160 
Forest a x d 
STREAM 
April, 1919 
the forecabin locker to give this latest 
adventure genuine zest. For, while his 
father had gone into no lengthy discus- 
sion of the episode, the boy realized that 
he himself had accidently stumbled upon 
proof of a nefarious procedure. The 
Spoonbill and her queer crew were shoot- 
ing up the egret rookeries. There seemed 
no reasonable doubt of it! 
And once again John’s thoughts re- 
verted to the conversations with his 
father, that first day out from Miami. 
But why, if these two piratical-appearing 
gentlemen were on such a forbidden mis- 
sion, should they actually welcome com- 
pany? It was their own suggestion that 
Christmas Day be spent up the little- 
navigated waters of mysterious Thick- 
ehunahatchee. 
John’s father answered some of these 
questions. 
“Do not refer to the egrets,” cautioned 
Mr. King, “consider the subject absolute- 
ly taboo. Act as if you were not at all 
interested in what you saw in the locker. 
These men are naturally eager for com- 
panionship. They have been cruising far 
from the beaten track of other boats 
. . . . for months and months, judg- 
ing by their own appearance and the 
looks of their boat. Both are satisfied 
insofar as we are concerned. They know 
that my own mission has to do with prop- 
erties, surveying, etc. I have shown them 
my diary and my soil reports. Moreover, 
they were not slow to detect that we ob- 
observe the ethics of the section .... 
we ask no questions. Christmas has 
broken down their barriers of reserve. 
Something in the very spirit of the day 
has made them seek friendship. The 
trip up the Thickehunahatchee is to be 
for sport . . . nothing else. It is their 
little escape from regular business.” 
eral on the shore under the 
mangroves. One particular- 
ly plump coon had been 
bagged — not in the traps but 
with a rifle and Flynt held 
it up for Hendry to see. 
“Here’s a REAL break- 
fast for you,” he declared, 
“want it?” 
“Finished,” grunted Hen- 
dry, who seldom ate coon 
flesh. John was beginning 
to have the same aversion 
for the little animals as camp 
diet, for Hendry had once 
skinned a coon and laid it 
bare for inspection. Be- 
tween flesh and pelt the boy 
had seen a disgusting mass 
of long worms. . . . like 
horsehairs. This appears to 
be characteristic of all the 
coons of the neighbor- A 
hood that we had seen. 
HEAD AM) THE 
/HOVEL-XO/E 
/HABKABE ’ 
PBETTY LITTIyE 
CZDEATQBE/! 
R ound key took on an unusual 
glamour that sunny Christmas 
morning as three venturesome ex- 
plorers — King, John Jr. and guide Hen- 
dry laved their faces in the sparkling 
water of the gulf from the stern of the 
small boat, and raised streaming eyes to 
an almost holy dawn. This day, more 
than all others, the serene splendor of 
the Great Outdoors, was exemplified! 
Yes, it WAS good to be alive! 
A signal from the larger craft that 
rocked lazily on the dark green water 
nearby, aroused Mr. King, at least, to 
the material problems that confronted 
them. The occupants of The Spoonbill 
were up and active. King, half concealed 
by the Mae's cabin, turned his glasses in 
that direction. He could see Captain 
Flsmt getting things ship-shape aboard 
the power-boat. He was smoking a short- 
stemmed pipe and his chest, bare and 
brown, was strongly suggestive of the 
primeval man. Now he jumped up to the 
deck of The Spoonbill and puttered with 
that bewildering display of coon skins, 
tacked to the cabin. 
“Ahoy Mae!” Flynt’s gruff voice chal- 
lenged, “we want to get away early on 
that Thickehunahatchee trip, if we’re go- 
ing. Tell Hendry I’ll see that he shoots 
a deer.” 
Hendry himself made answer, reassur- 
ing the Captain that they would have 
breakfast over in a little while. John 
was all aflutter with excitement. He had 
seen enough in the hatchway and under 
T he Mae’s party had finished break- 
fast, when Captain Flynt rowed up 
alongside. He had been across to 
Round Key for his traps, having set sev- 
ITH Rod and Gun on a 
yy strange river. Some Wonder 
Waterways of the Florida West 
Coast, tvherein the Habits of the 
Rapidly Disappearing Egret and 
Heron are studied first hand. Ad- 
ditional Proof of “Rookery Shoot- 
ing.” The Strangest Christmas on 
Record. 
