Nothing escaped their eagle eyes on the shore, and from time to time one would draw the attention of the other to some point of especial interest. Now it might be the peculiar formation of a point of land, some trees, a swamp with hanging Spanish moss, which, however, was nothing to what they would see further south--or anon perhaps it was some negro cabin on an elevation, with the pickaninnies playing by the door, and the strapping woman of the household leaning against the post, always smoking her clay pipe. Maurice, with the hunter instinct, watched the flight of an osprey that was circling the river brink with an eye to dinner; and later on observed an eagle drop down into a fluttering flock of ducks, from which he evidently took his usual toll, as presently he flew heavily away, with some dark object dangling below. About noon they had a little lunch, Thad making a pot of coffee, and otherwise the meal was called in local parlance a "snack," which would seem to mean a pickup affair that could be eaten standing if necessary. They wished to get this duty out of the way, for by the signs it was believed that they must be approaching Cairo, and as the junction of the two rivers is a turbulent place, with considerable craft moving about, the boys considered it wise to have their full attention fixed upon their movements. After all, it was a mere nothing--they simply turned a point and found themselves upon a much wider stretch of water--and this was the famous Mississippi! Now they were really heading south, and no matter how much colder the weather grew, it could not freeze them in and stop their flight to the desired port. Just as Maurice had figured, it was two in the afternoon when they could really and truly say they were afloat on the big river. In about a couple of hours they began to cast their eyes along the shore seeking a favorable place to tie up for the coming night-- the mere thought of being adrift upon that immense yellow flood after sunset was appalling to them, though possibly by degrees they might become so accustomed to the rolling tide that it would cease to have the same sensation of alarm for them. It was almost dark before they discovered a convenient tree close enough to the water's edge to serve their purpose; for evidently the river during its periodical seasons of flood had torn nearly all growth on the lower banks away. Thad climbed up to this friendly trunk and slipped the cable around its base. The boys sat there on deck for some little time watching the last flickering red die out of the western heavens; and when the panorama had come to its logical conclusion, with a sigh they entered the cabin to prepare supper.