a ship in and amused himself in trying to put mine out of commission. But despite the heavy odds against it, mine floated on and on always managing to sail on, altho often driven to the opposite bank by the fusiladeof rocks which King hurled at it, and often just escaped getting snoodled by Bill. King’s was left far behind when mine was suddenly driven into the bank by a well­ aimed blow from Bill, where upon I rebelled and made him put a boat of his own in.
     Like three lunatics we went along thus, yelling and shouting at the tops of our voices. It had now become very warm – that dead unnatural warmth common to early March, the sun was beating down on the lifeless world.  It was very quiet; only the murmur of the stream could heard; not a breeze was stirring; once I heard a shrill rattling sound that seemed to come first from the blue sky and presently a kingfisher shot past; a wood-pecker tapped somewhere, and a sap-sucker crept noiselessly down the trunk of a tree nearby. Once as we were climbing a bank where the stream had washed it away steep, I put my hand in the dry dead grass at the