When the boats were quite near each other, the young man who had been poling The Rolling Stone dropped his pole, and picking up a gun, raised it to his shoulder. But this did not frighten the valiant Adam. “Put down that gun!” he roared, as the two boats touched. The young man who had been steering now rose to his feet. His gun was probably not loaded, for he did not attempt to pick it up, although it lay near him. The two fellows looked sullenly at the party in the other boat, but they must have felt that it would be of no use to offer battle. Adam had picked up a hatchet; Phil had a double-barrelled gun, and a glance at the strong figure of Phœnix, who stood with his sleeves rolled up and his shirt thrown open, was enough to make any one feel that a tussle with such a fellow was not a thing to be desired. Their opponents were three to their two, and looked like fellows determined to win. It would not pay to fight, and the untidy young man with the gun lowered his weapon. Instantly Adam sprang on board The Rolling Stone. “Where’s the boy who was on this boat?” he cried. “He went ashore when we traded,” was the answer. “Didn’t he tell you so?” “We haven’t seen him,” said Adam. “Now, if you fellers lie to me, I’ll split your heads open with this hatchet. I’ll have no foolin’. Where is he?” The young men looked at each other. They were evidently surprised that the boy from whom they had taken The Rolling Stone had not been seen by his companions. They supposed, of course, that he had told them all about the affair. “I tell you,” said one of them, “we’re not foolin’. He went right ashore after we had traded boats.” “Traded boats!” cried Phil, who had laid down his gun. “What do you mean by that?” “Why, your pardner said you folks only wanted a boat to get up the river, and as this one is to be took back to Brewer, we traded.” “I don’t believe a word of it!” cried Phil and Phœnix, almost in a breath. “It’s a lie on the face of it,” said Adam, stepping up to the last speaker and lifting his hatchet. “Now, if you scoundrels don’t want to be brained right here, you’d better speak out and tell the truth. You stole the boat, and we know it.” “I didn’t say the young man was altogether willin’ to trade, but we did trade. Didn’t we leave our boat? and haven’t you got it? We was a-goin’ to leave all your things for you, but your pardner, as soon as he went ashore, began a-hollerin’ for you all, and we thought you’d be firin’ at us the next minute, and so we had to put off.” “You meant to steal this boat and everything in it,” said Adam, “and you made that young man go ashore.” “We told him he’d better,” said the other. “Yes,” added his companion; “but he got mad, and the minute he set foot on the sand, he ran into the woods a-hollerin’ for you all.”