Paddling under Palmettos — page 88: what you’re looking at

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

Paddling Under Palmettos. SI Over these they would have to make most of their trip. | Both had lighted lanterns, for it was very dark in the trees. Before leaving they took their bear- ings and arranged a code of signals with Ned in case they should get into trouble. Then they set out. A strange sight to see two fellows in red flannel shirts working their way through that odd timber, carrying guns and lanterns. No doubt the owls stared and the ’coons looked down in wonder. They made slow progress. More than once Archie was sure he saw the sin, uous folds of a snake vanishing from their path, but he said nothing, for once embarked in an enterprise he was bound to stick. Frequently he felt the hanging Spanish moss sweep against his cheek, and could not but shud- der at the thought of it being some vampire bat, such as he had read about in travelers’ tales of the Amazon country. Their surroundings became even more gloomy as they went deeper into the stretch of land existing be- tween the Indian River and old Mother Ocean, Gomicbooks (E(0)