206 . ADVENTURES IN THE WILDERNESS. 



that not one boatman, red man or white, in a hun- 

 dred could handle a paddle like that. The quick 

 ear of John, when the stranger was within thirty- 

 feet of the landing, detected the lightest possible 

 touch of a lily-pad against the side of the boat as 

 it just grazed it glancing by, and his "Hist!" and 

 sudden motion toward the river drew the attention 

 of the whole surprised group thither. The boat 

 glided to the sand so gently as barely to disturb a 

 grain, and the paddler, noiseless in all his move- 

 ments, stepped ashore and entered our circle. 



" Well, stranger," said John, " I don't know how 

 long your fingers have polished a paddle-shaft, but 

 it is n't every man who can push a boat up ten . 

 rods of open water within twenty feet of my back 

 without my knowing it." 



The stranger laughed pleasantly, and, without 

 making any direct reply, lighted his pipe and 

 joined in the conversation. He was tall in stature, 

 wiry, and bronzed. An ugly cicatrice stretched on 

 the left side of his face, from temple almost down to 

 chin. His eyes were dark gray, frank, and genial 

 I concluded at once that he was a gentleman, and 

 had seen service. Before he joined us, we had 

 been whiling away the time by story-telling, and 

 John was at the very crisis of an adventure 

 with a panther, when his quick ear detected the 

 stranger's approach. Explaining this to him, I told 

 John to resume his story, which he did. Thus 



