The five withdrew with the merchant, still elated, still feeling the full
sense of victory. Mr. Pollock had been very quiet but when they reached
the open air he burst forth.

"Lads," he said, "'tis a great task that you have done. You have saved
Kentucky--and these things are far-reaching--you may have saved all the
colonies beside. If the Mississippi had been closed to us we could not
reach our friends in the east with the supplies that they need so badly.
But I can't say more. You were surely inspired when you set out upon this
errand, and there is a tremendous debt of gratitude coming to you."

He shook hands with them all, one by one. But Long Jim heaved a mighty
sigh of relief.

"Is it all over, Paul?" he asked.

"I think so, Jim. We seem to have destroyed for good and all the great
three-cornered conspiracy against us."

"Then," said Jim, "ef it's all done I want to talk sense. I'm in favor uv
our startin' to Kentucky right away, that is, in about five minutes. Them
big woods keep callin' to me, I heard 'em callin' last night in my dreams,
an' I hear 'em callin' now when I'm awake. I've breathed indoor air long
enough. It's layin' heavy on my lungs, an' I want to put in its place air
that's swep' clean across from the Pacific Ocean an' that ain't hit not
bin' foul on the way."

"Five minutes is too short notice, Jim," laughed Paul, "but we'll surely
start soon, though it's a tremendously long tramp through the woods and
even if we had 'The Galleon' we'd have to pull and sail against the