"That will hearten us up," he said, but directly after they drank it Paul,
who had been making an exploration of his own on the boat, uttered a cry
of joy.
"Coffee!" he said, as he dragged a bag from under a seat, "and here is a
pot to boil it in."
"More treasures," said Sol gleefully. "That wuz shorely a good night's
work you an' me done, Henry!"
There was nothing to do but boil a pot of the coffee then and there, and
each had a long, delicious drink. Coffee and tea were so rare in the
wilderness that they were valued like precious treasures. Then they packed
their things and started, pulling out into the middle of the stream and
giving the current only a little assistance with the oars.
"One thing is shore," said Shif'less Sol, lolling luxuriously on a locker,
"that Spanish gang can't git away from us. All we've got to do is to float
along ez easy ez you please, an' we'll find 'em right in the middle o' the
road."
"It does beat walkin'," said Jim Hart, with equal content, "but this is
shorely a pow'ful big river. I never seed so much muddy water afore in my
life."
"It's a good river, a kind river," said Paul, "because it's taking us
right to its bosom, and carrying us on where we want to go with but little
trouble to us.
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