"Well, I guess the best thing for us to do would be to hide the book and the money where you found it. All these months it's stayed in that black hole safe, and it can stand another day or so." So, taking the advice of Maurice, Thad had placed the bills once more between the pages of the diary, which he carefully pushed into its former hiding place. "Perhaps Bunny'll be glad to have his book, too. If she's his girl she'd like to read what he said about her," suggested Maurice. "That's so," replied the other, getting up from his knees. Maurice saw him look up instinctively toward the little window; and then spring hastily to his feet. At the same moment he thought he heard some sound outside, as if a floating object had struck against the anchored shanty-boat. It might be a log, as frequently happened, for there were many such drifting on the surface of the big river, washed from the banks above by some local flood. Thad, without wasting any time in thought, sprang to the door. This had a faculty of catching sometimes, and requiring more or less labor before it could be thrown open; and of course it had to play Thad such a trick just then, when he seemed so desirous of making haste. Maurice, seeming to scent trouble of some sort from the strange actions of his chum, waited to snatch up the old faithful Marlin twelve-bore. It had seen them through other scrapes, and might come in handy again. Finally, after considerable exertion, Thad managed to open the stubborn door, after which he rushed out on deck, followed by his mate and the barking Dixie. "What'd you think you saw?" demanded Maurice, as he discovered by the light of the moon that the deck was devoid of anything in the way of peril. "A face at the window! Some man was aboard I Oh! I wonder if he saw me put that book away?" exclaimed the excited Thad. "But where is he now?" and the speaker glanced toward the shore, which was a good twenty feet away, the gap being far too wide to allow of any man jumping it. "There's something moving away below there in the shadow of the trees on the water!" exclaimed Thad. "A log, p'raps," remarked the other, carelessly. "But I did see a face, I'm sure of it; and if it was a man he just jumped into his skiff and put off before I could get out. I wish I knew for sure." Thad made a move toward the little dinghy which lay upon the deck, fastened with a chain and padlock, so that it could not be stolen by any light-fingered coon. "Hold on there, none of that. Let me catch you chasing down-river after an unknown man in a skiff. Why, he'd just as like as not upset you if you accused him of boarding our boat. Settle down and try to forget it all. I reckon it was only imagination after all." But Thad continued to shake his head, and declare that he did not believe his eyes could play him such a trick. "If it was a man, Maurice, and he once saw all that money, why he'd come back again to try and steal it," he said, solemnly.