THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES. 87 
sternation, putting their hands to their ears ; and the 
apparition of the huge, shaggy Newfoundland, together 
with Teddy's outcry, put a climax to their fright. Tum- 
bling and splashing in the water, they made for the 
shore, and, before the Buttons fairly knew what had hap- 
pened, the river was as silent as a grave, save for the 
rushing of the muddy waters around the rocks and the 
protruding logs of the raft. 
" Out with your poles, boys ! Push for your lives — 
they may be back, or send their arrows after us at any 
minute ! " cried the leader, seizing one of the long poles, 
and suiting the action to the word. 
The raft, which had already touched bottom, now glided 
off into deeper water, and soon was swinging down-stream 
without interruption, save an occasional thump upon a 
hidden boulder. For half an hour the voyage continued 
in perfect silence, Nat, Hugh, and Ted sleeping quietly in 
their tent, and the attention of the rest being concentrated 
on keeping the raft in the channel. Once it grounded on 
a sandbar, but the two Indians, leaping into the water 
and standing waist-deep, succeeded in heaving it off. 
At length, to the intense relief of all, the river began 
perceptibly to widen. The banks became more and 
more obscure in the mists of early morning. The speed 
of the raft slackened, and the poles now and then failed 
to touch bottom. Beyond a doubt, they were emerging 
into the broad lake to which they had been anxiously 
looking forward throughout the long night. 
