Paddling under Palmettos — page 292: what you’re looking at

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

Paddling Under Palmettos. 283 peacefully. They were only aroused once, and this by Archie, who vowed an alligator was trying to climb into his boat, but the others laughed at him, declaring that he must have been dreaming. | In the morning they were ready to start into the canal. Paddles now came into play. This would last about all the time until they reached the ’Hatchee River above Fort Myers, when once more the sails might be rendered available. They had to camp in the canal, something that was particularly unsatisfactory, for it was alive with yellow water-moccasins, and had _ disagreeable swampy borders. Ned’s voice rang out through the cut and amid the dim aisles of the swamp as he told of “the tar who had sailed away.” The captain, too, related some of his experiences in the ling of adventure by field and flood, so that, taken all in all, the evening passed pleasantly enough, despite the fact that they missed the cheery elow of a camp-fire. Tents were buttoned down very closely that night, for there was a haunting fear lest some of the nu- Gomicboo cS (€(0)