Here he dismounted and tied his horse, then as one tolerably familiar with the locality and its resources, he went down to the shore and launched a dugout which he found concealed in some bushes; entering it he pointed its blunt bow in the direction of the clearing opposite.

A growth of small timber was still standing along the water's edge, but as he drew nearer, those betterments which the resident of that lonely spot had seen fit to make for his own convenience, came under his scrutiny; these consisted of a log cabin and several lesser sheds.

Landing and securing his dug-out by the simple expedient of dragging half its length out of the water, he advanced toward the cabin.

As he did so he saw two women at work heckling flax under an open shed.

They were the wife and daughter of George Hicks, his overseer's brother.
"Morning, Mrs.Hicks," he said, addressing himself to the mother, a hulking ruffian of a woman.
"Howdy, sir ?" she answered.