March, 
149 
- 3 ^ 
of the T a m i a m i 
Seminole, when his 
mood was sullen 
and his cupidity 
fully aroused. 
The Engineer did 
not confide his 
thoughts to the 
boys. They were 
far too 
happy in 
their world 
of sport 
and adven- 
ture. Ac¬ 
cording to 
young Cat- 
1 o w, > the 
Ridge was 
rich in game 
of all kinds. 
He had 
brought 
back a fine 
mess of fish, 
to prove one 
of it, and 
there were 
the bear tracks! 
Magnolia Island, 
while serving as 
a base for staking 
and surveying, Mr. 
King’s real mis¬ 
sion, was apt to 
prove a store¬ 
house of game 
s talking. 
Wild cats 
had yowled 
during the 
night ! 
There were 
i n d i c a- 
tions of wild 
turkey. The 
waters 
abounded 
fish. 
phase 
then 
Fifty feet from the camp, in any direction, 
brought them to humming thickets and 
colorful jungles where human foot, unless 
of wandering Seminole, had never trod. 
“Can’t you ease off on your maps and 
observations and stakes for a few hours 
this morning?” demanded young Catlow, 
after the breakfast dishes had been cleared 
up. “We want you to go down the Ridge 
with us. There must be some big game 
if we stir it up. Oh, for a good hunting 
dog!” 
Mr. King smiled at the intense enthusi¬ 
asm of his two ambitious allies. 
“The Indians have cleared things out 
pretty thoroughly, I’m thinking,” he re¬ 
plied. “From my own previous experi¬ 
ences on the other coast and from what 
’Glade guides have told me, animal life is 
on the decline. The nature of the coun¬ 
try, boys, is not particularly suited to them, 
in any event—too soft—too wet. We’ll 
get enough ’coons and ’possums to make 
us happy, but you must not expect moun¬ 
tain lions or white elephants. 
“I have seen tracks of a deer on one of 
the elevated portions of the ’Glades, but in 
my estimation this was a stray animal, one 
that had been ‘run out’ of some other ter¬ 
ritory and was still, traveling, though a 
long way from home. Even the alligators 
are growing scarce. The Indians are 
offered such fancy prices for hides that 
extermination is inevitable. Three-footers 
are rare, as you have noticed.” 
“That’s no ’gator at all!” sniffed King 
Jr. scornfully. “It would’nt make a fair¬ 
sized kit bag for a soldier. Just the same, 
you’ve never visited this region before and 
the water might be wriggling with giants. 
I’m going to rig up a stake-bait some 
drowsy afternoon and see what happens.” 
“The canal men were telling me of a 
lazy old duffer, measuring some eleven 
feet or more. They saw him trying to 
negotiate the waters of the canal. He 
was doubtless on a voyage of discovery 
himself—wanted to go down to Biscayne 
Bay and have a look at some of the 
yachts, I suppose. But serious¬ 
ly, boys, the business in 
hand is far more important 
than any rifle or shotgun prac¬ 
tice in these islands. How¬ 
ever, we will be off to explore 
the Ridge in a half hour. Our 
next objective is at the far end 
of Magnolia Island and the 
second property.” 
The camp equipment was set 
in order, with tarpaulins tight¬ 
ly fastened over boat and sup¬ 
plies, and Mr. King’s precious 
j u n g 1 e work-shop fortified 
against island prowlers. 
tine 
“It is mating-season for the egrets,” re¬ 
marked King Sr. “I could hear their cries 
last night. That will be one of the mar¬ 
velous sights of our trip if we can run 
upon a rookery.” 
Mr. Cinnamon Bear 
After entries had been put in the diary, 
preparations were made for their Ridge 
jaunt. All three carried their machetes, 
for cutting snarls of underbrush. The 
boys were armed with their thirty-twos 
and King Sr.’s pet automatic was also a 
member of the party. The snake bite 
antidote and the pocket-compass, together 
with kodak, field glass and note-book com¬ 
pleted the outfit. Pockets were stuffed 
with pilot biscuit and—rarest of morsels 
to munch upon—some chipped beef. 
“We’ll hope for a lucky 22nd!” exclaimed 
Catlow, as he squinted along the shiny 
barrel of his thirty-two. “By this time 
next month, we’ll be back home, safe and 
sound, and wishing we could do it all over 
again.” 
Little did he realize that before Miami 
was sighted again aeroplanes were to sail 
vainly above the ’Glades in search of the 
voyagers, and, far from retracing their 
steps, they would cross Florida to the 
Gulf and finally end up at sunny Key West, 
miles and miles from home. 
It was fair passage on foot along the 
Ridge. Catlow, who had ventured out be¬ 
fore, led the way, with his chum follow¬ 
ing and Mr, King bringing up the rear. 
Myrtle and bay trees grew in thick pro¬ 
fusion, with magnolias interspersed. Their 
feathery green plumage was hung with 
moss, giant vines and orchids, and thou¬ 
sands of nests of every shape and size 
were bunched in the boughs. At one point, 
where the soil sloughed off into bog, a 
cluster of picturesque willows trailed their 
graceful arms into the blue water. It was 
the first willow they had seen and stood 
out rather incongruously against the thick, 
massed foliage of the myrtle. 
Mr. King pointed out the two vari¬ 
eties of bay—red and white, and also 
introduced the boys to a sturdy mem- 
1918 
(jpeat Blue Hepon. 
