thought not of his own peril, for that was something he had fully
expected to encounter before he started. This was not the first time he
had voluntarily placed himself in danger; but with Archie the case was
different; and Frank was several times on the point of returning to his
cousin and making use of his authority, as commander of the expedition,
to send him back to the boat. By the time these thoughts had passed
through his mind, he had reached a log-cabin which stood at a little
distance from the house; and as he halted behind it, to shelter himself
from the storm, still debating upon the course he ought to pursue in
regard to Archie, some one inside the cabin commenced singing--

"I'll lay ten dollars down
And chuck 'em up one by one!"



If there was any more of the song, the rebel evidently did not know it,
for he kept singing these two lines over and over, now and then varying
the monotony of the performance by whistling. Frank stood for some
moments listening to him, and finally began moving cautiously around the
cabin, to find some opening through which he could look and see what was
going on inside. He presently discovered a hole between the logs, and,
upon looking in, saw a man seated on the floor before a fire-place, in
which burned some pine knots, engaged in whittling out an oar with his
bowie-knife. On the floor near him lay one evidently just finished. At
the opposite side of the room stood a bag, from the mouth of which
peeped several letters.

A thought struck Frank--which would be of the most benefit, to burn the
house or to capture the mail, which might contain information of the