Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/388

 examination. After he had stripped off the canvas and bark, so that he could see the full extent of her injuries, he remarked that Matt's scow must have hit her a middling heavy crack.

"I should say she did," replied Joe, with a laugh. "When three strong fellows do their level best with paddles, they can make a small boat get through the water with considerable speed. They hit us hard enough to knock Arthur overboard. Who are those men, and where are they going in such haste?" he continued, directing the guide's attention to a company of guests and boatmen who were walking rapidly toward the beach.

"Two of them are the gentlemen whose camps were robbed the other day," replied the guide, after he had taken a glance at the party. "They've got some friends to help them, and are going out to see if they can track down them varmints who have been kicking up so much fuss about here of late. There comes Swan. He's going with them, but they might as well stay at home, the whole of them. That Matt Coyle can cover up his trail like an Injun. It took every guide in the country to hunt him