“No, that won’t do,” said Phil. “You know we told you that if you’d sail our boat, and show us the way, and do all those things that we don’t know anything about, we’d pay your way North, and we’ll do it, too, as soon as we get money from our friends. But the thing is, what are we to do now? We’ve used more than we expected to, and we didn’t suppose there would be hotel bills here. We thought we’d go right on.” “Well, now I’ll tell you,” said Adam, “what you’d better do. Just go, all three of you, to the colonel, and tell him the fix you’re in. It’s his business to set things right in this town, and he’ll let you know what you have to do. If anything is to be set up or knocked down, he wants to do it himself.” “I’m not particularly anxious to have him knock me down,” said Chap. “It’ll go easier to be knocked down now” said Adam, “than after you’ve run up a great big bill, and I recommend you to go straight to him, and let him know how things stand.” [Illustration] CHAPTER XXIII. A NEW EXPEDITION PLANNED. The boys went up to the hotel, where they found the colonel sitting behind his desk. Phil was generally expected to do the talking for the party whenever anything important was to be said, and he, therefore, with very little preface or hesitation, informed the big man in the chair of the condition in which he and his friends now found themselves in regard to finances. The colonel listened to what Phil told him, and then, after looking at them all with a steady glance, he said: “Got no money, hey?” The boys wished he would not speak so loud and clear, for there were several persons in the room, and Phœnix answered,-- “We’ve got some, but not enough.” “How much have you got?” asked the colonel. The treasurer then explained that, owing to their having been very long on the way, and also having to pay more for boat-hire, food, etc., than they had expected, and to hire Indians, they had only about seventeen dollars left. They had hoped to have enough to take them to Enterprise or Sanford, where Adam thought that some of the steamboat captains would take them on board, and let them pay for their passage when they got to Jacksonville. “I don’t believe they’d do it,” said the colonel. “They’re too sharp for that sort of thing. You haven’t enough to pay your way from here anywhere, or to stay here. Are you sure of money when you get to Jacksonville?” “Oh, yes,” said Phil, promptly. “If that telegram was sent on I expect there are funds waiting there for us now, and if there isn’t, or if there shouldn’t be enough, we’ll telegraph, and they’ll send us all we need.” The colonel rubbed his head. “Well,” said he, “you can stay here till Wednesday, all four of you, for I suppose you still count Adam Guy in your party, and I’ll make out your bill at my regular rates, and I’ll make it out to you,” pointing to Phil; “and when you get home--you needn’t do it before--you can send me the amount.”