Half way to the mainland Jim Hart stopped the canoe, and listened a moment.
"I thought I heard somethin' down the lake that sounded like a splash," he said.
But he did not hear it again, and they resumed their progress.

Paul now saw the loom of the land, a darker outline in the darkness, and his heart, already beating fast, began to beat faster.

Suppose there should be some trick in the signal! Suppose they should find the Miamis, and not their comrades, waiting for them! He sought hard to pierce the darkness and see what might be there on the land before him.
The outline of the shore rose more distinctly out of the darkness, and the prow of the boat struck softly on the margin.

Then Paul saw a figure rise from the bushes, and after it another, and then a third, and then no more.
He could not see their faces, but it was the right number, and a vast relief surged up.

The three figures came down confidently to the canoe, and then the welcome voice of Henry Ware said in a low tone: "You are here, Paul! You and Jim are on time to the minute!" "An' mighty glad I am, too," said Shif'less Sol, in the same tone.