The boys paddled in to the shore, pulled the canoe out of the water, and after eating their supper proceeded to make themselves as comfortable as possible for the night.
"We better not light any fires," said Dick. "We had one this morning and I guess we can get along without it now."
"Look!" said Fritz, who was standing near the canoe at the water's edge. "Dot looks like somedings iss burning."
Dick joined him and gazed upstream in the direction that Fritz indicated toward the opposite shore.
"Seems to be a camp fire," said Dick. "Who can be camping there, I wonder?"
"Perhaps some Indians yet?" suggested Fritz.
"It must be," agreed Dick. "We better pull this canoe further in, for if they go down the river before us in the morning they might spot it. Maybe it's those fellows we got this canoe from."
"We had better be careful, then," said Fritz. "If dhose felers efer caughted us, ve vould a bad time have."
"Guess we'll have to keep watch to-night," Dick answered. "You turn in now, Fritz, and I'll wake you up in about four hours. Then you can give me a chance to snatch a nap. We can't afford to take chances, you know."
"Don'd forget to call me," replied Fritz, with a grin.
With this quite needless admonition the Dutch boy rolled up in his blanket and Dick soon had evidence from his heavy breathing that he was fast asleep.
Dick felt very drowsy, and after walking down to the shore and back again several times to keep awake, he decided that the more practical thing to do was to slide the canoe into the water and investigate the camp on the point higher up the river. Fritz, he knew, would sleep for a week, if he were not disturbed, so Dick decided to improve him time by finding out, if possible, who his neighbors were.
He paddled quietly, hugging the shore to within a hundred yards of the point where the fire had been seen, and then headed for the spot. There was no sign of life about the fire, as far as Dick could tell, and he judged the strangers must be sleeping. The canoe was now very close to the river bank and because of the darkness, Dick did not discover the little shoal of pebbles before him until the canoe grated on them with quite a little noise.
Dick sat perfectly motionless for several minutes. He was hoping that the sound had not carried to the ears of the other party. For an interval all was still, and then suddenly Dick heard a sound right beside him in the bushes at the water's edge.