Paddling under Palmettos — page 259: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-_ Pine, | 250 Paddling ss .... goods down out of the camp) they had been ob- served by a boy who had just come from the North to,be a resident—a Jimmy Branagan by name. - He seemed puzzled to understand how any one bent.on pleasure could work so hard, and at last pro- pounded the amazing conundrum: “Say, be you fellows a sporting for sport?” The canoeists inoleeil into each other’s faces, and as the ridiculous nature of their labor, under the guise of fun, broke upon them they laughed wildly. It was a standard joke after that, and when any one of them seemed to be enduring more than the ordinary share of hard luck he was sure to hear a companion cruiser add to his misery by shouting out: “Say, be you sporting for sport?” The interrogation was sure to bring a smile to the face of the weary paddler. As the mosquitoes were very troublesome, the ciuisers found good use for their bars, and it was sweet to lie there safe from assault while the droning song went on outside. There was hardly a night but what they were lulled to slumber by the chorus of the swamp. Alli- Gomicbooks. Go