Shif'less Sol began to laugh, not loud, but with great intensity, and his laugh was continued long. "What you laffin' at, you Sol Hyde?" asked Long Jim suspiciously. "Not at you, Jim," replied the shiftless one. "I wuz thinkin' 'bout them renegades, Wyatt and Blackstaffe. I would shorely like to see 'em now, an' look into thar faces, an' behold 'em wonderin' an' wonderin' what hez become o' us that they expected to ketch between thar fingers, an' squash to death. They look on the earth, an' they don't see no trail o' ourn. They look in the sky an' they don't see us flyin' 'roun' anywhar thar. The warriors circle an' circle an' circle an' they don't put their hands on us. That ring is tight an' fast, an' we can't break out o' it. We ain't on the outside o' it, an' they can't find us on the inside o' it. So, whar are we? They don't know but we do. We hev melted away like witches. Them renegades is shorely hoppin', t'arin' mad, but the madder they are the better we like it. 'Scuse me, Jim, while I laff ag'in, an' it wouldn't hurt you, Jim, if you wuz to laff with me." "I think I will," said Long Jim, and action followed word. Later in the day Henry and Paul penetrated a short distance deeper into the swamp, but did not find another oasis like theirs. The entire area seemed to be occupied by mire and ponds and thickets of reeds and cane, mingled with briars. They stirred up another black bear, but they did not get a chance for a shot at him, and they also saw the footprints of a panther. They returned to the oasis satisfied with their exploration. The swampier the swamp and the greater its extent the safer they were. That night as they slept under the trees they were awakened by the rushing of many wings. When they sat up they found the sky dark above them, although the moon was shining and all the stars were out. It was a flight of wild pigeons and they had settled in countless thousands on the trees of the oasis. The five with sticks knocked off as many as they thought they could use, and stored them for the night in the hut. They devoted the next day to picking and dressing their spoils, the living birds having gone on, and on the following day, Henry, who had entered the swamp on another trip of exploration, returned with the most welcome news of all. He had discovered a salt spring only a short distance away, and with labor they were able to boil out the salt which was invaluable to them in curing their food supply. "Now, if we had bread, we'd be entirely happy," said Paul. "Shucks, Paul," said Shif'less Sol with asperity, "you're entirely happy ez it is. Never ask too much an' then you won't git too little. This splendid, magnificent swamp o' ourn furnishes everythin' any reasonin' human bein' could want."