatural about the mysterious, white canoe, but he wasforced to acknowledge to himself that the craft had done most amazingthings.
"It simply slipped into some branch waterway while we were not looking,"he said, speaking calmly, as if it were the most commonplace thingimaginable.
"Well, it's gone," said Scotch, as if greatly relieved. "Now, let's getout of this in a great hurry."
"I am for going back to see what has become of the white canoe," saidFrank, with deliberate intent to make his companions squirm.
Barney and the professor raised a perfect howl of protest.
"Never!" shouted Scotch, nearly upsetting the boat in his excitement,and wildly flourishing his arms in the air.
"Nivver!" squealed the Irish lad. "Oi'll joomp overboard an' swim out avthis before Oi'll go back!"
Frank laughed.
"You are most amusing," he declared. "I suppose I'll have to give in toyou, as you are two to one."
"Come on," fluttered the professor; "let's be moving."
So Frank put down the rifle, and picked up his paddle, and they resumedtheir effort to get out of the swamp before nightfall.
But the afternoon was well advanced, and night was much nearer than theyhad thought, as they were soon to discover.
At last, Barney cried:
"Oi see loight enough ahead! We must be near out av th' woods."
Frank said nothing. For a long time he had been certain they were on thewrong course, but he hoped it would bring them out somewhere. He hadnoted the light that indicated they were soon to reach the terminationof the cypress swamp, but he held his enthusiasm in check till he couldbe sure they had come out somewhere near where they had entered thedismal region.
Professor Scotch grew enthusiastic immediately.
"Ha!" he cried, punching Frank in the back. "What do you think now,young man? Do you mean to say that we don't know our business? What ifwe had accepted your way of getting out of the swamp! We'd been in therenow, sir."
"Don't crow till you're out of the woods," advised Frank.
"Begobs! Oi belave he'd be plazed av we didn't get out at all, at all!"exclaimed Barney, somewhat touched.
In a short time they came to the termination of the cypress woods, but,to the surprise of Barney and the professor, the swamp, overgrown withtall rushes and reed-grass, continued, with the water course windingaway through it.
"Pwhat th' ould boy does this mane?" cried the Irish lad.
"It means," said Frank, coolly, "that we have reached the Everglades."
"Th' Ivirglades? Well, pwhat do we want iv thim, Oi dunno?"
"They are one of the sights of Florida, Barney."
"It's soights enough I've seen alreddy. Oi'd loike ter git out av this."
"I knew you wouldn't get out this way, for we have not passed therookeries of the herons, as you must remember."
"That's true," sighed the professor, dejectedly. "I hadn't thought ofthat. What can we do, boys?"
"Turn about, and retrace our steps," said Frank.
But Barney and the professor raised a vigorous protest.
"Nivver a bit will yez get me inther thot swamp again th' doay!" shoutedthe Irish lad, in a most decisive manner.
"If we go back, we'll not be able to get out before darkness comes on,and we'll have to spend the night in the swamp," said Scotch, excitedly."I can't do that."
"Well, what do you propose to do?" asked Frank, quietly. "I don't seemto have anything to say in this matter. You are running it to suityourselves."
They were undecided, but one thing was certain; they would not go backinto the swamp. The white canoe was there, and the professor and theIrish lad did not care to see that again.
"Whoy not go on, Frankie?" asked Barney. "We're out av th' woods, an',by follyin' this strame, we ought to get out av th' Iverglades."
"What do you say, professor?" asked Frank, who was rather enjoying theadventure, although he did not fancy the idea of spending a night on themarsh.
"Go on--by all means, go on!" roared the little man.
"Go on, it is, then. We'll proceed to explore the Everglades in companywith Professor Scotch, the noted scientist and daring adventurer. Goahead!"
So they pushed onward into the Everglades, while the sun sank lower andlower, finally dropping beneath the horizon.
Night was coming on, and they were in the heart of the FloridaEverglades!
The situation was far from pleasant.
Barney and the professor fell to growling at each other, and they keptit up while Frank smiled and remained silent.
At length, Scotch took in his paddle in disgust, groaning:
"We're lost!"
"I am inclined to think so myself," admitted Frank, cheerfully.
"Well, who's to blame, Oi'd loike to know?" cried the Irish lad.
"You are!" roared the professor, like a wounded lion.
"G'wan wid yez!" exploded Barney. "It's yersilf thot is to blame!Frankie wanted to go the other woay, but ye said no."
"Me! me! me!" howled the professor. "Did I? You were the one! Youinsisted that this was the proper course to pursue! You are to blame forit all!"
"Profissor, ye're a little oulder thin Oi be, but av ye wur nigh me age,Oi'd inform ye thot ye didn't know how to spake th' truth."
"Do you mean to call me a liar, you impudent young rascal?"
"Not now, profissor; but I would av ye wur younger."
"It's all the same! It's an insult, sir!"
"Well, pwhat are yez goin' to do about it?"
"I'll make you swallow the words, you scoundrel!"
"Well, thot would be more av a male thin the rist av ye are loikely toget th' noight, so it is!"
"Come, come," laughed Frank; "this is no time nor place to quarrel."
"You're right, Frank; but this ungrateful young villain makes me verytired!"
"Careful, professor--slang."
"Excuse me, but you know human beings are influenced by theirsurroundings and associates. If I have----"
"Professor!" cried Frank, reproachfully. "You would not accuse me ofhaving taught you to use slang?"
"Ah--ha--ahem! No, no--that is, you see--er--well, er, that Dutch boywas always saying something slangy."
"Hans?"
"Yes."
"Professor! professor! He's not here to defend himself."
"Oh, well! Oh, well! Ha! ha! ha! Quite a joke--quite a little joke, youknow! You always appreciate a joke, Frank. You are full of funyourself."
As under the circumstances there was nothing else to do, they finallypaddled slowly forward, looking for a piece of dry land, where theycould stop and camp for the night.
They approached a small cluster of trees, which rose above the rushes,and it was seen that they seemed to be growing on land that was fairlyhigh and dry.
"We'll stop there," decided Frank. "It's not likely we'll find anotherplace like that anywhere in the Everglades."
As they came nearer, they saw the trees seemed to be growing on anisland, for the water course divided and ran on either side of them.
"Just the place for a camp!" cried Frank, delightedly. "This is really avery interesting and amusing adventure."
"It may be for you," groaned the professor; "but you forget that it issaid to be possible for persons to lose themselves in the Everglades andnever find their way out."
"On the contrary, I remember it quite well. In fact, it is said that,without a guide, the chances of finding a way out of the Everglades issmall, indeed."
"Well
, what do you feel so exuberant about?"
"Why, the possibility that we'll all perish in the Everglades adds zestto this adventure--makes it really interesting."
"Frank, you're a puzzle to me. You are cautious about running intodanger of any sort, but, once in it, you seem to take a strange andunaccountable delight in the peril. The greater the danger, the happieryou seem to feel."
"Thot's roight," nodded Barney.
"When I am not in danger, my good judgment tells me to take no chances;but when I get into it fairly, I know the only thing to be done is tomake the best of it. I delight in adventure--I was born for it!"
A dismal sound came from the professor's throat.
"When your uncle died," said Scotch, "I thought him my friend. Althoughwe had quarreled, I fancied the hatchet was buried. He made me yourguardian, and I still believed he had died with nothing but friendlyfeelings toward me. But he knew you, and now I believe it was an act ofmalice toward me when he made me your guardian. And, to add to mysufferings, he decreed that I should travel with you. Asher DowMerriwell deliberately plotted against my life! He knew the sort of acareer you would lead me, and he died chuckling in contemplation of themisery and suffering you would inflict upon me! That man was amonster--an inhuman wretch!"
"Look there!" cried Barney, pointing toward the small, timbered island.
"What is it?"
"May Ould Nick floy away wid me av it ain't a house!"