for him.

"But I must have a place to sleep," he said. "It is only for the night.
I return on the 'Hatty.'"

"Why not stay on her then? Some do who only come up for the trip," was
the clerk's reply.

This was not a bad idea, although the stranger shuddered as he thought
of his ill-smelling stateroom and short berth. Still it was better than
camping out doors, or--the clearing--where he might be accommodated. He
shuddered again when he thought of that possibility--thanked the clerk
for his suggestion--and declined the book which had been pushed towards
him for his name. No use to register if he was not to be a guest; no use
to tell his name anyway, if he could avoid it, as he had successfully on
the boat, and with a polite good-evening he stepped outside just as
Mandy Ann, having finished her orange, peel and all, gathered herself up
with a view to starting for home.




CHAPTER II

THE PALMETTO CLEARING


The stranger had asked Ted on the boat, when he came with some lemonade
he had ordered, how far it was from the Brock House to the palmetto
clearing, and if there was any conveyance to take him there. Ted had