Some of these trees had been undermined, and their roots and branches were floating in the water.  The boys scrambled down to the brink and made ready for fishing.  They cut slender poles in the bushes, for fishing-poles.  There was a trunk of a tree lying along the shore, extending obliquely out a little way over the water, which furnished them a convenient footing.  They stood or sat upon it, baited their hooks, and threw them over into the water.  They followed the bait with their eyes as it sunk slowly down into the dark depths, among the logs, and roots, and trunks of trees, which were lying submerged in the water.

The boys remained here an hour, but they caught no eels.  Either there were none there, or for some reason or other they chose not to bite.  They had some talk about going to another place, but before they decided upon that plan, Marco’s attention was arrested by the sight of what appeared to be a large log floating down the river.  He pointed it out to the other boys, and, on closer examination, they saw that it was an old canoe, of the kind that are formed by hollowing out a log.  It was not of very large size and it appeared to be rather old and decayed.  Still, the boys wanted to get it very much.  They gathered in their lines, and ran along the bank, keeping pace with the boat as it floated down.

[Illustration:  BOAT ADRIFT.]

They very soon came to a reach of the river,—­that is, to a length of it between one bend and another, where the water was swift and shallow.  So the two boys who had been fishing with Marco threw off their shoes, and pulled up their trowsers, and ran down the bank, and into the river.  The boat was far out in the stream, and they had to wade some distance before they came to it.  Besides, as the boat was floating down all the time, while they were wading across, it got some distance down the stream before they could reach it.  They, however, succeeded in getting it at last, and, with much floundering in the water and many shouts of laughter, they brought it over to Marco.

Marco was much pleased with the prize.  It was in better condition than they had expected to find it.  There was, indeed, a piece knocked out at one end, near the upper edge, but they found that it would support all three of the boys, if they sat in it carefully, and with their weight principally at the other end.  For want of oars or paddles they cut poles on the banks, thinking that they could push the boat along, by planting the poles against the bottom, as the water was not deep.  They drew the boat up to the shore, and poured out some water which had got into her, and then they all carefully embarked, intending to make a little voyage.