Before Bob could answer a shout reached their ears. “What are you up to out thar?” “Don’t answer,” Bob cautioned. “You no answer, we come find out,” came another shout. “They’ll find it pretty wet walking,” Jack chuckled. “I believe it’s the same fellows,” Bob declared. “That voice sounded familiar.” “Well, I don’t see how they’re going to get us out here,” Rex said. “Nor I,” Bob agreed. “I’m glad it isn’t cold because it looks as though we might have to spend the rest of the night out here unless we want to land over on the other side.” No other shout came to them and soon the lights disappeared, but a moment later they saw them appear amid the trees. “Guess they decided that the water was too wet and cold,” Jack laughed after they had watched the lights as they moved up the bank of the river. “Well we might as well put in a little more work here,” Bob suggested. “We don’t want to go in till we’re sure those fellows have left for good and we do want to be sure and make a good job of it here. But where in the name of common sense do you suppose they’ve been all this time if they didn’t go back to camp?” Neither Rex nor Jack ventured a guess and for another half hour they worked at the stones. “There, that old pier’s as flat as a flounder now,” Jack declared as he threw his peavey to the bottom of the scow and sat down. “I guess so,” Bob agreed. “Think it’s safe to go in now?” “I’m willing to take a chance,” Jack replied. “How about you, Rex?” “You fellows know best. Whatever you say goes here.” “All right. I’ll get up the anchor,” Jack said. But before he had time to get the stone into the boat Bob cried in a low tone: “Put it down again, Jack. Here comes a boat down the river.” Jack dropped the rock and looked up. A large row boat, in which they could see five men, was coming rapidly toward them, and was even then but a few yards distant. “Stand by to repel boarders,” Jack shouted as he sprang to his feet and grabbed a peavey. Bob and Rex were quick to follow his example. The men, in the row boat, were not rowing. There was no need of it. The swift current was rapidly closing the distance between the two boats. The row boat was nearly upon them when the man, who was sitting in the stern, steering with an oar, by a sudden sweep changed their course and at the same time another threw over an anchor, so that, in another minute, the two boats were riding opposite each other and separated by not more than 20 feet of water. “They’re the men all right,” Bob whispered to Rex. “What you do here, eh?” asked one of the men, a big ugly half-breed. “Just sitting here,” Bob replied pleasantly. “You bust dem rocks, oui?” “What rocks?” Bob asked, looking about him. “I tink you know what rocks ver’ well,” the man asserted with a sneer. “But I don’t see any,” Bob insisted. “Mebby you geet out an look, you see heem.” “Mebby,” Bob repeated. “But it’s too wet to try.”