observed; and as they had considerable faith in the acting scout master
as a weather prophet, there arose a sigh of satisfaction at this remark.

"Take a look, and see if she's still moving up the scale, Paul," begged
the anxious Phil Towns.

When this had been done, there was a look of eager expectancy on
every face.

"Over a full inch since the start," Paul reported.

"And that's nearly half an hour back," complained Gusty. "Gee! if it goes
up as slow as that, we'll be camping here at sun-down, sure, fellers."

"Oh! I don't know," Paul put in, confidently; "you must remember that
the rain has fallen all over the watershed that supplies both these
rivers; and this canal now serves as a link between the two. If either
one rises a good deal, we're just bound to get the benefit of that
little flood. Even at an inch an hour we could be moving out of this
before a great while. And I expect that the rise will do better than
that, presently. Just eat away, and wait. Nothing like keeping cool when
you just have to."

"Yes, when you tumble overboard, like I did once on a time," chuckled
Jud. "I kept perfectly cool; in fact, none of you ever saw a cooler
feller; because it was an ice-boat I dropped out of; and took a header
into an open place on the good old Bushkill. Oh! I can be as cool as a
cucumber--when I have to."

An hour later Paul announced that the rise had not only kept up as he