In air or water, paddles, oars, sails, fins, wings act by repulsion exerted on the fluid element in which they work.

CHAPTER VI THE ISLAND HOME OF KALITAN SWIFT and even were the strokes of the paddles as the canoes sped over the water toward Kalitan's island home.

Churning the stained waters into foam with her great paddles, the Mount Vernon swung slowly out into the narrow stream.

Te Ponga and his men joined in the swift flight, and as soon as they had reached the water they jumped into their canoe, seized their paddles and shot away, swift as a dart from a string.

Meanwhile, he listened attentively for the sound of the paddles, but many long minutes passed before he heard the faint dip, dip that betokened the approach of Willet and Tayoga.

A canoe took form and shape and he saw in it two figures, which were unmistakably those of Willet and Tayoga, swinging their paddles with powerful hands.

The canoe shifted its course a little, and entered the bushes by the side of Robert, the hunter and the Onondaga putting down their dripping paddles, and stepping out in the shallow water.

It behaves as if we were in it, and as if we were becoming exhausted by our great exertions with the paddles.

In the first boat, a large one for those waters, containing six paddles, sat no less a person than the great Ojibway chief himself, bare as usual to the waist and painted in many a hideous design.

" "So it is, and I infer from its speed that it has at least four paddles in it.

Meanwhile the canoe grew and grew, and they saw, as Willet had surmised, that it contained four paddles.

" It looked this time as if the savages had decided to make a close and careful inspection of the tree, bearing directly toward it, and coming so close that Robert could see their fierce, painted faces well and the muscles rising and falling on their powerful arms as they swept their paddles through the water.

A strong canoe with paddles for two was chosen and they put in it their rifles, plenty of ammunition and some food.

A few strokes of the paddles and the whole camp, save a luminous glow through the fog, was gone.

But nothing of a hostile nature came to them through the mists and vapors, and, resuming the paddles again, they bore more toward the center of the lake, where they thought they would be likely to escape the cruising canoes of the enemy, if any should be sent out by St. Luc.

" Now they began to use their paddles very slowly and gently, the canoe barely creeping along, and Tayoga listening with all his powers.

"It is a very large canoe, because it holds four paddles.

One of them is large also with four paddles in it, and two of the men are Frenchmen.

"There are two men in it, as the strokes of the paddles show.

They keep the paddles silent and try a new trick!

Distinct sounds now came from both left and right, the swish of paddles, the ripple of water against the side of a canoe, men talking.

"We paddle with all our might straight toward the south!" Two paddles wielded by skillful and powerful arms flashed in the water, and the canoe sped on its way.

He heard behind them the repeated and angry orders of Jumonville, the hurried strokes of many paddles, the splashing of canoes turned quickly about, a hum of excited voices, and then he felt a great swell of confidence.

I can hear the paddles of the four men in it.

" They swept their paddles through the water in long and vigorous strokes, and the canoe shot forward once more.