The two young men went a little way into the wood, and then came a call: 

“Here he is—­dead as a door nail.”

“Oh, what is it?  I want to see it!” cried Alice, who had a good deal of the curious boy in her make-up.

“Don’t go!” begged Ruth.

“I shall, too.  It can’t hurt me—­if it’s dead.”

“I know, dear, but—­”

Alice went, however.

“It’s a lynx,” said Russ, as he looked at the dead beast.  “I can tell by those queer little tufts of hair on the ears.”

“Are they dangerous?” asked Alice.

“Oh, I guess so, if you had one cornered.  They can keep a fellow awake, anyhow, that’s one sure thing.  I must have fired better than I knew.  But then the shot scattered so.”

“He must have been pretty close to us,” remarked Paul.

“Ugh!  I don’t like to think of it,” murmured Alice, with a little shiver.  “Suppose he had jumped into the boat?”

“Don’t suppose,” laughed Russ.

“Come!” called Mrs. Maguire from where she had remained near the boat with Ruth.  “If we’re going, we’d better start.”

“That’s right,” agreed Russ.  “The sooner we start the quicker we’ll get there.”

The blankets and cushions were arranged in the craft to make comfortable places for the girls and Mrs. Maguire, and then the remains of the food, and the coffee outfit, having been stowed away, Paul and Russ took the oars, and once more the refugees were under way.

As nearly as possible, allowing for the twists and turns of the stream, the course was in the direction Russ and Paul had agreed upon as being the best.  From time to time, as they rowed on, they paused to listen for any hails which would probably be given by the searching party from the steamer.

“For of course daddy will start out after us,” said Ruth.  “Poor daddy!”

“I guess there’s no doubt of that,” agreed Russ.  “The only trouble is they won’t know where to look for us.”

“Wouldn’t they go first to the place where we took the picnic films?” asked Alice.

“I suppose so, yes; but when we came away from there we left no trail they could follow.  So it will be sort of hit or miss with them, as it will be with us.”

“We ought to fire the gun once in a while,” suggested Mrs. Maguire.  “That’s what all lost persons do.”

“Good idea!” commented Russ.  “I should have done it before.  And they will probably fire to attract our attention, for there are several guns aboard the steamer.”

They now made up a definite program, to the effect that they would stop every half-hour to listen for possible shouts and shots and would also shout and fire in their turn.

This was done, but the sun was nearly noon high, and they had heard no sounds save the natural ones of the swamp and forest.

Now and then they would see alligators in the waters up or down which they rowed, but the saurians showed no disposition to molest the boat.  And Russ had too few cartridges to wish to waste any on the creatures.