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+Project Gutenberg's The Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island, by Herbert Carter
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island
+       or Marooned Among the Game-fish Poachers
+
+Author: Herbert Carter
+
+Posting Date: October 14, 2012 [EBook #8067]
+Release Date: May, 2005
+First Posted: June 11, 2003
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Sean Pobuda
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND
+
+Or Marooned Among the Game-Fish Poachers
+
+By Herbert Carter
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OUT FOR A ROYAL GOOD TIME
+
+
+"Will you do me a favor, Bumpus?"
+
+"Sure I will, Giraffe; what is it you want now?"
+
+"Then tell me who that is talking to our scoutmaster, Dr. Philander
+Hobbs; because, you know, I've just come in after a scout ahead, and
+first thing saw was a stranger among the patrol boys."
+
+"Oh!  You mean that thin chap who came along in his buggy a bit ago,
+chasing after us all the way from that town where we had a bite of
+lunch? Why, I understand he's the son of the telegraph operator there.
+You know we made arrangements with him to try and get a message to us,
+if one came along."
+
+"Whew! then I hope he ain't fetched a message that'll spoil all our fun,
+just when we've got to the last leg of the journey, with the boat only a
+few miles further on!  That'd be the limit Bumpus.  You don't know
+anything about it, I reckon?"
+
+"Well, our scout-master looks kinder down in the mouth, and I'm afraid
+it must be some sort of a recall to duty for him," remarked a third lad,
+also wearing the khaki garments of a Boy Scout, as he joined the pair
+who were talking.
+
+"I'm afraid you're right, Davy," said the tall, angular fellow who
+seemed to own the queer name of Giraffe, though his long neck plainly
+proved why it had been given to him by his mates.  "But don't it beat
+the Dutch how many times Doe Hobbs has had to give up a jolly trip, and
+hurry back home, just when the fun was going to begin, because the old
+doctor he works with needed him the worst kind?"
+
+"But say," spoke up the fat boy who answered to the designation of
+Bumpus, "mebbe the Cranford Troop, and the Silver Fox Patrol in
+particular, ain't lucky to have such a wide-awake, efficient assistant
+scout-master as our Thad Brewster, who knows more in a day about
+out-of-door things than Dr. Hobbs would in a year."
+
+"Yes, that's right," replied Giraffe; "but we're going to know what's in
+the wind now, because here's the scout-master heading this way, with
+several of the other boys tagging at his heels, and sure as you live
+they're grinning too.  Looks to me like Stephen and Allan thought it a
+good joke, though they look solemn enough when Doc turns their way.
+He's just got to leave us, you mark my words, fellows."
+
+It turned out that very way.  An urgent message had come that
+necessitated the immediate return of the scout-master.  The old doctor
+with whom he practiced had been unlucky enough to fall, and break a leg;
+so it was absolutely essential that his assistant come back to look
+after the sick people of Cranford, hundreds of miles away.
+
+While the scout-master is getting his personal belongings together, and
+the six boys gathered around are trying to look terribly disappointed,
+it might be well to introduce the little party to such of our readers
+who have not had the pleasure of making their acquaintance in previous
+volumes of this series.
+
+The Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts now consisted of two full patrols, and
+a third was in process of forming.  The original patrol was known as the
+Silver Fox, and the six scouts who were with Doctor Hobbs, away up here
+on the border of Lake Superior, bent on a cruise on the great fresh
+water sea, all belonged to that division of the troop, so that they are
+old friends to those who have perused any of the earlier books.
+
+Thad Brewster, whom Bumpus had spoken of so highly, was a bright,
+energetic lad, who had always delighted in investigating things
+connected with outdoor life.  He had belonged to a troop before
+organizing the one at Cranford, and was well qualified for being made
+the assistant scoutmaster, having received his credentials from the New
+York Headquarters long ago.
+
+Allan Hollister, who would assume the responsibility should Thad be
+absent, was a boy who had spent quite a time in the Adirondacks before
+joining the scouts, and his knowledge was along practical lines.
+
+Then there was another fellow, rather a melancholy chap, who had a queer
+way of showing the whites of his eyes, and looking scared, at the least
+opportunity, only to make his chums laugh; for he would immediately
+afterwards grin--in school as a little fellow he had insisted that his
+name of Stephen should be pronounced as though it consisted of two
+syllables; and from that day to this he had come to be known as Step Hen
+Bingham.
+
+The other three boys were the ones who engaged in the little talk with
+which this story opens.  Bumpus really had another name, though few
+people ever thought to call him by it; yet in the register at school he
+was marked down as Cornelius Jasper Hawtree; while the fellow who had
+that strange "rubber-neck" that he was so fond of stretching to its
+limit, was Conrad Stedman.
+
+Davy Jones, too, wag a remarkable character, as may be made evident
+before the last word is said in this story.  He seemed to be as nimble
+as they make boys; and was forever doing what he called "stunts," daring
+any of his comrades to hang by their toes from the limb of a tree twenty
+feet from the ground; walking a tight-rope which he stretched across
+deep gully, and all sorts of other dangerous enterprises of that nature.
+Often he was called "Monkey," and no nick-name ever given by boy
+playmates fitted better than his.
+
+Once Davy had been a victim to fits, and on this account gained great
+consideration from his teachers at school, as well as from his comrades.
+But latterly there had arisen a suspicion that these "fits" that doubled
+him up so suddenly always seemed to come just when there was some hard
+work to be done; and once the suspicion that Davy was shamming broke in
+upon the rest, they shamed him into declaring himself radically cured.
+It was either that, or take a ducking every time he felt one of those
+spells coming on; so Davy always declared the camp air had effected a
+miracle in his case, and that he owed a great deal to his having joined
+the scouts.
+
+"Too bad, boys," said Dr. Hobbs, who was a mighty fine young man, and
+well liked by all the scouts in Cranford Troop, although they saw so
+little of him because his pressing duties called him away so often; "but
+I've got to go home on the first train.  Doctor Green has a broken leg,
+and there's nobody to make the rounds among our sick people in Cranford.
+I never was more disappointed in my life, because we've fixed things for
+a glorious cruise up here on Old Superior."
+
+The boys assured him that they deeply sympathized with him, because they
+knew it would break their hearts to be deprived of their outing, now
+that they had come so far.
+
+"Fortunately," continued Dr. Hobbs, with a twinkle in his kindly eyes,
+"that isn't at all necessary; because all arrangements have been made,
+the boat is waiting only a few miles away, and you have an efficient
+assistant scout-master in this fine chap here, Thad Brewster, who will
+take charge while I'm away, as he has done on numerous other sad
+occasions."
+
+"Hurrah!" burst from Bumpus; "that's the kind of stuff we like to hear.
+Not that we won't miss you, Doctor, because you know boys from the
+ground up, and we all feel like you're an older brother to us; but we've
+been out with Thad so much, we're kinder used to his ways."
+
+"Well," continued the scout-master, with a long sigh, "I've got to hurry
+off if I expect to catch that afternoon train, and there's no other
+until morning; so good-bye, boys.  Take good care of yourselves, and
+write to me as often as you can.  I'll try and picture the jolly
+happenings of this Lake Superior cruise as I read your accounts of it."
+
+He squeezed the hand of every one of the six lively lads; and there was
+a huskiness in his voice as he bade them a last good-bye that told
+better than words how sorry he was to leave the merry bunch, just when
+they were almost, as Bumpus put it, "in sight of the Promised Water."
+
+So the vehicle passed from sight, and the last they saw of Doctor Hobbs
+was a hand waving his campaign hat to them just before a bend in the
+country road was reached.
+
+All of them now turned to Thad to see what his plan of campaign would
+be.
+
+"If it's just this way, fellows," he remarked, with one of his smiles
+that had made him the most popular boy in all Cranford, barring none;
+"we've got about three miles to hit it up before we reach the lake
+shore.  Then we'll make camp and spend another night, which I hope will
+be our last ashore for some little time.  Because, unless there's a
+hitch to the program, we ought to come on the landing where our boat is
+going to be in waiting, by ten o'clock to-morrow."
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Bumpus, who was already weary of "hiking" because his
+build made him less active than some of the other scouts, notably Davy
+and Giraffe.
+
+"Let's get a move on, then," suggested Step Hen.  "I can see that poor
+old Giraffe here is nearly perishing for a little bite of supper."
+
+A rippling laugh ran around at this, for every one knew the failing of
+the long-legged scout, whose stowage capacity when it came time to eat
+had never as yet within the memory of any comrade been fully tested; for
+they always declared that his legs must be hollow, for otherwise it was
+a mystery where all the food he devoured went to, since he never seemed
+to get any stouter after a meal than he was before.
+
+The march was accordingly resumed, with Tad and Allan leading the van.
+The boys were going light, because they did not intend to do much
+camping on this trip, as it was expected that the boat would accommodate
+all of them with sleeping quarters.
+
+Each one had a blanket strapped to his back, and with this were a few
+necessities in the line cooking utensils and food.  Most of their
+luggage had been sent on by another route, as had also their supplies.
+Doctor Hobbs had wished them to go to the landing where their boat was
+to meet them, by following this roundabout course, having had some
+reason of his own for visiting the country.  His folks in Cranford owned
+considerable land in this vicinity, and it was said that there were
+out-croppings of valuable copper to be found upon it; which accounted for
+the young man's desire to make inquiries while up in this region.
+
+Joking and laughing, and even singing snatches of school songs, the boys
+of the Silver Fox Patrol tramped along the road that was to bring them
+to the shore of the lake by and by.
+
+It was about half-past four when they obtained their first glimpse of
+the apparently boundless body of water, said to be the largest fresh
+water sea in the whole world.  Shortly afterwards they reached the shore
+and were looking almost in awe out upon the vast expanse of water, upon
+the bosom of which they anticipated making their home for some weeks
+during vacation time.
+
+"Here's the finest camp site you ever struck in your born days,
+fellers!" called out Giraffe, as he waved his arm around at the trees
+that grew close to the edge of the inland sea; and every one of the
+other five scouts agreed with him.
+
+They had made many camps in the last two years, for they had wandered
+far from the home town, down in Tennessee, up in Maine, and away out to
+the Rockies on one memorable occasion; but no better place to spend a
+night had ever greeted their eyes.
+
+It was soon a bustling scene, with a fire being started, and
+arrangements made to build a sort of lean-to shelter that would even
+shed rain in a pinch should a storm come upon them during the night they
+expected to spend here.
+
+Davy, as usual, was climbing trees, and spying into every hole he could
+find.  When Monkey Jones had a chance to exercise his peculiar gifts
+like this present opportunity afforded him it was utterly out of the
+question to hold him in.  And so he swung daringly from one limb to
+another, just for all the world like a squirrel, chattering at times in
+a way that Giraffe always declared left no doubt in his mind concerning
+Davy's having descended from the original tree-climbing tribe that
+sported tails.
+
+There was one very large tree close by, that is, large considering that
+in this section there were few that could boast a girth of more than a
+foot; but this one was really what Bumpus called a "whopper;" and Davy
+sported among the higher branches with all the delight of a child with a
+new toy; giving the others more than one thrill as he swooped this way
+and that with reckless abandon.
+
+But suddenly he sent out a shout that caused every fellow to take
+notice; and Bumpus actually turned pale with apprehension, as he vainly
+looked around for some sort of weapon with which to defend himself;
+because he always believed he must be a shining mark for any hungry wild
+beast, on account of his plumpness.
+
+"Oh!" shouted the boy in the tree, "a panther, fellers, a really true
+panther!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THAD GOES AFTER THE YELLOW EYES
+
+
+"He says a panther is up there!" echoed Giraffe, stretching that long
+neck of his at a fearful rate, in the endeavor to locate the animal in
+question.
+
+All of them became immediately intensely interested in the further
+doings of Davy Jones.  The boy chanced to be in a position where he
+could not apparently pass down the trunk of the tree, for fear lest he
+come in contact with the sharp claws of the dreaded beast which he
+claimed was hiding up there somewhere; but then that was a small matter
+to one so active as the Jones boy.
+
+He immediately started to fearlessly slide down the outside of the tree,
+making use of the branches as he came along, to stay his program when it
+threatened to become too rapid.
+
+The sight of Davy spinning down from that height with such perfect
+abandon, was one none of those fellows would ever forget.
+
+When he finally landed on the ground they gathered around him with some
+misgivings, for Davy was addicted to practical jokes, and some of his
+chums suspected that even now he was, as Step Hen suggested, "putting up
+a job on his unsuspecting comrades."
+
+One look at his really white face told them that at least Davy's fright
+had been genuine.  He may not have seen a truly savage panther up there
+in the tree, but he firmly believed he did.
+
+"Where was it, Davy?" demanded Giraffe, who had hastened to snatch up
+the camp hatchet in lieu of any better weapon with which to defend
+himself.
+
+"Did it try to grab you?" asked Bumpus, with a tremor in his voice that
+he tried in vain to conceal by a great show of assumed bluster.
+
+"And was there only one up there?" queried Step Hen, anxiously,
+fingering the double-barreled Marlin shotgun, which was the only firearm
+they had with them, as this expedition had not been organized with any
+idea of hunting; and the season for game was not on as yet, either, even
+in this northern country; though Giraffe, who owned the gun, had fetched
+it in the hope that they might be forgiven if they knocked over a few
+wild ducks, should their rations run low.
+
+"I didn't wait to ask," stammered Davy, "fact is, boys, I didn't really
+see the terrible beast at all, only his big yellow eyes!"
+
+"Oh! is that so, Davy?" exclaimed Thad, turning to give Allan a wink, as
+much as to let him understand that the truth would soon be coming now.
+
+"But see here," Step Hen wanted to know; "however was you agoin' to see
+his eyes and not glimpse the panther himself; that's a thing you've got
+to explain, Davy Jones."
+
+The other bent a look of commiseration on the speaker.
+
+"What's the answer to that?" he went on to say, recovering his voice
+more and more with each passing second, now that his personal safety
+seemed assured; "I'll tell you, Step Hen.  You see, there's a big
+yawning gap in the tree up there, as black inside as your hat after
+night.  And when I just happened to look that way what did I see but a
+pair of round yellow eyes astaring straight at me!  Guess I've seen a
+panther, and I ought to know how his eyes look in the dark--just like
+you've seen the old cat alooking at you to home, when you went into a
+dark room.  Wow! say, did you notice me acoming down that tree outside
+like greased lightning?  I own up I expected I'd be pounced on any
+second, and that made me in something like a hurry, fellows!"
+
+One or two of the scouts snickered at this.  The sound appeared to annoy
+Davy, who was plainly very much in earnest.
+
+"Huh! easy to laugh, you fellows," he remark, with deep satire in his
+voice.  "Mebbe, now, you, don't believe what I'm telling you!  Mebbe one
+of you'd like to just climb up there, and see for yourself what it is?
+I dare you, Bumpus!"
+
+"You'll have to excuse me, Davy; it's too big a job for a boy built like
+me, you understand, though sure I'd like to accommodate first rate,"
+replied the scout with the red hair and mild blue eyes, shrinking back,
+and shrugging his shoulders.
+
+"Then how about you, Step Hen," pursued Davy, determined to put it to
+each of the scoffers in turn until he had shown them up in good style;
+"I notice that you're looking like you didn't reckon there couldn't
+abeen such a thing as a genuine panther around this region in the last
+twenty years and more.  Suppose you tumble up there, and take a look-in!"
+
+But the party indicated smiled sweetly, and laid his hand on the region
+of his stomach, as he went on to say:
+
+"Why, really and truly, Davy, I think I'm going to have one of those
+nasty cramps just like you used to have so often.  There's agripe coming
+on right now, and you see how unpleasant it would be to find myself
+doubled-up while I was thirty feet from the ground.  I'm afraid I'll
+have to pass this time."
+
+"Then, there's Giraffe who'll he sure to volunteer," continued the
+other, bound to take all the scoffers in by turns.  "He's of an
+investigating turn of mind, and if he wants to, I reckon he might take
+that gun along, so he could have some show, if the thing jumped right
+out in his face!"
+
+"Well, now," the long-legged scout answered, with a whimsical grin, "I'd
+like to accommodate you the worst kind, Davy, but you know how it is
+with me.  I ain't worth a cooky before I've had my feed.  Feel sorter
+weak about the knees, to tell you the honest truth; and I never was as
+keen about climbing to the top of tall trees as you were, Davy.  Count
+me out, please, that's a good fellow."
+
+At that Davy laughed outright.
+
+"I see you've got cold feet in the bargain, Giraffe," he asserted.
+"Well, then, if anybody's going to climb up there and poke that ugly old
+beast out of his den it'll have to be either our scout-master, or Allen;
+for I tell you right now you don't catch me monkeying with a buzz-saw
+after I've had my fingers zipped."
+
+"I'll go," said Thad, quietly.
+
+"Here, take this, Thad," urged Step Hen, trying to force the shotgun
+into the hands of the other, as he stepped toward the base of the big
+tree.
+
+Thad and Allan again exchanged looks.
+
+"Don't think I'll need it, do you, Allan?" the former asked.
+
+"Hardly," came the reply; "and even if you did carry it up, the chances
+are you couldn't find a way to hold on, and shoot at the same time.
+Here, let me take that thing, Step Hen; you're that nervous.  If
+anything did happen to fluster you, I honestly believe you'd up and bang
+away, and perhaps fill our chum with bird-shot in the bargain."
+
+Step Hen disavowed any such weakness, but nevertheless he was apparently
+glad to hand over the weapon; because he realized that Allan knew much
+better how to use firearms than he did, and if there was any occasion
+for shooting, the responsibility would be off his shoulders; for Step
+Hen never liked to find himself placed where he was in the limelight and
+had to make good, or be disgraced.
+
+Thad did not appear to be at all worried, as he took a last good look
+aloft, as though wishing to assure himself that there was no panther in
+sight among the thick branches above, before he trusted himself up
+there.
+
+His good common sense told him that the chances were as ten to one that
+Davy had not seen what he claimed at all; but his fears had worked
+overtime, and simply magnified some trifling thing.
+
+Of course had Thad really believed there was any chance of meeting such
+a savage beast as a panther he would never have ventured w make that
+climb; or if he did he must have surely taken the gun along with him.
+
+The others gathered around near the foot of the tree, and tried to
+follow the daring climber with their eyes, meanwhile exchanging more or
+less humorous remarks in connection with his mission.
+
+All of them, saving possibly Allan, seemed to be a little nervous
+concerning the outcome; because Davy kept on asserting his positive
+belief that it was a real true panther that lay in the aperture above,
+and not a make-believe.
+
+"I only hope Thad can dodge right smart if the old thing does come
+whooping out at him!" was the way Davy put it; at which the eyes of
+Bumpus grew rounder and rounder, and he began to quietly edge away from
+under the tree, an inch at a time; for he hoped none of his chums would
+notice his timidity, because Bumpus was proud of having done certain
+things in the line of bagging big game, on the occasion of their trip to
+the Far West.
+
+"There," remarked Step Hen, "he's getting up pretty far now, and I
+reckon must be close by the place where you saw your old panther, Davy."
+
+"Yes," added Giraffe, "and you notice that Thad's marking time, so to
+speak, for he's hanging out there, and trying to see what's above him."
+
+"A scout should always use a certain amount of caution," interposed
+Allan; "there are times when a fellow might take chances, if it's a case
+of necessity, and quick action is necessary in order to save life; but
+right now Thad's only carrying out the rule he's always laid down for
+the rest of us.
+
+"Be prepared, you know, is the slogan of every scout, and that's what
+he's doing.  He wants to be sure of his ground before he jumps."
+
+"Hub!" grunted Davy, "if I'd stopped to count ten before I slid down, I
+wonder now what would have happened to me.  Some fellers act from
+impulse every time, and you can't change the spots of the leopard, they
+say. What's dyed in the wool can't be washed out, as took as Bumpus here
+with his carroty hair."
+
+"You leave my hair alone, Davy Jones, and pay attention to your own
+business," complained the stout scout, aggressively.  "You just know
+you're a going to get it when Thad makes his report, and you're trying
+to draw attention somewhere else.   Make me think of what I read about
+the pearl divers when they see an old hungry man-eating shark waiting
+above 'em; they stir up the sand with the sharp-pointed stick they
+carry; and when the water gets foggy they swim away without the fish
+being able to see 'em. And you're atrying right now to befog the real
+case, which is, did you really see anything, or get scared at your own
+shadow."
+
+"Hear! Hear!" crowed Giraffe, who always liked to see Bumpus aroused,
+and when this occurred he often made out to back him up with approval,
+just as some boys would sick one dog on another, or tempt rival roosters
+to come to a "scrap."
+
+"You fellow's let up, and watch what Thad's agoin' to do," Step Hen
+advised them at that juncture; and so for the time being Davy and Bumpus
+forgot their complaint and riveted their eyes on the boy who was up in
+the tree.
+
+"I can't hardly see him any more, the branches are so thick," complained
+Bumpus ducking his head this way and that.
+
+"That's because he's gone on again," argued Giraffe; "seems like he
+didn't find any signs of a real panther when he took that survey."
+
+"Hold your horses!" was all Davy allowed himself to say, though no doubt
+he himself had commenced to have serious doubts by now.
+
+Half a minute later and there broke out a series of strange sounds from
+up above their heads.
+
+"Listen to that, now, would you?" cried Davy, bristling with importance
+again.  "Don't that sound like Thad might a hit up against something
+big? Hear him talking, will you?  Didn't you catch what he said right
+then--no, you don't grab me, you rascal; I'm afraid I'll have to knock
+you on the head yet!  Say, don't that sound like Thad had found my
+panther, and was keeping him off with that club he took up with him.
+Oh! what's that?"
+
+Something came crashing down as Davy uttered this last exclamation.  The
+boys were horrified at, first, because they imagined it might bit Thad
+and the panther, that, meeting in midair, had lost their grip, and were
+falling to the ground, fully forty feet below.
+
+"Why, it's only his club," cried Giraffe, quickly.
+
+"Then he must have let it get knocked out of his hand!" ejaculated
+Bumpus. "Oh! poor Thad.  He'll be in a bad fix without a single thing to
+fight that animal with!"
+
+"That's where you're mistaken, because I can see him now, and he's
+acoming down the tree right smart!" Step Hen announced; which
+intelligence allowed Bumpus to breathe freely again, for his face was
+getting fiery red with the suspense that had gripped him.
+
+"That's so!" echoed Giraffe, "and I'm looking to see if there's any
+signs of a big cat trailing after him, but so far nothing ain't come in
+sight."
+
+The five scouts on the ground hastened to close in around the foot of
+the big tree, so as to welcome their patrol leader when he dropped from
+the lower limb.
+
+"Seems to me Thad acts kind of clumsy, for him," announced Step Hen;
+"now, if it'd been Bumpus here I could understand it, because, well I
+won't say what I was agoing to, because it might make hard feelings
+between us; and with all his shortcomings Bumpus is a good sort of a
+chap."
+
+"Huh! dassent, that's what!" grunted the party indicated, making a
+threatening gesture in the direction of his fellow-scout.
+
+The arrival of the scout-master caused them to forget all other things.
+Thad, as soon as he found his feet fixed on solid ground once more,
+strode straight up until he faced Davy Jones, and suddenly called out:
+
+"There's your panther, Davy!"
+
+There was a craning of necks, a gasping of breaths, and then a series of
+yells broke forth that made the nearby woods fairly ring with the
+echoes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE CAMP ON THE LAKE SHORE
+
+
+"Why, it's only a big owl!" shouted Giraffe.
+
+"Hey, Davy, shake hands with your yellow-eyed panther!" roared Step Hen.
+
+Bumpus snatched up his bugle, for he held that office in the Cranford
+Troop, and let out a piercing series of blasts that would have
+undoubtedly frightened any wild animal, had there been such within a
+mile of the camp on the lake shore.
+
+It was a large owl that Thad grasped in such fashion that the bird could
+not reach him with its curved beak, though it made several vicious
+lunges, as though anxious to fight the whole patrol at once.
+
+He had kept it hidden under his coat when descending the tree, and now
+gripped it firmly by its two splendidly colored wings.
+
+"Well, it did have yellow eyes, all right," complained the dejected
+Davy; "and as it stuck there in that black hole, how was I to know it
+was only a harmless old owl, a hooter at that?"
+
+"If you think he's harmless just try and lay a finger on him," said
+Thad. "Why, he'd snap you like lightning; once let that beak strike, and
+you'd lose a piece of skin as big as a half dollar.  He's a savage bird,
+let me warn you."
+
+"Oh! say, can't we, keep him for a pet?" ejaculated Bumpus, who could
+hardly take his eyes off the bird, for its plumage was certainly
+beautiful, being a combination of creamy yellows and nut browns, while
+two bunches stuck up like horns from the region of his ears.
+
+"I've got a nice little chain we might put around one of his legs, and
+what fun we'd have with the thing while we were afloat on the raging
+lake," Step Hen went on to say.
+
+"Allan, get on that thick pair of gloves we brought, and see if you
+could fasten the chain to his leg.  It would be worth while to have some
+sort of pet along with us; because Bumpus has kicked over the traces
+long ago, and won't let us make a baby out of him any more," Thad went
+on to remark.
+
+When he had protected his hands in this way, Allan had little difficulty
+in adjusting the slender but strong steel chain which Step Hen had
+brought with him, intending to use in case he managed to capture a
+raccoon, or some other small beast, for he was especially found of pets.
+
+When they had fastened the other end of the chain to something, the owl
+sat on the limb of a tree, and gazed at them with blinking eyes.  There
+was still enough of daylight, with all that glow in the western heavens
+to interfere with his sight more or less, and he simply ruffled up his
+feathers in high dudgeon, and kept trying to pick at the chain that held
+his leg.
+
+"Now, that's what I call a pretty good start," argued Step Hen, as he
+stood in front of the chained owl, and admired his plumage; "perhaps
+later on I might happen to land a 'coon or a mink, who knows.  I've
+always believed that I'd like to have a pet mink, though somebody told
+me they couldn't be tamed."
+
+"Yes," went on Giraffe scornfully, "if you had your way the whole boat'd
+be a floating menagerie, you've got such a liking for pets.  The mink
+would soon be joined by a 'possum; then would come a pair of muskrats;
+after which we'd expect to find a fox under our feet every time we
+stepped; a wolverine growling like fun at us when we made the least
+move; a squirrel climbing all over us; a heron perched on the garboard
+streak, whatever that might be; and mebbe a baby bear rolling on the
+deck.  All them things are possible, once Step Hen gets started on his
+collecting stunt."
+
+"Well, forget it now, won't you, Giraffe, because there goes Bumpus
+putting supper on the fire; and unless you look sharp he'll just cut
+down your ration till you'll only get as much as any two of us," advised
+Step Hen.
+
+In spite of all these little encounters of wit, and the sharp things
+that were sometimes said, boy fashion, these six churns were as fond of
+each other as any lads could possibly be.  There was hardly anything
+they would not have done for one another, given the opportunity; and
+this had been proved many times in the past.
+
+While they were fond of joking the tall scout on his appetite, truth to
+tell every one of the others could display a pretty good stowage
+capacity when it came to disposing of the meals.  And so they were all
+anxious to help Bumpus when he started getting the camp supper ready.
+
+Besides these six lads there were of course two others who went to, make
+up the full complement; of the Silver Fox Patrol; and who have figured
+in previous stories of this series.
+
+These boys were named Robert Quail White, who was Southern born, and
+went by the name of "Bob White," among his friends; and Edmund Maurice
+Travers Smith, conveniently shortened to plain "Smithy."
+
+These two had taken a different route to the lake, and expected to meet
+their six churns at a given rendezvous.  They were intending also to
+make use of another boat, since the one engaged for the party would only
+accommodate seven at a pinch, and counting the scout-master they would
+have numbered nine individuals in all.
+
+The other two had found that they wanted to see the wonderful Soo Canal,
+and the rapids that the St. Mary river boasts at that point, where the
+pent-up waters of Superior rush through the St. Mary's river to help
+swell the other Great Lakes, and eventually pass through the St.
+Lawrence river to the sea.
+
+It is no joke cooking for half a dozen hungry scouts, and the one whose
+duty compelled him to be the chef for a day had to count on filling the
+capacity of coffee-pot and frying-pans, of which latter there were two.
+
+Evening had settled down upon them by the time they were ready to enjoy
+the supper of Boston baked beans, fried onions with the steak that had
+been procured at the last town they had passed through; crackers, some
+bread that one of them toasted to a beautiful brown color alongside the
+fire, and almost scorched his face in the bargain; and the whole flanked
+by the coffee which was "like ambrosia," their absent chum Smithy would
+have said, until they dashed some of the contents of the evaporated
+cream into each tin cup, along with lumps of sugar.
+
+"This is what I call living," sighed Giraffe, as he craned his neck
+visibly in the endeavor to see, whether there was a third "helping" left
+in the pan for "manners," which was another name for Conrad Stedman.
+
+"Hadn't we better save this piece of steak for Tim?" suggested Step Hen,
+wickedly, for that was the name he had given to the captive owl.
+
+"No, you don't," objected Giraffe, vociferously, just as the other had
+known he would do; "that's the very last beef steak we're apt to see for
+half a moon; and I say it would be a shame to waste it on a heathen
+bird. Besides, you couldn't coax Jim to take a bite till he's nearly
+starved; ain't that so, Thad?"
+
+They always appealed to either the assistant scout-master or Allan,
+whenever any question like this came up, connected with bird or animal
+lore; and no matter how puzzling the matter might seem to the one who
+asked, it was promptly answered in nearly every instance.
+
+"Yes, he isn't likely to take hold for a day or two," replied Thad.  "By
+that time the old fellow will sort of get used to seeing us about; and
+he won't refuse to eat when you put something out for him; only all of
+you be careful that he doesn't prefer a piece out of your hand.  Don't
+trust him ever!"
+
+"You can make up your mind I won't give him a chance to grab me,"
+asserted Bumpus, never dreaming that by accident he would be the very
+first to feel the force of that curved beak.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed Step Hen; "as sure as anything there's another!
+Why, this must be what you might call Owl-land."
+
+From far away in the timber came the plain sound of hooting.  All of the
+scouts knew what it was easily enough, though there had been a time when
+they were real tenderfeet, and could hardly distinguish between the call
+of an owl and the braying of a donkey; but camping-out experience had
+done away with all such ignorance as that.
+
+"There, don't that make you feel foolish, Step Hen?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+"Me?  Whatever put that silly notion into your head, Bumpus?"
+
+"Why," the other went on to say reproachfully, "it was you that really
+wanted to keep the poor old bird; and just listen to its mate mourning
+for it, would you?  I'd think you'd feel so sorry you'd want to unfasten
+that chain right away, and give the owl its freedom."
+
+"Not for Joseph, though I'll let you go and undo his chain if you feel
+inclined that way," Step Hen observed, knowing full well that Bumpus did
+not want to see the feathered captive set free quite that bad.
+"Besides, how d'ye know that's a mate to my bird whooping it up back
+there?"
+
+"Well, if you want to find out, just you sleep with one eye open,"
+Bumpus told him; "and take it from me you'll see that other owl come
+winnowing around here, wanting to know why our new pet don't come when
+she calls."
+
+"Huh! mebbe I will,"' was all Step Hen would say about it; but evidently
+the idea had appealed to him; and there was a chance that he would
+indulge in very little rest that night, for trying to "keep one eye open
+while he slept."
+
+After supper was all over, and the boys lay around on their blankets,
+they fell to talking of other days when they had been in company, and
+met with a great many, surprising adventures.
+
+Then Bumpus, who really had a very fine tenor voice, which he could
+strain so as to sing soprano like a bird, was coaxed to favor them with
+a number of selections, the others coming in heavy in each chorus.
+
+Sometimes it was a popular ballad of the day that Bumpus gave them; but
+more often a school chorus, or it might be some tender Scotch song like
+"Comin' Through the Rye," "Annie Laurie," or "Twickenham Ferry;" for
+boys can appreciate such sentiments more than most folks believe; and
+especially when in an open air camp, with the breeze sighing through the
+trees around them, or the waves murmuring as they wash the sandy shore
+of a lake, and the moonlight throwing a magical spell upon all their
+surroundings; for there is the seed of romance in the heart of nearly
+every healthy lad.
+
+So the evening wore on until some of them began to yawn frequently,
+showing that they were ready to turn in.  As one of them had said, this
+might be the last time they would camp ashore during trip, because on
+the morrow they anticipated, unless something unforeseen came up to
+prevent it, going aboard their boat, and starting on the cruise upon the
+big waters of Superior.
+
+They had no tent on this occasion, but really that was not going to
+prove any hardship to these bold lads, accustomed to spending many a
+night in the woods, with only a blanket for a cover against the dew and
+frost.
+
+It was arranged to keep the fire going.  This would serve in a double
+capacity, for not only would they be kept warm through the cold part of
+the night, but if there did happen to be any wild beasts around in that
+section of the Lake Superior country, which both Allan and Thad rather
+doubted, why, the glow of the blaze was apt to make them keep their
+distance.
+
+The last thing Giraffe remembered, as his heavy eyes persisted in
+closing, was seeing Step Hen bob up his head to stare over toward the
+low branch upon which the captive owl was fastened; as though he might
+have arranged a program with himself and meant to do this thing at
+stated intervals all through the night.
+
+Giraffe chuckled at the idea of sacrificing good sleep in the interest
+of knowledge; he was willing to simply ask some one who knew, and be
+satisfied to accept their answer as conclusive.
+
+An hour later and the camp seemed to be all quiet, for every one was
+apparently sound asleep.  Even Thad and Allan had known of no reason why
+a watch should be maintained, for they felt sure there could hardly be a
+human being within miles of the camp; and even if this were not so, the
+chances were strongly in favor of its proving to be an honest farmer, or
+some miner on his way to the workings further west.
+
+The only sounds that could have been heard from time to time were an
+occasional peevish fretful croak from the captive owl, as it continued
+to peck savagely at the chain around its leg; or it might be a snore
+from Bumpus, or some other fellow who had a fashion of lying squarely on
+his back.
+
+Perhaps pretty soon, when one of the scouts had been kept awake by this
+noise until patience ceased to be a virtue, he would get quietly up, and
+pour a tin-cup of lake water over the one who persisted in sleeping with
+his mouth wide open; for that sort of radical remedy had proven
+effective on other occasions, and brought relief.
+
+It must have been almost midnight when a sudden change came about that
+took even the seasoned campers by surprise, for they had not been
+anticipating any such startling event.
+
+The stillness was broken by a piercing scream that caused every head to
+bob up, and the blankets to be hurriedly thrown aside.
+
+"My owl's mate has come in on us, mebbe!" exclaimed Step Hen; for that
+idea was so firmly lodged in his brain that it had to occur to him as
+soon as he heard all that row.
+
+But some of the others were wiser, for they knew that shout had surely
+come from human lips.
+
+Giraffe was the first to call out and draw their attention to certain
+facts.
+
+"Looky there at old Bumpus dancing a jig, will you!  Whatever ails the
+feller, d'ye think!  Acts like he'd clean gone out of his head, and got
+loony!" he cried, as with the other boys he came tumbling out from under
+the rude shelter made of branches.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+LAUNCHED ON THE INLAND SEA
+
+
+Sure enough Bumpus was in plain sight, for the fire still burned, and
+there was also a bright moon high up in the heavens.  The fat scout
+seemed to be trying to execute all the steps in a Southern hoedown, or
+an Irish jig; for he was prancing around this way and that, holding on
+to his hand, which the other boys now discovered was streaked with
+blood!
+
+"Oh! what's happened to you, Bumpus?" cried Step Hen, as he ran out
+toward the spot where the other continued to waltz around in his bright
+red and white striped pajamas, that made him look like an "animated
+sawed-off barber's pole," as one of his chums had once told him.
+
+"It bit me, oh!  I'll bleed to death, I reckon now!" wailed the other;
+"say, Thad, get out some of that purple stuff you use for scratches from
+wild animals.  Mebbe blood, poisoning'll develop; and I'd just hate the
+worst kind to die up here, away off from my own home."
+
+
+"What bit you; can't you tell us, Bumpus?" asked Thad, though already he
+may have had suspicions that way.
+
+"Jim did, the bally old owl!" came the dismal answer; "please, oh!
+please tell me whether his beak is poisonous, won't you, Thad?"
+
+"Well, what d'ye think of that?" ejaculated Step Hen, "however did you
+happen to meddle with my owl, tell me?  Sure, I did give you permission
+to unchain him, if you had the nerve; but I never did believe you'd go
+and take me up at that."
+
+"I didn't neither," Bumpus declared, still dancing around.
+
+"Here, let me see that wound!" called out Thad, as he and Allan cornered
+the sufferer; "all it may need is washing, and then binding up with some
+healing salve.  But it makes a nasty cut, don't it, Allan?"
+
+"I should say yes," replied the other; "but it's some lucky it wasn't
+his face the bird struck at.  Why, Bumpus might have lost an eye."
+
+At that possibility the fat scout set up another roar.
+
+"Just you believe the old thing meant to snap my eye out when he bit at
+me; and I must have happened to put out my hand--so he struck that!" he
+declared; while Allan hastened to open a package and take out some salve
+and tape such as scouts should always carry along with them when in
+camp, because there is no telling when it may be needed badly, just as
+in the present instance.
+
+"But see here, what possessed you to walk around in this way, and go
+over to try and pet that savage bird?" asked Thad.
+
+"Give you my solemn affidavit that I don't know a single thing about
+it!" the other went on to say, as solemn as the owl that sat on the
+branch near by.
+
+"Do you mean you don't remember getting up, and coming out here?"
+continued the scout-master, who always probed things to the very dregs,
+or until he had extracted all the information possible.
+
+"Not a thing," reaffirmed Bumpus, and his face showed that he was
+speaking only the truth.  "I can remember laying down for a snooze, and
+then everything seems to be blank after that, till all of a sudden I
+felt that awful pain, and it made me let out a whoop, I'm telling you."
+
+"I should think it did," muttered Giraffe; "ten Injuns rolled into one
+couldn't beat that howl.  I sure thought the panther had got you that
+time!"
+
+"Well, likely I thought just that same thing, Giraffe, when I warbled
+that way, because I remember now I was dreaming about gray-coated
+panthers. Then I thought about rattlesnakes too, because you know I
+can't stand for the crawlers.  Next thing I opened my eyes with a jump,
+and saw that old owl, with every feather on his back standing up like
+the quills of a porcupine, and trying to jab me a second time."
+
+Thad and Allan, who had now returned in time to hear this last exchanged
+looks.
+
+"A clear case of sleep walking, seems like!" ventured the former.
+
+"Oh! my goodness gracious!  I thought I was over them tricks years ago!"
+exclaimed Bumpus, shivering.  "If they're agoing to take me again I see
+my finish; because some night I'll walk off a precipice, and that'll be
+the end of me."
+
+"We'll like as not have to tie you by the leg every night, just like Jim
+is now; and that'll stop you prancing around loose, trying to set my
+pets free in your sleep," Step Hen went on to say, reassuringly; but
+somehow Bumpus did not seem to take to the idea the least bit.
+
+"You let me alone, that's all, Step Hen Bingham," he told the other,
+"and I'll fix my own business.  That's what comes of you keeping the
+silly old owl.  Serve you about right if his mate dropped in and bit the
+end of your big toe off to pay you up for fastening that chain on the
+poor thing's leg."
+
+"Say, I like that, now; when you were the very first one to ask if we
+couldn't keep that same owl!" Step Hen told him.
+
+"Wow! that hurts some, let me tell you, fellows!" groaned the fat scout,
+when Allan was putting some salve, calculated to help heal the wound, on
+the torn place, and then with the assistance of the scout-master started
+binding the hand up with windings of soft linen that came in a tape roll
+two inches wide.
+
+"But let me tell you it's some chilly out here, with only pajamas on,"
+objected Giraffe; "and for one I'm going to skip back under my blanket,
+where I can snuggle down.  Somebody remember to throw a little wood on
+the fire, please.  Let Davy do it."
+
+Of course that really meant either the scoutmaster or Allan; and Giraffe
+often had a failing for shirking some duty like this.  It was so easy to
+expect some other to do disagreeable things; though as a rule the boys
+were accustomed to saying, "let Davy do it," until it had become so
+tiresome that the Jones boy had rebelled, and refused to be the errand
+boy any longer for the entire patrol.
+
+In half ah hour silence again brooded over the camp.  Bumpus must have
+done something to make sure he did not start walking in his sleep again,
+for nothing occurred to disturb their slumbers until dawn came along
+and, with birds singing, as well as gray squirrels barking lustily at
+the intruders, awakened them all.
+
+Breakfast was hurried, because all of them were' anxious to be on the
+move. They knew that by following the shore of the big water several
+miles they would come to the point where there was a village, with
+something of a landing place in a sheltered nook; and here they expected
+to find their boat awaiting them.
+
+It was about an hour after sun-up that the cheery notes of Bumpus'
+silver-toned bugle gave the signal for the start; and the six khaki-clad
+lads could be seen moving at a fairly fast pace along the shore of the
+lake.  Step Hen had managed to bundle the captive owl in a spare
+sweater, so he could carry him all right without danger.
+
+The little waves came purling up close to their feet, and seemed to
+welcome the strangers to their domain; but Thad knew full well that
+under different conditions these same waves would unite to threaten them
+with destruction.
+
+Step Hen having found a way to muzzle the owl, so that he could carry
+the prisoner, without fear of dire attacks from that sharp beak seemed
+more determined than ever to try and keep Jim; and he frowned every time
+he saw Bumpus observing the bird thoughtfully, because he imagined the
+fat scout might be hatching up a scheme for choking the thick-necked
+prisoner, in revenge for what he had suffered from its savage thrust.
+
+Finally a loud shout was heard from Giraffe, who, being so much taller
+than the balance of the scouts, and possessed of a neck he could stretch
+to an alarming degree, was in a position to see much further than the
+rest.
+
+"The village is in sight!" he announced, whereat there was a cheer, the
+owl commenced to struggle afresh, and Step Hen had his hands full trying
+to quiet his feathered prisoner.
+
+With their goal now close at hand the boys were able to step out at a
+more lively pace, even Bumpus showing surprising gains.
+
+About ten o'clock they arrived at the settlement where they had seen
+some sort of dock, at which a couple of ore barges of the whaleback type
+were being loaded.
+
+Already the eager eyes of the boys had discovered a boat that answered
+the description of the one they expected to find awaiting them.
+
+Making straight for the place they found that they had guessed rightly.
+That good sized powerboat was the Chippeway Belle, the vessel which was
+to be their home for the next two weeks or more, as they pleased.
+
+An investigation revealed the fact that their stores were all aboard, as
+well as their extra supplies that went under the general designation of
+"duffel."
+
+"Nothing else for us to do but go aboard, and make a bully start, is
+there, Thad?" asked the impatient Giraffe, eager to find out how the
+craft could go; for up to now the Silver Fox Patrol had generally spent
+their outings on dry land; and this idea of a cruise had come somewhat
+in the shape of what Thad called an "innovation."
+
+"Nothing at all, Giraffe," replied the other, himself looking pleased at
+the prospect of being about to start on such a splendid pleasure trip.
+
+"How about paying for the use of the boat; has all that been attended
+to?" asked careful Bumpus, who was not so very much of a water-dog
+himself, and rather viewed the prospect of getting out of sight of land
+on board so small a craft with anything but exultant delight; indeed, to
+tell the honest truth, the fat scout was already secretly sorry he had
+come.
+
+"Oh! yes," replied Thad, quickly; "Dr. Hobbs attended to all that for
+us; fact is, this boat is owned by a friend of his, which was how we got
+it as cheap as we did.  And more than that, the gentleman attended to
+packing all our supplies at the Soo, and sent the boat here on a
+steamer, so we could start from this place.  It was Dr. Philander's
+idea, you know, this coming through the copper region along the south
+shore of the Eke.  And now, if you're all of the same mind, let's get
+started."
+
+"Hurrah; hoist the Pennant of the Silver Fox Patrol that your Sister
+Polly made us, Giraffe, and every fellow dip his hat to the colors of
+the gay Chippeway Belle!" and in answer to this request on the part of
+Davy Jones they did salute the raising of the neat little burgee that
+had a silver fox fashioned in silken hand-work upon it.
+
+Thad examined the engine carefully.  He knew considerable about such
+things, and yet he fancied, he might have more or less trouble with the
+motive power of this Lake Superior boat; for it was of rather an ancient
+pattern, and had evidently seen its best days.
+
+Between them Thad and Allan confessed this much, but they did not think
+it good policy to say anything to the others, though anxious Bumpus
+watched their conference uneasily, and could be seen to carefully pick
+out a spot on the rail where he perched, and seemed inclined to stay--it
+was handy to a quick getaway in case the worst happened, and the engine
+blew up, as he whispered to himself.
+
+After he had, as he believed, mastered the rudiments of the working of
+the motor Thad told them to cast off, and they would make a start.
+Several men stood around to watch them get away, among them the party in
+whose charge the boat had been left, and who had only delivered it up
+after Thad had produced an order for the same, and paid certain expenses
+for storage and watching.
+
+"Were moving at last!" called Step Hen excitedly, as the machinery
+started to go with a rush, after Thad had cranked the engine.
+
+Allan stood by the wheel, and as the prow of the boat gurgled through
+the clear waters of the great lake, every scout was thrilled with the
+vast possibilities that faced them, now that their cruise had begun.
+
+"This means that we'll eat our first meal aboard at noon to-day,"
+remarked Giraffe who seemed determined that no regular feeding time
+might be neglected, if he could help it.
+
+"You ought to be a happy fellow, Giraffe," remarked Davy Jones, "after
+taking a look over the piles of grub we've got aboard.  Why, do you know
+there's a whole big ham, two slabs of bacon, and all sorts of good
+things. No danger of any of us going hungry on this excursion; unless
+the old tub should happen to sink, and leave us marooned on some rocky
+island."
+
+"Oh! see here, stop joking about that sort of thing, Davy," remonstrated
+Bumpus, shivering as though he felt a cold draught; "I know right well
+that if such a horrible thing ever did happen to us, the rest of you'd
+make up your minds to begin on me the first thing."
+
+"Well, that's the penalty you have to pay, Bum, pus, for being so
+tempting," chuckled Step Hen; "now, who'd ever think of picking Giraffe
+out for a dainty meal; why he's as skinny as an old crow."
+
+"There are times when it pays right well to be thin," remarked the scout
+held up to derision, "and that'd be one of 'em, I reckon."
+
+They were by now far away from the ore dock, and the barges that were
+loading; indeed it was only with an effort they could see either, for a
+haze had crept over the surface of the lake.  The Chippeway Belle had
+been going along at quite a fair pace, thought making more noise than
+was agreeable to either Thad or Allan, when all at once, without the
+least warning there was heard a loud report.  Instantly the sound of the
+engine ceased.
+
+"She's broke down, and we're wrecked already!" yelled Giraffe,
+excitedly.
+
+"Oh!  mercy! and she may explode at any second now!" cried poor Bumpus;
+after which, in sheer desperation he jumped deliberately overboard,
+clinging to the side of the swaying craft, and in momentary expectation
+of hearing a fearful crash, as the gasoline tank went up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE RESCUE
+
+
+"Tell us what to do, Thad, and count on us to follow you!" called out
+Giraffe, rising manfully to the occasion; though to tell the honest
+truth he looked pretty "white around the gills," as Step Hen remarked
+later on, when they all found time to compare experiences.
+
+"Just stick to your seats, and don't bother!" was the quick reply Thad
+sent back.
+
+"Then there ain't any danger?" demanded Davy, drawing the only decent
+breath he had dared indulge in since that first alarm.
+
+"Not a bit!" called Allan, cheerily.
+
+"And we ain't goin' to have to swim for it then?" Step Hen went on.
+
+"Not unless you feel like taking a bath," replied Thad asked.
+
+"But what happened to our engine?" asked Davy.
+
+"And will we have to pole, or row, the rest of the trip?" proceeded
+Giraffe.  "I see our finish if that comes around so early in the cruise.
+Wow! me to hike through the woods afoot, when it hits a fellow as hard
+as this."
+
+"Me too!" sighed Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! don't get excited, boys," remarked Thad, with a broad smile; "no
+danger of anything like that happening to us just yet.  I was half
+expecting something along these lines to happen; and now that it has,
+we'll fix that part for keeps.  It won't come around again, I promise
+you that."
+
+"Which isn't saying something else won't," grumbled Giraffe.  "The blame
+old tub is just about ready to go to pieces on us, the first chance she
+gets; and that's what I think."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Giraffe," remonstrated Thad.  "This engine has been
+a great one in its day."
+
+"Yes, but that day was about away, back in the time of Stephenson,"
+continued the tall scout, who, once he began to complain, could only be
+shut off with the greatest difficulty.
+
+Everybody seemed to laugh at that, it was so ridiculous; but as Thad was
+already busily engaged in examining the engine their spirits seemed to
+rise a little.
+
+"Hey! ain't anybody agoin' to help me in?" piped up a small voice just
+then, accompanied by a splashing sound.
+
+The boys exchanged looks, and then followed nods, as though like a flash
+they saw the chance to play something of a Joke on the comrade who was
+thus appealing for aid.
+
+"Hello! where's the other fellow?" exclaimed Allan, as though he had
+counted noses, and found one missing.
+
+"That's so, where can he be?" echoed Thad.
+
+"Who's missing?" Thad, went on to say.
+
+"Bob White was only here we'd have him call the toll and find out.
+There used to be six kids the bunch."
+
+"It must be Bumpus!" declared Giraffe, solemnly.
+
+"You're right!" said a spluttering voice from some unseen place.
+
+"The poor old silly thing, he just jumped right over into the water
+without saying Jack Robinson!" Step Hen observed, in such a sad voice
+you would have thought he was having the tears streaming down his
+cheeks, when in truth there was a wide grin settled there.
+
+"Oh! then he must surely be drowned," Davy went on to add, in a voice
+that seemed to be choking with emotion--of some sort.
+
+"I thought I saw the lake rising, and that accounts for it," ventured
+Step Hen.  "When a fellow as big as our poor chum goes down, he
+displaces just an equal part of water.  However will we tell his folks
+the sad news?"
+
+"Ain't you nearly done all that stuff?" demanded an impatient voice, and
+there was a rocking motion to the boat; after which a very red face
+surmounted by a shock of fiery hair, now well plastered down, hove in
+sight.  "Hey! somebody get a move on, and give me a hand.  I'm soaked
+through and through, and I tell you my clothes weigh nigh on three
+tons."
+
+The five boys pretended to be hardly able to believe their eyes.  They
+threw up their hands, and stared hard at the apparition.
+
+"Why, sure, I believe it's our long lost chum, Bumpus!" gasped Giraffe.
+
+"Mebbe it's his ghost come back to haunt us the rest o' out lives.
+Mebbe we better knock him on the head; they say that's the only sure way
+to settle spooks," and as Step Hen said this terrible thing, he started
+to pick up the long-handled boat book.
+
+"No, you don't, Step Hen!" shrilled Bumpus, who was really frightened as
+long as he remained in the water, for he believed it must be a mile deep
+so far out from land.  "You just put that pole down, and get hold of my
+arm here.  I tell you I'm tired of being in soak so long, and I want to
+come aboard so's to get some dry duds on.  Make 'em behave, Thad, can't
+you? I'm getting weak holding on here all this while; and pretty soon
+I'll have to let go.  Then there will be a ghost, sure, to haunt this
+crowd.  Ain't you coming to assist a fellow scout in distress?"
+
+Realizing that the joke had gone far enough the scout-master himself
+sprang forward to give poor Bumpus the assistance he craved.
+
+There was no lack of help after that, Step Hen even made use of the boat
+hook to take hold of some part of the wet scout's clothes; and with a
+mighty "heave-o!" they dragged him, puffing, and shedding gallons of
+water, on to the deck of the stalled power-boat.  Here he lay for a
+minute or two "to drain," as Giraffe remarked, but soon feeling chilled,
+Bumpus began to hunt for his clothes-bag in order to get something dry
+to put on.
+
+As he did not have a complete outfit for a change, the other fellows
+helped out; but while his soaked khaki suit was drying, hanging here and
+there so the sun could do the business, the fat scout presented a
+laughable appearance, since of course none of the things that had been
+so generously loaned him began to fit his stout figure.
+
+However, since Bumpus was by nature a jolly chap, he quickly saw the
+humor of the thing.  This was after he had become warmed up fairly well,
+when he could sit and watch those who were tinkering with the broken
+engine, and tell what his feelings were as he sprang so hurriedly over
+into the big lake.
+
+It made him shiver, though, to look around at that sea of water, and
+realize what an exceedingly reckless boy he had been.
+
+"Next time anything happens, me to stick to the old boat, even if I go
+up a mile high in the air!" he declared, raising his right hand
+solemnly, as though taking a vow.
+
+"Have your wings ready, Bumpus, and you'll be all right, because you can
+fly," said Giraffe; and that provoked another laugh; because Bumpus,
+once upon a time, being very ambitious to learn how to swim, had
+purchased a pair of those "White Wings," which are simply bags made of
+waterproof cloth that can be inflated, and used after the manner of life
+preservers; so that he had had heaps of fun poked at him on account of
+his "wings."
+
+So a full hour passed.
+
+Some of the boys were growing impatient, and to relieve the monotony,
+Thad managed to call the attention of Giraffe to the fact that it lacked
+only ten minutes of high noon.
+
+That was enough.
+
+"I thought I was feeling pretty weak!" ex-claimed the tall scout,
+rubbing his stomach sympathetically, "and no wonder, with breakfast so
+far back I've even clean forgot what I had.  Come along, boys, let's get
+busy with lunch."
+
+"The rest of you can attend to that," said Thad, satisfied that his plan
+had worked; "and by the time you are ready to call us, we'll have this
+job all done, so we can start her going."
+
+That was cheering news, and the rest immediately set to work with a
+will. There was a little stove aboard that used gasoline for fuel, and
+with this it seemed as though they ought to be able to do all the
+cooking they wanted when away from land.  Of course should they have the
+opportunity, they meant to go ashore many times, and have one of the
+old-fashioned camp-fires, around which they had sat so many times in the
+past, when on their outings.
+
+Before long the smell of cooking that filled the air told that the
+laborers were making a success of the warm lunch business.  Bumpus in
+particular seemed fairly wild for things to get done.
+
+"I tell you, I just can't seem to get any warmth inside me," he
+complained when Step Hen took him to task for showing such unusual
+impatience.  "That water was as cold as Greenland, and went right
+through me. I want my coffee, and I know when I want it."
+
+"Guess your being so badly scared had a heap to do with it," remarked
+Giraffe.
+
+"Perhaps so, Giraffe," replied the fat scout, meekly; "I admit that I
+was frightened out of  a year's growth, because I once dreamed I was
+burned in just such an accident as a boat taking fire.  But how about
+you, Giraffe? The first time my head came up above the coming of the
+deck I saw your face, and say, talk to me about a gravestone being
+white, that wasn't anything alongside your phiz."
+
+"You don't say!" jeered the tall scout, though he looked conscious of
+the fact that his face was now as red as a beet.
+
+"And chances are that you didn't jump the same way I did because you
+were scared so bad you just couldn't move a finger," Bumpus went on,
+seeing his advantage.
+
+"Thad!" called out Giraffe, scorning to pay attention to the thrust.
+
+"All right!" answered the other.
+
+"Lunch ready!" Giraffe went on to say.
+
+"And so is our job done," saying this Thad I gave the crank a quick
+turn, upon which there was a quick response; for the merry popping of
+the engine greeted the anxious ears of the young cruisers.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Bumpus, who was feeling fine, now that he had given
+Giraffe a return jab, after having it rubbed in so hard by the tall
+scout.
+
+The Chippeway Belle was already moving rapidly through the water, rising
+and falling on the waves that came out of the southwest; and as the six
+lads gathered around to do justice to the spread that was to serve as
+their first meal afloat, they once more saw things in a cheery light,
+for all seemed going well with them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE RIVAL FISHERMEN
+
+
+As the afternoon crept on, and the boat continued to keep up a merry
+pace, the boys began to feel their confidence return.  As Thad assured
+them he did not expect to have any further trouble with the engine, they
+no longer kept an anxious eye on the working part of the craft, while at
+the least unusual sound every fellow's heart seemed ready to jump into
+his throat with wild alarm.
+
+It was not the purpose of the cruisers to try and cross the vast body of
+water upon which their little craft was launched, and which is so
+immense that for two whole days they might be out of sight of land.
+Thad knew the danger that lay in such a thing, and had promised the
+folks at home in Cranford that he would be very careful.  Indeed, only
+for the presence of Dr. Hobbs, some of the parents of the scouts might
+have felt like revoking their promise to allow their boys to be of the
+party.
+
+Accordingly their course was now laid in such a quarter that they could
+keep the land in sight upon their port quarter most of the time.
+
+Of course, while the scouts had not been at sea, and really knew very
+little of navigation, they were ambitious to learn.  And as Bumpus had
+before hand written down all sorts of phrases used long ago on board the
+ships that sailed the seas in such white-winged flocks before the advent
+of steam gave them such a backset, he read these all out to his mates;
+and after that, whenever they could think of the nautical name for
+anything they insisted on using it, because, as Giraffe declared, it
+gave such a realistic effect to things.
+
+"But let me tell you there's a rumpus in the navy these days," said Step
+Hen, as Giraffe asked him to "step aft, and hand me that pair of
+binoculars, so I can take an observation."
+
+"What about?" asked Thad.
+
+"Why, they want to abolish some of these old terms that are just a part
+of sea-faring life.  For instance they say that when the man at the
+wheel is told to 'port your helm,' it takes just the fraction of a
+second for it to pass through his mind that that means 'turn your helm
+to the left.'  And so they say in our navy after this the officer will
+callout: 'Turn your helm to the left, Jack!'  Whew! that must rile every
+old jack tar, though.  It's like taking the seasoning out of the mince
+meat."
+
+"Don't you believe it'll ever pass," asserted Bumpus, indignantly; "and
+just after I've made up my mind to learn every one of this list so I can
+rattle it off like I can already box the compass.  No siree, every true
+sailorman will rise up in arms against it.  You can count on my vote in
+favor of sticking to the old way.  Nothing like the old things, say!"
+
+"'Cepting engines," interposed Step Hen, maliciously.
+
+"Oh! well, I draw the line there, that's true," Bumpus admitted, with a
+shrug of his fat shoulders, as his eyes unconsciously dropped, so that
+he looked down into the depths of the lake, "a full mile deep," as he
+always said to himself.
+
+"Oh!  I saw a fish then!" he suddenly shouted, showing new excitement.
+
+"Get your hook and line, Bumpus, and mebbe we'll have fried speckled
+trout or white fish for supper!" remarked Giraffe, with what he meant to
+be satire in his speech.
+
+"Huh!  I ain't that green about fishing, and you know it," remarked the
+other, as he gave the tall scout a look of scorn.  "Anyhow, I can beat
+you a mile fishing any day in the week, Giraffe, and I don't care who
+hears me say it."
+
+"Is that a challenge, Bumpus?" demanded Thad, seeing a chance for some
+fun to enliven their cruise.
+
+"If he chooses to take me up, you can call it that," responded the fat
+boy, with a belligerent look at his rival.
+
+"Oh! I'm ready to meet you half way, Bumpus; anything to oblige,"
+Giraffe went on to say, sturdily.  "I'd just like a good chance to show
+you up for a fish fakir.  We've heard a heap about how you used to haul
+'em in; now's your chance to prove that you're the big gun of this
+trip."
+
+"All right, just as you say, and we'll leave it to Thad to lay down the
+terms of the contest, the loser to treat the crowd to a dinner when we
+get back home," Bumpus went on to say, with the took of one who would
+die sooner than give up.
+
+"No need of that last," Allan asserted, with a shake of his head.  "We
+expect to have a spread anyhow when we arrive back in Cranford, because
+there's plenty of money in the treasury of the Silver Fox Patrol; but
+the loser must do the drudgery that always goes with a dinner, and be
+the waiter for the other seven fellows.  Do you both agree to that?"
+
+"I do!" said Bumpus, holding up his right hand, just as thought he might
+be before Squire Jasper, and about to give his evidence in court.
+
+"Ditto here; I agree, Thad," Giraffe hastened to say, not wishing to
+have it appear that he lagged behind his competitor a particle.
+
+"Now, about the terms; what sort of fish are we to grab?" Bumpus wanted
+to know.
+
+"You don't grab any, Bumpus," Giraffe warned him; "every one must be
+fairly caught with hook and line, and no seines or nets or guns used.
+Ain't that right, judge?"
+
+Thad immediately declared he understood that, it was to be a genuine
+sportsmanlike proceeding, and that no underhand tactics would be
+tolerated.
+
+"First the number will count," he went on to explain; "after that
+variety will stand for a second point.  Then the heaviest fish will be a
+third claim, and we might as well make it interesting, so let's call the
+smallest fish caught a fourth point."
+
+"That's four in all; can't you think up another, so's to have it five;
+and then three points will be a majority, and wins out?" suggested Davy
+Jones.
+
+"A good idea, Davy," Thad assured him; "suppose, then, we also say the
+longest fish when measured by inches; that would make five points, all
+right."
+
+"Yes," interrupted Giraffe, "but ain't that already covered when you say
+the biggest fish?"
+
+"Not necessarily," Thad told him, "though in some cases the two would go
+together, I suppose.  But sometimes you'll catch a bass that measures
+two inches longer than the one the other fellow got, but when you use
+the scales his weighs more by six ounces.  How does that come--well,
+we've got an illustration right here in you and Bumpus; you call
+yourself the larger by nearly a foot, but when it comes--"
+
+Giraffe threw up his hands in token of surrender.
+
+"That's right, Thad," declared Bumpus, "the longest ain't always high
+notch.  They do say the best goods come in the smallest packages.  But
+write the conditions down, Thad, while they're fresh in our minds, and
+read 'em out.  When I come in under the wire first, as I surely will,
+it'd grieve me to hear any squealing from our tall friend here, and have
+any dispute about not understanding the rules of the game."
+
+Giraffe sniffed scornfully, but did not say anything.  However, for a
+long time after that both boys busied themselves sorting out the
+greatest lot of fishing tackle their chums had seen for an age; showing
+that they were in deadly earnest about trying to win the wager.
+
+Bumpus even managed to attach a phantom minnow to the end of a line,
+which he slyly dropped overboard when he thought no one was looking, in
+hopes of being fortunate enough to get first blood in the competition.
+And the others knew that if this thing kept up they were bound to have
+plenty of fun in watching the desperate efforts of the rival fishermen.
+
+Thad was looking up at the sky occasionally.
+
+"Seem to be some clouds gathering?" remarked Allan, noticing this action
+on the part of the pilot of the expedition.
+
+"Yes, but then they may not mean anything; though I've been told that
+storms do come up very suddenly around here.  May be something about
+this big body of fresh water that brings that about, for the sun must
+draw heaps up from Old Superior every hot day."
+
+"I reckon, now, you're aiming to get to that cove you marked on the
+chart, so's to have a snug harbor for the night," Allan went on to say.
+
+"Just what I am," the other admitted; "this lake is a bit too big for us
+to think of anchoring out, and taking chances.  A storm is bad enough in
+daytime when you can see around you; but it must be terrible in the
+pitch darkness."
+
+"Excuse me, if you please," spoke up Step Hen, who had been listening to
+all the others said.  "I hope there are aplenty of them same snug
+harbors; for a boat the size of ours to drop in and stay overnight."
+
+"That's just the trouble about cruising on Superior," said Thad, "and
+especially along the American shore, because there are few rivers that
+empty into the lake.  Up along the Canadian side it's different, because
+there are some fine trout streams that extend from White Fish Bay along
+toward old Fort William."
+
+"I'd like to see that last place," spoke up Davy, "because I've heard
+about it ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  You see, my great
+grandfather used to live in Montreal in the days when the Northwest Fur
+Company was in competition with the Hudson Bay Company, and my ancestor
+was employed each Spring to set out from Montreal with some, big
+batteaus manned by French Canadian voyageurs, who would row and sail all
+the way through most of the Great Lakes to Fort William, where the agent
+had collected heaps of valuable pelts from the trappers and the Injuns
+after the season was done.  These he'd fetch all the way back to
+Montreal again, the flat bottom boats being loaded down with the bales.
+And let me tell you that was taking risks some; but they raised men in
+them days, I reckon, men that never allowed themselves to think of such
+a thing as danger, because they were always facing some sort of perils."
+
+"I guess you're, about right, Davy," admitted Thad; "and I often sit and
+wonder how it'd seem if a fellow lived away back in those days before
+the times of automobiles, motorboats, telephones, talking machines and
+electricity."
+
+"Huh!" grunted Bumpus, "according to my mind, what dangers they faced
+ain't to be mentioned in the same breath as them we have hovering over
+us all the while.  For instance, what if Thad here just crooked his
+hand, wouldn't we be apt to run smack into that other boat that's goin'
+to pass us right now.
+
+"And say, fellows," remarked Giraffe, in a low, mysterious tone, that
+somehow managed to thrill the others, as no doubt he intended it should;
+"just take a peek at the men in that boat, will you?  Somehow I don't
+know just why, but they make me think of pirates, if ever they have such
+critters up here on Old Superior.  And take it from me, boys, right now
+one of the bunch is looking us over through a marine glass.  Like as not
+they're making up their minds who and what we can be, and if it's going
+to pay 'em to board this same craft, to clean it out.  Don't anybody
+make out like we're watching 'em; but try and remember where you put our
+gun, Thad; because who knows but what we might need the same right bad
+before long?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+ON HEAVING WATERS
+
+
+"Gee!  Pirates!  Whew!"
+
+That was only Bumpus talking to himself; as he lay there on the deck,
+and stared across the swelling water toward the black powerboat that was
+heading the other way, so as to cross their course.
+
+There were apparently several men in the strange boat; and as Giraffe
+had just remarked, they seemed to be more or less interested in the
+Chippeway Belle and her young crew, for every one of them was looking
+that way, and one man really had a pair of marine glasses up to his
+eyes.
+
+Thad dived into the interior of what was called the "hunting cabin," and
+quickly reappeared bearing the glasses they had been wise enough to
+fetch along, as well as a compass whereby to steer.
+
+"That's the ticket, Thad!" said Step Hen; "let 'em see they ain't the
+only pebbles on the beach.  We've got a marine glass, too.  Now, tell us
+what you think, are they really lake buccaneers; and will we have to put
+up a desperate fight to keep from being robbed, and sunk, and perhaps
+made slaves?"
+
+Bumpus gasped for breath, at hearing such doleful things; but as, Step
+Hen gave a quick glance toward the fat chum, possibly what he said was
+only meant to cause the other's flesh to quiver with dread.
+
+"Oh! they don't seem to be altering their course in the least," spoke up
+Allan; "and as for them watching us, who wouldn't stare on seeing a
+crowd of boys afloat up here on Superior waters?"
+
+"I was thinking that our uniforms as scouts might make them sit up and
+take notice," said Giraffe.  "P'raps they think we're U. S. soldiers,
+because the dough-boys all wear this same khaki now instead of the old
+army blue. And in case they're real bold smugglers or pirates, that
+would give them cause for a scare.  Do they look like they're ready to
+run away, Thad?"
+
+"Well, not any more than would be the case if they were honest
+cruisers," replied the other, as he handed the glasses to Allan, who in
+turn would pass them around.  "Seems to me one of them wears some kind
+of a blue cap, as though he might be an officer of some sort."
+
+"Oh! don't count on that," spoke up Bumpus, "anybody can buy one like
+that. Ain't I got one right here in my duffel bag; but I hadn't found a
+chance to spring it on the rest of the bunch.  They, may be a tough lot,
+even if one does wear an officer's cap."
+
+"Well, they're going right along about their own business, and don't
+seem to be changing their course a little bit," Allan said as he passed
+the glasses to Giraffe.
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," Bumpus admitted, breathing freely again.
+"Because, as you all know, I'm very much opposed to violence at any
+time; though," he continued, "I'd fight if I was hard pushed, and fight
+real fierce, too."
+
+"We all know that, Bumpus, so there's no need of you apologizing," Thad
+assured him, with a smile and a nod, for he was very fond of the stout
+chum.
+
+"But when you said smugglers, what did you mean, Giraffe?" questioned
+Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! Don't you know that they have heaps of trouble with such
+law-breakers all along the Canadian border?" demanded the tall boy.  "You
+see, there's a heavy duty on a lot of things that can come into Canada
+free, or with only a small sum to pay; and whenever men can make money
+taking chances, they're just bound to try it.  Why, I understand that
+millions of dollars are lost to the Government every year just in the
+goods smuggled across the border all the way from Maine to the Pacific
+ocean."
+
+"Whew! and yonder craft might be one of the tricky boats engaged in that
+business; is that what you mean, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus, again staring
+hard after the strange black powerboat which was larger than the
+Chippeway Belle, and apparently much better able to meet the heavy seas
+that must sweep across the lake when the wind reached a certain
+strength.
+
+"Oh!  I don't say that, remember," quickly replied the other; "because
+it's only a guess on my part, and I haven't anything to show for proof.
+I was just giving you the benefit of a bright thought that came into my
+brain, that's all.  There may be something in it, and again, p'raps them
+fellows are just a pleasure party; or some sportsmen heading, for a
+favorite fishing place."
+
+"Then if we followed 'em, we'd stand a show to find where the fish lie,"
+suggested Bumpus; showing that at least he had not forgotten about his
+recent wager, even in the midst of all this excitement.
+
+"Better mind your own business, I think," remarked Allan.
+
+"Yes," added Giraffe, "if so be they turned out to be a bad lot, they'd
+think we kept poking our noses in just to arrest them; and in that case
+chances are we'd get our fingers burned."
+
+"But what do you think they might be, Thad?" persisted Step Hen,
+noticing that the pilot of the expedition had as yet not given any
+opinion on the matter.
+
+"Oh! any one of the explanations you fellows have put up might cover the
+bill," Thad, went on to say.  "The idea came into my mind that perhaps
+now those men might be game-fish wardens."
+
+"W-what!" gasped Bumpus; "d'ye mean to tell me they have such things on
+a big lake like this?  Why, I thought they were only needed ashore,
+where ponds and rivers require looking after."
+
+"That's where you make a big mistake," Thad informed him.  "Right up
+among the Great Lakes there are millions of dollars taken out in fish
+every year; and if the Government didn't watch sharp plenty of
+unscrupulous fishermen would use all kinds of illegal devices for
+getting big hauls.  They are limited to certain kinds of nets or seines;
+and so the precious sturgeon, and the delicious white fish that are in
+these lakes will be kept from being exterminated."
+
+"Thank you for telling us that, Thad; it's all news to me," said Step
+Hen. "But what about the trout; I've heard there are awful big speckled
+trout in Superior?"
+
+"So there are, as high as eight pounds; and the Government hatchery at
+the Soo has hundreds that large in their ponds, for breeding purposes,
+I've read," Thad continued, for the topic was a favorite one with him,
+and he was a very accommodating boy at that; "that in Michigan, for
+instance, the law doesn't allow trout to be offered for sale or shipped;
+so while they catch some whoppers in the acts they use for white fish,
+they have to put most of them back."
+
+"And then you think that p'raps those men are wardens, looking for
+poachers that are breaking the law some way or other?" Giraffe asked.
+
+"I only said that might be who they are," Thad insisted.  "You notice
+they have a high-powered boat that could make circles all around, ours,
+if they wanted to let her engine out.  And it's painted black, perhaps
+so they can sneak up on a dark night without being seen.  But as they're
+two miles away from us by now, suppose we cut out talking any more about
+them."
+
+From the way Thad turned his eyes upward, and looked at the gathering
+clouds it was evident that he felt he had better pay attention to other
+matters which threatened to cause them more or less annoyance before
+long.
+
+The wind was certainly freshening very fast.  And of necessity the waves
+began to take on a size that made poor Bumpus stare, and look serious,
+as he contemplated the possibility of a wreck.
+
+"Sure you are heading right to make that cove?" Giraffe asked the
+skipper who had the wheel in his charge.
+
+The engine was plodding away steadily, though some of the boys were
+worried at the quick whirr that followed the passing of each big wave,
+when, perhaps the propeller would be partly exposed, and the resistance
+so much less that it spun around, much faster than usual.
+
+"Yes, no doubt about it at all, and if everything goes along right we
+stand to make our harbor before dark comes along," the other answered.
+
+"Oh! I wish we were there already," groaned Bumpus; and when Thad looked
+at the fat scout he noticed how white he was.
+
+But then that was nothing singular, for it was certainly getting pretty
+rough out there on that great expanse of water, and some of the scouts
+were sure to display signs of seasickness sooner or later, he knew.
+Perhaps poor Bumpus was fated to be the first victim.
+
+"Well," remarked Giraffe, trying hard to appear indifferent, though he
+could not wholly hide his concern every time a wave larger than ordinary
+would slap against the side of the boat, and sweep along toward the
+stern, causing a quiver to run all through the little craft that seemed
+just like a chip on that inland sea; "I reckon now, it would be pretty
+tough if we missed connections somehow, and had to keep marking time all
+night long out on this old bathtub."
+
+"Oh! Murder!  I hope we don't!" muttered Bumpus, shivering.
+
+"Stop that kind of talk, Giraffe," ordered Thad, who would rather look
+on the bright side of things; "don't you see you're only bothering
+Bumpus?"
+
+"There's no need of feeling that we're going to have trouble; because
+the engine is working as fine as silk right now, and I feel sure I can
+see where that same jolly little cove lies, away ahead there."
+
+"You mean where that small point juts out, don't you, Thad?" asked
+Allan, who hovered constantly near his best churn, ready to take a hand
+at a second's notice, should there ever arise an occasion calling for
+assistance.
+
+"Yes, that shows on the Government chart I've marked, and the cove lies
+just in the shelter of it.  I think a little river makes into the lake
+there, and if so we might pick up some fish before starting out again."
+
+He spoke this loud enough for Bumpus to hear; but apparently that sad
+individual had lost all interest in the wager he had so recently made
+with Giraffe, for he did not take any notice of what Thad said, only
+continued to look far away, and press his hand up and down in the pit of
+his stomach; and when a boy begins to realize that he has such an organ
+at all, he must be in a pretty bad way.
+
+Still the wind kept on increasing until it was blowing a small gale.
+Even the confident Thad felt a little nervous as he wondered what would
+happen should their engine suddenly give a groan and cease to labor.
+The situation must be anything but pleasant, left at the mercy of the
+coming storm, out there a couple of miles from the southern shore, and
+further than that away from the lovely little cove where they had hoped
+to pass the night in peace and safety.
+
+The next half hour was apt to settle that matter, one way or the other;
+and of course Thad found no reason to despair, as yet, for the motor
+kept buzzing away cheerily, and the boat pushed through the rising and
+falling, billows quite sturdily, as the pilot kept her pointed toward
+that headland far beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+NO END OF TROUBLES
+
+
+"What's that queer sound?" asked Step Hen, looking up suddenly.
+
+"Oh, never mind, it's only me," came from the side of the boat, where
+Bumpus was lying flat on his stomach, and leaning over.
+
+The boys looked at each other; perhaps Thad and Allan smiled somewhat,
+but for a wonder none of the others had any kind of joke to spring just
+then; for truth to tell Giraffe, Davy and even Step Hen himself were
+feeling as though if this sort of swaying motion had to keep up much
+longer they could not resist the temptation to copy after the boy who
+was so terribly seasick.
+
+"Thought I felt a drop of rain just then," remarked Giraffe, more to
+have something to talk about, and so forget his other troubles, than
+that he really believed it.
+
+"No, it must only have been the spray," said Thad.  "You notice that
+sometimes after a big wave slaps up against our larboard quarter, the
+wind carries drops of water flying past.  It's a lively little blow all
+right, though I suppose the people up here, who are used to much worse
+things, wouldn't think this anything."
+
+"P'raps they might if they were out so far from land, in such a little
+pumpkinseed of a boat," complained Step Hen.
+
+"And with an old rattletrap of a motor that's threatening to wheeze its
+last any minute, at that," added Giraffe, fiercely.
+
+"Let up on that kind of talk, Giraffe," said Davy; "we've sure all got
+troubles of our own as it is, without that silly calling of names.  For
+my part I think the engine is doing its prettiest, and I take off my hat
+to it.  Don't, you go to calling it hard names, or it might get even by
+kicking over the traces, and quitting on us.  Then we would be in a fine
+pickle.  But I think it's better to keep lying down, all you can, when
+it blows like this.  Make room there, Bumpus, can't you?"
+
+Then there were two of them; and talk about your rivalry, it did seem as
+though both of those fellows would tear themselves to pieces, as the
+boat continued to swing up and down with that perpetual sickening,
+nauseating movement.
+
+Presently Step Hen found a place too, and tried to outdo his comrades;
+seeing which Giraffe apparently thought he might as well make it
+unanimous then there were four, leaving only the skipper and his first
+assistant on deck to manage the boat.
+
+"Anyhow, the cargo will be lighter after all this," Giraffe spoke up,
+after a while, showing that even seasickness could not quite extinguish
+his love of joking.
+
+By now they had covered considerable distance, so that the little
+headland loomed not a great away beyond.
+
+Thad, too, had changed their course somewhat, so that they were now much
+closer shore than before; and unless some accident happened he believed
+that before another twenty minutes passed they would be able to get the
+shelter of that projecting tongue of land, after which their present
+troubles would fade away.
+
+It was time, too, for already the first dim signs of coming darkness
+could be seen around them; no doubt the fact that clouds covered the
+face of the sky had more or less to do with this early closing in of the
+night, as is always the case.
+
+Bumpus was sitting up, though looking very white indeed.  Every now and
+then he would shake his round head in a doleful way, and heave a
+tremendous sigh, as though he might be wondering if his whole past would
+be appearing before him, since, as he complainingly told the
+sympathizing Thad, "everything seemed to be coming up nowadays."
+
+"Only a little while ago I was worrying my poor old head off for fear
+the boat would sink with me," he went on to say, with a dismal smile;
+"and now it's just the other way, and I'm feelin' bad because she won't
+sink."
+
+"Oh! don't let yourself down like that, Bumpus," said Allan; "we're
+going in behind that headland right away, and you'll be surprised to see
+how quick you get over feeling bad.  There, the water isn't near so
+rough as it was, right now; and soon it'll seem like a mill pond."
+
+"Do you think so; wish I could believe it?" called out Step Hen, without
+turning his head, for he was very busy; "but seems to me the old boat is
+jumping as bad as any cayuse I ever saw, when we were out in the Wild
+West. Oh!"
+
+All the same Allan was right, for they were passing in behind the
+projecting tongue of land, and already the worst was over, for the seas
+were not near so heavy, though of course the change was hardly
+noticeable to those who were feeling so badly.
+
+And so it came about that presently Thad had to lessen their speed, for
+he did not want to run aground, or have any other accident occur that
+would cripple the boat, and shorten their cruise.
+
+"We're all right, now, fellows," sang out Giraffe, being the first to
+recover, simply because he had more grit and determination than any of
+the other three who had been knocked out by the motion of the craft in
+the big seas.
+
+"Yes, and our next job is to prowl around here some, before dark gets
+us, so as to find the best anchorage," Thad remarked, as the boat crept
+slowly along back of the point.
+
+"Why, I should think any place here would answer," said Giraffe;
+"because that wind from the southwest ain't going to get a whack at us
+any longer."
+
+"But who'll guarantee that the wind doesn't shift into the north during
+the night, and have a full sweep at us here?" asked Thad.  "No, we ought
+to find out if there really is a little stream flowing into the lake
+here; and if so the mouth of that same will afford us the safest place
+to anchor, or tie up."
+
+"I agree with you there, Thad," said Bumpus, weakly; but then the fact
+that he took any sort of interest in what was going on announced plainly
+enough that he must be recovering.
+
+And the others had by this time reached their limit, for they
+contributed no more to the fishes of Superior, but began to sit up, and
+take notice of things.  The recovery from seasickness is usually as
+rapid as the coming of the trouble; given a firm foundation to stand
+upon, and the sufferer soon forgets his agony, so that he can even
+remember that food tastes good.
+
+Pushing their way carefully in the scouts presently discovered that
+there was a stream of some kind emptying into the lake at this place;
+and that around several bends there was a splendid anchorage for a small
+boat such as theirs, though a larger craft might find some difficulty
+about getting in, on account of shallow water.
+
+And when they dropped their anchor over at last, all of them were
+pleased to feel that they had left that riotous sea behind them.
+
+"This is something like," declared Giraffe, now fully recovered, and of
+course sharp set to get supper started; indeed all of them felt as
+though they could do ample justice to a good meal.
+
+So the gasoline stove was put into service again, and everyone helped
+get the things ready that their menu for that night called for.  Giraffe
+started a pot of rice cooking, for he was very fond of that dish, and
+could "make a meal off it," he often declared; though his chums noticed
+that even when he had plenty of the same beside him, he dipped into
+every other dish just as usual.
+
+Besides this one of the boys opened a large tin of corned beef that was
+emptied into a kettle, together with a can of corn, and another of lima
+beans, the whole making what is known as a "canoeist's stew," and is not
+only tasty to the hungry voyager, but exceedingly filling as well.
+
+These, with crackers, cheese, some cakes done up in air-proof packages,
+and tea constituted the supper that was finally placed before them.
+
+It really seemed to some of those hungry boys as though that was the
+finest feast they had ever sat down to.  Of course that often came to
+their minds, because what they were just then eating tasted so very
+good.  But with such enormous appetites as a sauce, there could never be
+any chance for a complaint coming.  And the chief cook received so many
+compliments that it was no wonder his cheeks and ears burned like the
+fire he had been standing over so long.
+
+By the time the meal was through it was very dark all around them.  They
+could still hear the wind blowing out beyond the point; and the wash of
+the big waves told that the sea was probably higher than before; so that
+every fellow expressed himself as glad that they had managed to get into
+such a splendid harbor, where they need not bother their minds what sort
+of weather held outside.
+
+The night was warm, and it seemed comfortable enough for them to lie
+around on the deck, exchanging comments.  Later on they would arrange
+just how they were to pile into that small cabin, and manage to sleep;
+for six boys can take up considerable room; and there would have been
+even seven to fill the space had not the scout-master, Dr. Hobbs, been
+recalled home at the last moment.
+
+Of course Bumpus had entirely recovered from his indisposition.  He only
+hoped he would now be proof against a second attack.
+
+In fact, he had even begun to remember the terms of the wager, and was
+trying to get a line out on the sly, baited with a piece of meat he had
+fastened to the hook, in hopes of some gullible fish taking hold, so
+that he could wildly haul his captive in, and have the laugh on his
+competitor.
+
+When morning came he was determined to go ashore, and see if he could
+not find some angle worms; for without bait it was folly to think of
+catching fish on hooks; and all sorts of other contraptions were barred
+from the contest.
+
+Giraffe, however, was not asleep, and he saw what his rival was up to;
+but although Bumpus was not aware of the fact, the tall scout had had
+his line over the side for half an hour now, also baited, and with the
+hope of a bite.
+
+From now on the race promised to become pretty warm between them, once
+they got fully started in the game.
+
+They had talked over about every subject that could be imagined,
+including the matter of the mysterious powerboat that had passed them
+that afternoon, apparently heading in another direction; though Thad
+knew that long afterwards those in the black craft had altered their
+course, and were really following them.
+
+It was getting along near time when they ought to be thinking about
+retiring so as to get some rest, when another subject came up suddenly.
+
+Giraffe, who had been stretching that long neck of his for some little
+time, observed that he was trying to make out what a certain queer light
+might stand for.
+
+"It's away up the shore yonder, fellows, and seems to be a lantern, as
+near as I can make out," he went on to say; "every now and then it bobs
+up, and down; and if you asked me I'd say it was, meant for some sort of
+signal!"
+
+"A signal!" echoed Bumpus, in almost an awed tone; "that sounds like
+there might be smugglers, or something, like that around here; and
+perhaps they take us for revenue officers trying to nip them at their
+work.  Whew! spells more trouble for us, I'm afraid.  First the storm;
+then that awful spell of gone feeling; and now it's smugglers.  Whew! I
+say!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+"BE PREPARED!"
+
+
+Bumpus was not the only fellow who felt his heart beating much faster
+than its wont just then, though none of the others betrayed the fact;
+for Giraffe and Step Hen were too crafty to show that they were worried.
+
+They seemed to be in a trap, for the heavy seas would not allow them to
+think of leaving their anchorage until morning came along, at least; and
+to remain might be exposing themselves to some unknown peril.
+
+But then these lads had done through so many things, especially since
+they joined the Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts, and learned what it meant
+to think for themselves, that none of them really displayed the white
+feather, no matter if Bumpus, who loved peace so much that he sometimes
+fought to secure it, did manifest some uneasiness.
+
+They had along with them a double-barreled shotgun that had always given
+a good account, of itself in times past; and would again if called to
+show its sterling qualities.  And with this in the hands of Thad
+Brewster, who was a perfectly fearless chap, according to his churns,
+who did not know that his boy heart could hammer in his breast like a
+runaway steam engine, why, they surely ought to be able to stave off any
+ordinary attack.
+
+Giraffe felt better when he had picked up the camp hatchet, and waved it
+several times in the air, making vicious stabs at an imaginary enemy.
+
+"Get ready for boarders, fellows!" remarked Step Hen, who had reached in
+and secured the long bread-knife, which would make a most formidable
+weapon, if only he had the nerve to wield the same.
+
+"Not on your life!" snapped Giraffe; "we've got enough mouths to feed as
+it is, without taking, on any more.  Boarders nothing.  You've got
+another think coming, Step Hen, don't you see?"
+
+"But after all, fellows," Thad told his followers, "this may be a false
+alarm.  That light has gone now.  It may only have been some farmer or
+miner letting his wife know he was on the way home.  How do we know any
+different?  And what interest would any rascals have in trying to come
+aboard this boat?"
+
+"That sounds all very fine, Thad," remarked Davy; "but I hope we ain't
+thinkin' of all going to sleep at once to-night!"
+
+"We ought to have a sentry on duty all the time," suggested Giraffe.
+
+"I appoint you for that onerous duty, then, Giraffe; consider that
+settled," the scout-master said, like a flash; whereupon the tall chap
+began to hedge, and explain more fully his views.
+
+"Oh! course I didn't mean that one scout should sit up all night," he
+went on to remark; "but by taking turns we'd feel that the boat wasn't
+agoing to be carried off while we slept.  Sure I'm willing to stand my
+turn, which might be any two hours you set; and then I'll wake up the
+next man.  You know we've done that same many a time when we were up in
+Maine, down along the Blue Ridge, and out among the Rockies hunting big
+game."
+
+"Of course I understood what you meant, Giraffe," the scout-master went
+on to remark; "and as you say, some of us will spell you, a new man
+going on duty every two hours.  But I hope now nobody really believes
+that we're going to be attacked, by lake pirates, or smugglers, or
+anything like that. Those who lie down to sleep, just forget everything.
+We're safe here in a splendid harbor and nothing will happen to bother
+us."
+
+"But if it should, Thad, you'll wake us all up, I hope," urged Bumpus.
+
+"I promise you that, Bumpus," returned Thad; "because I know just how
+you feel about it.  No fellow likes to be kicked while he's asleep; with
+his eyes open he's in a way to take care of himself.  Oh! Yes, we'll see
+that every one is waked up if there's going to be a row; because we'll
+have need of your fighting face then, Bumpus, remember."
+
+It was hard to get the fat boy fully aroused, such was his customary
+good nature; but when he did get beyond the limit, he used to assume
+what he considered a terrible look, that was supposed to strike fear to
+the heart of his adversary.
+
+Somehow no one admitted to feeling at all sleepy now.  Even Bumpus, who
+as a rule could be depended on to fall asleep right after he had had his
+supper, was apparently as wide-awake as a hawk; and joined in all the
+conversation as they sat around on the deck and waited for, they hardly
+knew what, to happen.
+
+"Anyhow, we didn't tie up to the shore, as Bumpus wanted when he said
+he'd feel so much better if he could walk on firm ground again,"
+remarked Step Hen.
+
+"And I'm glad now that twenty feet or more of water lies between us and
+shore," the party mentioned hastened to add.
+
+"How deep do you think it is in here, Thad?" questioned Davy.
+
+"All of twenty feet in the place our anchor went down," replied the
+skipper, promptly, "it's a regular hole, such as the trout like to lie
+in during the hot dog days of late summer."
+
+"Glad to hear you say that," observed Bumpus; but he did not explain
+whether his pleasure lay in the fact that any would-be boarders might
+find it difficult to cross over from the rocks to the boat; or that
+there were likely to be fish in the pool, affording a chance for a
+nibble at the tempting bait he had dropped overboard, attached to the
+concealed hook at the end of his line.
+
+"If anybody came along here just on purpose to take a good look at us,
+whereabouts d'ye think they'd be likely to show up, first of all, Thad?"
+Step Hen wanted to know.
+
+"I was thinking about that a minute ago, Step Hen," replied the
+scout-master; "and sort of made up my mind they'd be apt to climb that
+pile of rocks yonder.  You see, it overlooks this pool, and a man might
+lie there near the top and watch us all he wanted, provided the moon came
+out, and gave him the light he'd need."
+
+Everybody thereupon cast an eye aloft.
+
+"I'm afraid that moon business is just what's going to happen right
+soon," observed Giraffe.
+
+"Yes, there isn't going to be a storm after all," remarked the skipper;
+"clouds are breaking night now, and it was a false alarm, you see."
+
+"Well, hardly, with me," ventured Bumpus; whereupon everybody tittered,
+because they knew what the fat scout meant; and there were three others,
+who, if they were as candid as Bumpus, might have added:
+
+"Me too!"
+
+Half an hour passed by, and they were really getting tired, for it was
+now in the neighborhood of half-past ten o'clock, as Thad told them the
+last time he consulted his little dollar watch that gave him so much
+satisfaction in all his outings.
+
+Still, none of them wanted to be the fellow to first crawl under his
+blanket, it being only a matter of pride that kept Bumpus at least on
+deck, blinking like an owl in the daytime, as he tried to keep his eyes
+open.
+
+Jim, by the way, had been fastened to a cleat, and was perched on the
+edge of the cabin roof, no one as yet daring to touch him; though he had
+eaten some meat they placed within his reach, which proved that the owl
+did not mean to starve himself to death, yet awhile at least.
+
+All at once Bumpus felt a galvanic shock.
+
+"Oh!" he shouted in excitement, "it's come at last!"
+
+All the others started up in great alarm.
+
+"What ails the fellow?" cried Step Hen.
+
+"Got a fit, I reckon!" echoed Giraffe.
+
+"Fit nothing!" mocked the fat scout, who was bending over, and seemed to
+be clawing wildly at the air, so that it was no wonder in the darkness
+they thought he must be having a return engagement with that sea
+sickness; "I've got a fish, and that's more'n you can claim, Giraffe,
+with all your smartness!"
+
+"Bah! never count your chicken's till they're hatched!" scoffed the
+other, as he saw the fat scout suddenly pause, as though there had come
+a sickening slackening of the line.  "Imagination is a great thing,
+mebbe; but next time be sure of your game before you whoop it up so."
+
+"But he's there yet, I tell you!" ejaculated Bumpus, again becoming
+active. "Hi! somebody lend me a hand here, so I won't lose him.  We need
+this trout in our business, because we got to have breakfast in the
+morning."
+
+"Hold on!" said Giraffe, with emphasis; "don't forget that the terms of
+our wager state distinctly that no one must offer the slightest
+assistance in landing a fish.  If you're after that fish solely for
+breakfast, why, any of us'll be glad to lend you a hand; but then it
+don't count.  How about that, Thad?"
+
+"You're correct, Giraffe," replied the other; "but I hope Bumpus lands
+his prize, all right, because fresh fish would taste fine to-morrow
+morn."
+
+It was a little struggle in the mind of Giraffe as to whether the
+sportsman spirit, or the love of good feeding would prevail; but at last
+he also cried out: "I hope he gets it, too, sure I do!  Good for you,
+Giraffe!" exclaimed Thad, perhaps purposely mistaking this for a spirit
+of fairness that would do the tall scout credit as a true sportsman.
+
+Meanwhile all of them watched Bumpus tugging at his line.  The fish was
+full of fight, and evidently objected to furnishing a breakfast for a
+party of Boy Scouts off on a vacation cruise; but by sheer strength, and
+not a little good luck in the bargain rather than fisherman's skill,
+Bumpus finally man aged to haul his struggling prize aboard.
+
+"It's a trout, as sure as pop!" exclaimed Step Hen, as they all bent
+over the wiggling and flapping captive, and Giraffe struck a match, the
+better to see its nature.
+
+"Whee! let me tell you he pulled to beat the band too!" the proud angler
+vowed, as he rubbed his arms; and then bent lower to admire the spotted
+sides of the big trout, that probably looked prettier to Bumpus than
+anything he had ever before seen.
+
+"He's a jim dandy, and that's a fact, Bumpus!" said Giraffe, swallowing
+his bitter chagrin because fortune had cheated him out of being the
+first in the contest to bring in such a prize; at the same time he was
+no doubt thinking what a tasty morsel that splendid fish would afford
+the lot for breakfast and wondering if there were not several of them
+who had confessed that they did not care for fish which would allow a
+larger portion to those who did.
+
+However, all thoughts of this nature were doomed to be forgotten,
+because just then Davy had to go and throw a bombshell into the camp by
+remarking in a low and trembling voice:
+
+"Thad, oh Thad!  I saw a fellow poke his head up above that pile of
+rocks just then, give you my word of honor I did!"
+
+"Be prepared!" said the skipper, quickly; and every scout reached out
+for the weapon he had decided to rely upon in case of dire necessity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE QUEER WAYS OF BUMPUS
+
+
+"There ain't a thing moving up there, Davy; and I reckon, now, you're
+only just afooling us," complained Step Hen, after they had stared as
+hard as anything at the crown of the rocks, which was sharply outlined
+against the dark heavens.
+
+As the others had met with like poor success in trying to locate the
+object the scout in question claimed to have seen, they naturally turned
+on Davy, to demand further explanations.
+
+It could easily be seen, however, from his excited condition, that the
+boy actually believed what he said.
+
+When Giraffe and Bumpus, and even Allan, urged him to repeat his
+assertion, he not only did so, but added still more to what he had said
+before.
+
+"Guess I ought to know what a man's head looks like, hadn't I?" Davy
+went on to remark, indignantly; "cause I've seen a few in my day.  It
+was there as plain as--as, well, the nose on my face, and you'll say
+that's right smart in evidence, I know you will, Giraffe.  Looky up
+yonder--see the little peak that seems to stick up above all the rest of
+the old rock pile? Well, it was alongside that it showed up; and right
+while I was asaying it, the thing disappeared like smoke.  But you
+believe me, I saw something, and it was a man's head too, no matter if
+there was a bear or a panther at the other end of the same."
+
+Strange to say no one chuckled at these queer remarks of Davy.  They saw
+that he was in deadly earnest; and the possibility of a strange man
+spying on them seemed too serious a matter to arouse a laugh.
+
+"Well," said Step Hen, presently, when they had strained their eyes to
+the utmost without any result whatever, "seems like he saw you at the
+same time, and lit out in a big hurry."
+
+Giraffe began to recover from the first shock caused by the alarm; and
+when he was feeling himself the tall scout could nearly always think of
+something quaint to say.
+
+"That reminds me of the old baby book rhyme we all used to say; p'raps
+you'll remember, fellows.  It's been a long time since I repeated it,
+but I think it runs about like this: 'I Saw Esau kissing Kate; and the
+fact is, we all three saw.  I saw Esau, he saw me; and Kate saw I saw
+Esau.'  How's that?"
+
+No one answered, and for a pretty good reason; for hardly had Giraffe
+uttered his question when, without the slightest warning, a dazzling ray
+of white light suddenly fell upon the group of scouts crouching there on
+the after-deck of the little hunting cabin cruiser, causing every one to
+gasp, and fall to quivering almost as much as though a flash of
+lightning had darted toward them.
+
+"Oh!" cried some one; and while the tones of the voice could hardly be
+distinguished on account of the vibration caused by the speaker's alarm,
+no one had the least doubt but that it was Bumpus who thus betrayed his
+agitated feelings.
+
+Thad and Allan, and perhaps several of the other scouts, knew instantly
+that the strong glow was caused by one of those handy little electric
+torches, for they happened to have just such an alliance along with
+them, and had made great use of it on numberless occasions.
+
+This told them that after all Davy had spoken truly when he declared so
+vehemently that he had seen a man's head up there on the rocks.
+
+Nobody moved, only crouched there, staring at that dazzling light, and
+mentally figuring what was going to happen next.
+
+Doubtless all sorts of alarming theories flitted through their minds,
+for after their recent talk about smugglers and those sorts of
+law-breakers the boys were in a good state to imagine things.
+
+They were given very little time, however, to collect their wits; for a
+gruff voice (strange how voices are always gruff under similar condition
+but this one was very hoarse without any question) called out:
+
+"Ahoy there, aboard the launch!"
+
+Had it depended on Bumpus, and perhaps Step Hen also, the reply must
+have been a long time coming, for they hardly dared trust their voices;
+but then Thad was able to hold his own, and he immediately called back:
+
+"Hello! yourself; what d'ye want?"
+
+"Bring that boat ashore, and be quick about it!" the deep grumble
+proceeded to tell them; and somehow poor Bumpus was forcibly reminded of
+the growl of a lion he had once heard in a menagerie, as well as several
+other things along the same "away down in the cellar" line.
+
+"I suppose we might as well do it, fellows?" Thad remarked to his chums,
+in somewhat of a low tone; as though he meant to be influenced more or
+less by what decision the other scouts reached.
+
+"Oh! can't we skip out before they get their hands on us, Thad?" Bumpus
+wanted to know.  "We're full twenty feet and more away from the shore,
+and it'd take a champion sprinter and jumper to cover that distance."
+
+"Yes, but how about running out into that storm again, eh, Bumpus?  Feel
+like going through another experience like that?" demanded Giraffe.
+
+"Not any for me, thank you.  Thad, I say, do what he tells us.  He can't
+eat us, I reckon; and we ain't got any reason to be afraid because of
+anything we've done."
+
+"Same here, Thad," remarked Davy, quickly: he had been feeling very much
+like backing up Bumpus in his request, but what Giraffe said caused him
+to "take water" instantly, and Davy was as quick to make a revolution in
+his mind as his body could revolve in several handsprings over the
+ground, when he was feeling good.
+
+"Allan, how about you?" asked Thad, feeling that much depended on what
+the one addressed thought.
+
+"No help for it, Thad; we've got to throw up our hands that far, anyway;
+because, like as not they've got us covered right now with their guns,
+and while they can see us fairly well, everything all dark to us up
+there."
+
+"Oh! my stars!" Bumpus was heard to whisper to himself, in a horrified
+tone, as he learned about those terrible firearms that must be held with
+their muzzles projecting in the direction of the floating home of the
+scouts; but all the same Bumpus, "though good and scared," as he
+afterwards candidly confessed, did not attempt to lie down, and shield
+his round body behind any of his comrades; if they could take the
+consequences surely he ought to be ready to face the music; and so he
+only knelt there and quivered and looked, momentarily to see a flash,
+and hear a deafening report that would stagger them all.
+
+"Well are you going to do what I told you?" the heavy bass voice
+demanded, more or less, impatiently.
+
+"Don't be so foolish as to think, you can slip away," a second unseen
+man told them, "because we've got you covered, and if you start up that
+engine we'll give you a volley that'll make you wish you hadn't.  Come
+ashore with that boat, you hear?  We know you, Cranston!  The game is
+up!"
+
+Thad breathed easier, somehow.  What had been said seemed to tell him it
+might after all only be a case of mistaken identity; and that if they
+obeyed the rough summons they would in all probability not be apt to
+suffer on account of yielding.
+
+"Get a push pole, somebody, and help me shove ashore!" Thad remarked;
+and then raising his voice so that the unseen enemies might hear, he
+continued: "you needn't bother wasting any of your ammunition on us,
+mister, because, we're willing to do what you, ask, and come to land.
+So hold up, and give us a chance, for we've got to raise our anchor
+first; and the water's some deep here to use the poles in."
+
+He heard a low laugh near by, but there was no further comment from
+those who had the situation well in hand.  Every scout understood,
+however, that a number of heavily armed men must be scrutinizing their
+actions from the roll; for that strong white glow was kept closely
+focused on the boat all the time they proceeded to drag in the anchor,
+and start working the push poles, with which the little hunting cabin
+launch was well provided.
+
+The water in the harbor they had found was of considerable depth, but
+fortunately the poles were long as well as stout, and presently the boat
+began to move slowly in response to the energetic efforts which Thad and
+Giraffe put forth.
+
+Bumpus had assisted to pull in the anchor, and was now squatted like a
+big frog near the bow.  He knew full well that his position was very
+much exposed, and that in case the unseen enemy chose to actually open
+fire upon the boat, he would likely be the first to suffer; but in spite
+of this Bumpus refused to budge.  He had gotten over his first qualms of
+fear, and feeling ashamed of allowing himself to give way to such a
+sensation, and he a scout in the bargain, the boy was now going to the
+other extreme, and growing actually reckless.
+
+It made him think of the time some of his mates had declared they had
+seen a real boni-fide ghost in the town graveyard, and dared Bumpus to
+lead the way in there, late at night, when they were passing.  He had
+felt his teeth rattle together, just as they had been doing now; but
+summoning all his courage to the fore he had grimly said: "who's
+afraid?" and trembling like a leaf shaken in the wind, he had stalked
+into the cemetery, much to the admiration of his chums, who had expected
+the fat boy to back down abjectly.
+
+The boat approached the shore slowly.
+
+Thad could not exactly see the forms of those who were waiting for them
+to come in, but since the focus of light changed from spot to spot he
+concluded that they were also drawing closer to the shore line, so as to
+be ready to receive those whom they already counted on as their
+prisoners.
+
+And, Thad waited, in momentary expectation of hearing some sort of
+explosion, when the parties realized their mistake.  In fact, he was so
+sure of this that he would not make the slightest effort to draw that
+shotgun closer to him, though that might have seemed good policy.
+
+Finally the nose of the cruiser came smack up against the rocks with
+quite a little bump; and Giraffe, having failed to fend off in time, was
+almost toppled over, but he managed to clutch hold of Bumpus to steady
+himself, and that was like seizing upon the Rock of Gibraltar, because
+it would take a derrick to move the stout scout, once he settled down.
+
+So, when for the second time the boat came in contact with the shore,
+Giraffe was able to give a little leap, painter in hand, and reach land.
+
+Just as he did so, that deep bus voice sprang up again; and this time,
+as Thad had expected, it told of considerable chagrin and
+disappointment.
+
+"Well, what's this?  Only a bunch of kids, after all, instead of
+Cranston and his gang of smugglers.  The joke's on us, men; it is to
+laugh!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE FAME OF THE SILVER FOX PATROL
+
+
+"I thought so!" Thad now remarked, showing what confidence he had felt
+in the decision that their best policy had been to obey orders, and come
+to the shore.
+
+Several moving figures were now seen, and coming down the rocks toward
+them.  In another minute's time these had resolved themselves into three
+men.  They did not seem to be roughly dressed at all, but might be taken
+for gentlemen out to have a good time fishing or cruising.
+
+And the boys noticed, as soon as they could see anything at all, when
+Thad lighted their camp lantern, that the largest of the trio wore a
+blue cap such as they had seen on the head of the man who watched their
+boat through his field-glasses late that afternoon.
+
+Undoubtedly the black boat had turned back as evening set in, and it
+must have been some one connected with the party, whom they had seen
+waving that light from the shore.
+
+"Good evening!" said Allan, pleasantly, as the three men ranged up close
+by and evidently looked them over; "we've surrendered, you remember.
+Now, what are you going to do with six Boy Scouts off for a vacation
+trip on the lake?"
+
+At that the big man turned to his companions, and laughed.  No doubt
+they felt considerably disappointed, because they had somehow had high
+hopes of making an important capture; but after the first keen chagrin
+had passed they could enjoy a joke at their own expense.
+
+"You'll have to excuse our bothering you, boys," said he of the bass
+voice; "but you see we made a mistake.  We're revenue officers, looking
+for a notorious smuggler named Cranston, who operates around this
+section.  We had positive information that he meant to cross over from
+Canada in a boat that answered the description of yours to a fraction;
+and as it's the habit of these smugglers to adopt all sorts of
+disguises, from honest, hard-working fishermen, to anything else that
+suits their fancy, we guessed they'd taken to wearing khaki to make us
+believe they were a party of the militia out for a cruise."
+
+"And so we turned back, and planned this nice little surprise, when we
+saw that you had come in here," remarked a second man, still chuckling.
+
+"Who are you, anyway, boys?" asked the third, who seemed to have more
+curiosity than his comrades, though his next words explained the reason
+for this; "because I've got two sturdy scouts, in my house, and they've
+become so much brighter lads since they joined the patrol that I want to
+tell you I'm interested in the movement wherever I run across it.  And
+when I tell them about this blunder of ours I'd like to mention names,
+you know."
+
+"Why, we belong to the Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford Troop of Boys
+Scouts," remarked Allan, promptly; "this is our assistant scout-master,
+Thad Brewster, who happens to be the pilot of the trip because Dr.
+Philander Hobbs, our real leader, had to hurry back home on business;
+but we didn't worry a bit when that happened, because, you see, Thad is
+capable of turning the trick; he knows more in a minute about everything
+in the woods than Dr. Hobbs could learn in ten years."
+
+"Well, well, tell me about that, will you?" exclaimed the man, with some
+little excitement; "and which of you might be Allan Hollister--I reckon
+you're that party right now, youngster; and this stout scout here,
+surely he must be the Bumpus who got into so many bad holes, and yet
+always managed to crawl out again?  Yes, I'm right about that; and let's
+see, which one might be Giraffe--no need to ask that, when I look around
+me. Then there was, another they called Step Hen, didn't they, not to
+mention Davy Jones, Bob White and Smithy?  Oh, I know you all, and I
+want to shake hands with each and every one of you.  Say, won't my kids
+go crazy when they hear that I've actually met up with that lively bunch
+of scouts."
+
+"W-w-what's all this mean, mister?" asked Bumpus, actually trembling,
+not with fear any longer, but actual delight to hear himself mentioned
+in this familiar way by a stranger.
+
+"Well, I'll have to confess that I've taken such a deep interest in what
+my boys are doing," continued the revenue officer, "that I even read
+every book they brought into the house; and that's how I came to know
+about the doings of the Silver Fox Patrol, and who the eight lads were
+constituting that branch of the scouts.  Give me your hand, Mr.
+Scout-master; I'm proud to know you, sure I am; and I hope you'll send a
+written word back home to the two ten-year old twins, who know all about
+what you fellows have been doing in the Blue Ridge, up in Maine, and
+even as far away as the Rocky Mountains."
+
+The boys were almost stunned by this remarkable information; but they
+hastened to accept the hand offered them, and received a hearty squeeze
+in return.
+
+"My name is Stebbens, and the boys are Daniel and Luther," continued the
+officer who seemed not quite mind the disappointment of failing to
+effect an important capture, when the little adventure had give him a
+story to carry back home to those twins he thought so much of.
+
+"Well all this is mighty interesting, John," said the man with the gruff
+voice, and who seemed to be the leader of the revenue men; "but we
+mustn't lose any more time here.  The sea is nasty, but our boat can
+stand it, and we know where tricky Cranston is apt to turn up before
+morning, not ten miles away; so perhaps we'd better be saying good-night
+to these lads, and starting out again."
+
+He, as well as the third man, insisted on also shaking hands all around
+before departing, and with such good will that Bumpus was rubbing his
+fingers for quite some time afterwards, to get the numb feeling out of
+the same.
+
+But then no one found any fault; in fact they were thrilled by the
+knowledge that their exploits had been read by other scouts, who
+cherished a sort of friendly feeling for the members of the Silver Fox
+Patrol, just from learning about their adventures in a book or so.
+
+They did not feel at all sleepy after the three revenue men had said
+good-bye, and vanished in the dark night.
+
+"What's the use pushing out there again, and dropping the mud-hook
+overboard, when we can tie up so nicely right here?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Sure," echoed Giraffe, "and then, in the morning I'll show you I
+haven't forgotten how to make the finest fire you ever heard tell about.
+Oh I some pumpkins about that same game, ain't I, Bumpus?  You ought to
+know, because you saw me make one when we was nigh about froze to death
+up there in Maine, and didn't have a single match along with us."
+
+"Well, anyhow, wait till morning," said Thad, knowing that once the tall
+scout got started on his favorite hobby, there was no way of stopping
+him until he had the fever satisfied.
+
+Giraffe had once made up his mind that he could make a fire in the
+primitive fashion by using a little bow, and a revolving stick.  Once
+this trick is learned and it can usually be accomplished in a minute or
+two; but most boys find themselves unable to master the feat, and give
+up in despair after long trying.
+
+The tall scout had persisted even when he met with all manner of
+discouragements.  Sometimes, just when he seemed on the point of
+success, Bumpus would stumble over him, and end the attempt; then an
+alarm would be sounded when he had gotten his tinder to smoking; and
+again he lose out. But in the end he had mastered the secret, and ever
+afterwards it was one of his proudest accomplishments; so that Giraffe
+always carried that little bow, and some dry tinder along, whenever he
+left camp, even though it would have been muck easier to put some
+matches in his pocket.
+
+Of course, as they sat there for a while longer, after the boat had been
+securely tied up to the shore, the talk was mostly about smugglers.
+
+Each of the boys told all they had ever heard about, such slippery
+customers; and it added to the interest of the occasion to know that
+they had just been mistaken for a notorious character, for whom the
+Government revenue men were on the watch.
+
+"All the same," remarked Bumpus, complacently, "I ain't sorry it
+happened, because you see, only for their mistake we never'd aheard
+about them twins, Daniel and Luther Stebbens.  I'm glad you wrote out
+that message for 'em, Thad; and after we get back in Cranford I'm
+meaning to send 'em my picture. Their daddy said they'd like it the
+worst kind; and come to think of it, I've got a few showing me astanding
+with my gun acovering them two bad men as had captured me out in the Big
+Timber, Davy having snapped the picture off on the spot.  Mebbe they'll
+like that!"
+
+He fell to musing over the lively scenes that had accompanied the
+adventure covered by this episode; and paid no further attention to the
+rest of the boys, as they continued to exhaust the subject of the
+smuggler fraternity.
+
+Finally, all of them admitted that they felt sleepy; and since they no
+longer had reason to experience anything boarding on alarm, it was
+decided on the whole not to bother keeping watch.
+
+Already the hour must be near midnight, and they needed sleep, so as to
+be ready to take up duties of another day when morning broke.
+
+Accordingly, each of them was apportioned a place where he could wedge
+in and in some way manage to obtain the rest of which he was in such
+need. Bumpus, being so round, and requiring much more space than any one
+of the six, was given a chance to roll over in the wider territory close
+to the doors of the hunting cabin, which were not to be closed, as the
+boys felt they would need air.
+
+He could sit up, and look around, at any time he happened to be awake;
+but as Bumpus was usually a sound sleeper, none of them expected that he
+would avail himself of this privilege until they scrambled over his
+bundled-up figure at daylight.
+
+In that cove at the mouth of the little creek it was as quiet and
+peaceful as any heart could wish.  Let the wind and the waves hold high
+carnival outside, nothing gave promise of disturbing the slumber of the
+tired cruisers.
+
+An hour, two of them and more, crept by, and everything remained as calm
+as when the scouts folded their blankets about them like Indian
+warriors, and squeezed in where they had been apportioned.
+
+The clouds had broken, and the moon was shining brightly in the sky
+overhead when Bumpus, being awakened by some sort of dream, suddenly sat
+upright, digging his knuckles into his eyes, as if hardly able to
+believe that he was not safe and sound in his own bed at home.
+
+A nasty snarl struck his ear, and gave him a shock, so that he instantly
+found himself wide-awake, and looking around to see what had caused the
+sound.
+
+What he saw must have aroused the fat scout not a little, for
+immediately his voice was heard in the land, arousing the balance of the
+sleepers, and doubtless thrilling them through and through.
+
+"Stop thief!  Here, let that alone, I tell you!  Wake up everybody, and
+do something, can't you?  He's getting away with my lovely trout, I tell
+you. Hey!  Giraffe, ain't you agoing to save your breakfast?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A CALL TO BREAKFAST
+
+
+Every one came tumbling out in a great hurry.  The moon was so situated
+that the forepart of the boat was somewhat in the shadow; and on this
+account they could not see plainly, save that there was some sort of an
+animal crouching there.  As Bumpus had so loudly wailed that it was
+trying to carry off his prize trout, which had been left hanging in the
+air until needed at breakfast time, the rest of the boys understood the
+situation pretty well.  Immediately they started to shout, and wave
+their arms, as well as hurl every sort of thing they could lay hands on.
+
+Naturally enough this proved too much for even the bravest wild beast;
+and giving a savage snarl the thing suddenly bounded ashore, and was
+lost to view.  They had just a last glimpse of a shadowy figure skulking
+off along the sandy beach near by.
+
+"Oh! tell me, did he get away with it?" cried Bumpus; and to hear the
+pain which he threw into these words one would have though a priceless
+treasure was involved; and so it was, the biggest speckled trout he had
+ever caught in all his life.
+
+Giraffe scrambled forward, waving his arms in order to discourage any
+beast that might think to attack him, and "shooing" at a vigorous rate.
+
+"Brace up, Bumpus!" he called out.
+
+"Is it safe?" demanded the fat scout, joyously.
+
+"Yes, he didn't dare carry it off when we got to shouting so lively; and
+here's your trout, but I reckon we had better take care to make it
+secure next time.  These cats can climb some, and that's right."
+
+"Was it really a wildcat?" asked Step Hen, curiously; just as though the
+beast had seemed so large to his excited fancy that he would have felt
+safe in calling it a panther.
+
+"Looked mighty much that way," admitted Allan, who ought to know the
+breed, as considerable of his younger life had been spent up in the
+Adirondacks, and in Maine, where he must have seen many a specimen of
+the feline tribe.
+
+"I thought at first it was a tiger," Bumpus admitted, faintly; at which
+there was a little laugh all around, for they could easily understand
+how a fellow's fears might magnify things, when suddenly aroused, and
+with only that deceptive moonlight to see by.
+
+"Whatever it was, and we'll try and make sure in the morning," remarked
+Thad, "it's gone now."
+
+"But it may come back, after smelling of my fine trout," Bumpus
+observed, seriously; "and rather than run any chance, I think I'll have
+to sit up, and play sentry the balance of the night."
+
+"Joke!" chuckled Giraffe, chuckling again.
+
+"Huh! mebbe, now, you think I couldn't do that same?" remonstrated
+Bumpus. "I know I'm a good sound sleeper, which fact I can't deny;
+but then there's such a thing as rising to an occasion, you see."
+
+"Yes," scoffed the tall scout, "if we depended on you staying awake,
+chances are we'd have no trout for breakfast to-morrow morning."
+
+"No need of anything like that," remarked the scout-master; "because we
+can fix it so that no wildcat could get that fish, let him try as hard
+as he wants.  Just you leave it with me, Bumpus, and I'll guarantee that
+we have fish for breakfast, and without anybody having to stay up
+either, or lose another minute's sleep."
+
+He tied a cord to the dangling trout, once more placed where it had been
+before, and then announced that he meant to fasten the other end to his
+arm.  If anything pulled at the fish it would telegraph the fact down to
+him; and as Thad took the double-barreled shotgun to bed with him, and
+occupied the place Rumpus had vacated, they understood what the answer
+was going to be should he be aroused.
+
+But evidently the beast thought discretion the better part of valor, for
+he did not come aboard again that night.  Possibly the shouts, and the
+whooping of the boys had given him all the excitement he could stand.
+He liked fish very much; as do all of the cat species, but if he must
+have a feast of trout it looked as though he would have to procure the
+same in some other way than stealing it from those on board the
+Chippeway Belle.
+
+Strange to say Bumpus was the first to crawl out; and his labored
+progress over his comrades evoked a continual series of grunts and
+complaints.
+
+"Hurrah! it's still there, and we ain't going to be cheated out of our
+treat after all!" he was heard to cry, as he gained the open air.
+
+"Well, here's the first case on record of that fellow ever getting awake
+ahead of the rest of the bunch," said Step Hen.
+
+"Yes, and he mighty near flattened me into a pancake when he crawled on
+top of me to get to the doors," grunted Giraffe.
+
+"Say, where's my other shoe?  Anybody seen my leather around?  I bet you
+now some fellow just grabbed it up, and tossed the same to that pesky
+old cat last night; and if so, how'm I ever to limp around with only one
+shoe for my both feet; because some of the things went into the water,
+for I heard the splash?"
+
+"If anybody threw it, you did yourself, Step Hen," asserted Giraffe, not
+liking this thing of being accused of things promiscuously; "because I
+saw something that looked mighty much like a shoe, in your hand when you
+crawled out."
+
+"Then why didn't, you tell me about it, Giraffe?" complained the other,
+with a doleful groan. "I think you're about as mean as you can be, to
+let a poor fellow in his excitement do such a thing."
+
+"Why, however was I to know?" said the tall scout, chuckling as though
+it struck him as a joke that Step Hen, in his sudden anxiety to scare
+the prowler away, should have thrown his own shoe at the cat.  "Besides,
+I had troubles of my own, just about that time, let me tell you.  But
+mebbe you can find your old shoe again; because the water ain't so very
+deep up ahead there."
+
+"No need to bother," sang out Bumpus, who was taking his trout down
+tenderly, and examining it to see how much damage the claws of the
+intruder had done, if any, "because there the shoe is right now, on
+shore, and all right."
+
+That gave Step Hen reason to say he knew he could never have been silly
+enough to cast his shoe in such a way as to hurl it overboard; but all
+the same he was pleased to be able to recover it in a dry condition,
+after all.
+
+"Who'll clean it while I get a fire started ashore?" asked Giraffe,
+presently, when they had finished their dressing.
+
+"No hurry," remarked Thad; "for while the sun's getting ready to come
+up, and the storm petered out after all, I guess the lake's a bit too
+rough for us to go out for some time yet.  Such a big body of water can
+kick up some sea when it gets in the humor; and some of the party don't
+seem to hanker after that rising and falling motion."
+
+Bumpus himself decided to do the last honors to his "noble capture," and
+taking the fish ashore, with a hunting knife that had a keen edge, he
+looked for a good place to sit down, on a rock bordering the little
+beach. Here he kept industriously at work for quite some time.
+
+Meanwhile the fire was a big success, for Giraffe certainly was a marvel
+when it came to knowing all there was about making them.  He had found
+just the finest hole to serve as the bed of his cooking fire, where a
+body of red embers would after a little while invite them to place their
+frying-pan and coffee-pot on the iron grating they carried for the
+purpose, and which was really the gridiron-like contrivance belonging to
+a cast-off stove's oven.
+
+"I say, Thad!" Bumpus was heard calling, after he had had plenty of time
+to finish his job with the trout.
+
+"What do you want now, Bumpus?" replied the scout-master, cheerily.
+
+"Come down here, won't you, and settle something for me."
+
+So Thad hastened to accommodate him; and several of the other fellows
+followed at his heels, being consumed by curiosity, perhaps; or it might
+be they suspected something of the truth, and wished to hear Thad's
+decision in the matter.
+
+"Now what?" asked the scout-master, as he reached the spot.
+
+"I wish you'd tell me what sort of a critter that was last night,"
+Bumpus remarked, as he pointed down near his feet; "because he ran along
+here when he skedaddled off; and you can see the prints as plain as
+anything."
+
+"I should say it was a wildcat; but let's ask Allan, to make sure,"
+replied the patrol leader, and upon reaching the spot, Allan instantly
+declared the same thing.
+
+At that Bumpus appeared to be satisfied; and as the trout was now ready
+for the pan they adjourned to where the fire was waiting, with a hungry
+looking cook in readiness to get things going.
+
+Just as they anticipated, that trout was elegant--no other word Bumpus
+could conjure up would begin to do justice to the feast they had that
+morning.  And the proud captor of the prize cast many a look in the
+direction of his rival, which of course the envious Giraffe construed to
+mean; "see what I can do when I set my mind on a job; and get busy
+yourself."
+
+But then Giraffe had just had a pretty generous second portion of the
+salmon-colored fish steak, and was in no humor to get huffy.
+
+He did start in right after breakfast to get several lines out, and
+attended to the same assiduously all morning.  Between the busy workers
+they managed to pull in five fish, of which Bumpus took two.  So that
+thus far the score was even, as regards numbers, though the fat scout
+was still "high notch" when the question of size was concerned.
+
+"I see that before we get back home we'll all have swelled heads," Thad
+remarked, with a broad, smile; and upon the others demanding to know
+what he meant, he went on to say: "why, don't you know, scientists unite
+in declaring that fish is the greatest brain food going; so if these
+fellows keep on loading us down with trout and white fish and every
+other kind that lives in this big lake, why, our hats will soon be too
+small for our enlarged craniums."
+
+"Oh! we can afford to take the chances of that!" laughed Allan.
+
+As the wind had gone down, and the waves with it to a considerable
+extent, it was decided that they might make a start after an early
+lunch.  Thad consulted his Government Survey charts, and marked a place
+that he believed would make them a good harbor, and which they ought to
+reach with any reasonable luck.
+
+This being settled they got underway about half-past eleven; and when
+the little cruiser left the shelter of the cove, and once more breasted
+the rising and falling waves, Bumpus shook his head dismally, and loudly
+hoped he would not once more have to spend all his time feeding the
+fishes.  But his fears proved groundless, for they had apparently become
+used to the motion of the waves, and not one of them became seasick
+again that day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+UP AGAINST IT AGAIN
+
+
+"Everything is lovely, and the goose hangs high!  This makes the fifth
+day since we started out; and things seem to be going along right
+smoothly at the old stand, don't they, fellows?"
+
+Giraffe asked this question.  He was lying on his back on top of the
+hunting-cabin of the little cruiser, taking what he termed a "sun bath;"
+but which some of his chums always called "being too lazy too move."
+
+"And so far none of us have felt the least bit seasick again," remarked
+Step Hen, with what sounded like a fervent note of thanksgiving in his
+voice, as though of all the mean things he could imagine, that of
+feeling a sinking sensation at the pit of the stomach excelled.
+
+"And I'm still leading Giraffe by three fish," declared Bumpus; "besides
+having caught the biggest fish and the longest one in the bargain.
+Better wake up, and get a move on you, Giraffe, or be counting on doing
+all the drudgery when we have that blow-out supper on our return home."
+
+"I ain't worrying any, Bumpus," lazily returned the other; "fact is, it
+tickles me just to see you hustle around in your great fishing stunt.
+Sure you're getting peaked, and as thin as anything, after such unusual
+exertions.  I wouldn't be surprised if some show offered you a job as
+the Living Skeleton, if this thing keeps up much longer, because you're
+fading away right along."
+
+Bumpus looked himself all over, and if there was a shade of anxiety on
+his rosy face it did not stay there long.
+
+"I only wished what you said was half-way true, Giraffe," he sighed;
+"but seems like nothing is ever agoing to take off two pounds from my
+weight.  I can't honestly see where there's a mite of a change; and I
+know you can't neither.  Stop your kidding, and get your lines out
+again.  I had a sure-enough nibble right then, and if you don't look
+out, I'll be pulling in a dandy fish."
+
+"Wake me up when you do, and I'll start in.  You get 'em worked-up like,
+and then I'll show you how to do the trick.  Up to now I've just been
+playing possum, you know, but look out whenever I do get going."
+
+"Bah! who's afraid?" scoffed the fat scout, finding a use for his
+favorite expression, to show his contempt for the threat of Giraffe.
+
+"But we've gone over a heap of ground during the five days we've been
+afloat on this inland sea, haven't we, boys?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"I'd like to, know why you call it ground, when, we've been moving over
+water all the time?" observed Davy, who was not as happy as most of his
+chums, because this way of living offered him no chance to climb trees,
+and hang from limbs, as was his favorite habit; and therefore time hung
+heavy on his hands, so that he grew restless.
+
+"Oh! well, it doesn't make any difference that I can see," replied Step
+Hen; "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, they say.  But we
+have covered a heap of distance, you'll admit, Davy."
+
+"Yes, and had lots of fun in the bargain," Allan put in.
+
+"Thanks to the weather man for keeping things nice for us, and not
+allowing any storm along," suggested Bumpus.
+
+"Well, you may have reason to change your tune soon, old fellow," warned
+Giraffe with an ominous shake of his head.
+
+"Now, what makes you go and say that, Giraffe?  Do you know anything, or
+are you just trying to bother me on general principles?" demanded the
+stout boy, aggressively.
+
+"Well, perhaps you didn't know it," remarked the other, carelessly, "but
+latterly I've taken a notion to study to become a weather prophet.  On
+the sly I've been getting all the information about goose bones, and all
+sorts of signs, wherever I could strike the same.  Then I've studied up
+how the fellows down at Washington make their guesses, and I'm getting
+there right smart.  Why, every morning now, for the last three days I've
+told myself it was agoing to be fair, and she was, sure pop.  Understand
+that, Bumpus?"
+
+"I thought something was bothering you, and keeping you from getting as
+many fish as I did; but what about this morning, Giraffe, did it look
+any different to you; and is the good weather acoming to an end?" asked
+Bumpus.
+
+"The signs all pointed to a change this morning," replied the other.
+"Now, don't expect me to go into particulars, because there ain't any
+need of more'n one weather sharp in our crowd.  And say, just cast your
+eye over there to the southwest; don't you see that low bank of clouds
+along the horizon?  Well, when they get to moving up on us, we're bound
+to have, high winds, and p'raps a regular howler of a storm."
+
+Bumpus' face assumed a serious look as he turned quickly to the
+scout-master.
+
+"What do you say, Thad?" he queried, for it was never possible to know
+whether Giraffe were working off one of his little practical jokes or
+not, he had such a way of looking very solemn, even while chuckling
+inwardly.
+
+"I don't count much on his knowledge of telling in the morning what sort
+of a day it's going to be," replied the other, with a shake of the head;
+"but what he says about those clouds is as near facts as Giraffe ever
+gets."
+
+"Then there is a storm bound to swoop down on us?" demanded Bumpus, as
+he cast a nervous glance around at the watery expanse; for they were far
+out on the lake.
+
+"I'm afraid we'll have a rough night of it," Thad confessed; "but if
+we're only safe in a harbor by evening, we won't need to bother our
+heads any about that."
+
+"Then we won't have any trouble about making that safe harbor, will we?"
+continued Bumpus, who could be very positive and persistent whenever he
+wanted to know anything, so that it was a difficult thing to shunt him
+aside.
+
+"If the engine holds out we ought to be there by five, I expect," Thad
+answered.
+
+Bumpus transferred his attention to the working motor; and his look of
+anxiety increased.
+
+"Seems to me you've been pottering more'n a little with that thing today,
+Thad," he went on to say.
+
+"Yes, and right now it don't work decent," observed Step Hen.  "It
+misses an explosion every third one, and acts like it might go out of
+business any minute on us, that's right, fellows."
+
+Some of the rest began to look sober at this.  Giraffe, who had thought
+to have a joke at the expense of his plump rival, no longer lay there,
+sprawled upon the roof of the hunting cabin of the launch; but sat up to
+observe the singular actions of the engine for himself.  Nor did he,
+appear to get much consolation from what he discovered.
+
+"I declare now if it ain't a fact, boys," he said, seriously.  "She acts
+mighty like she wanted to throw up the sponge, and let us hustle to get
+ashore the best way we could.  Of all the contrary things commend me to
+a balky engine on a cruiser.  And Dr. Hobbs was thinkin' his friend was
+doing us the greatest favor going to loan him this old trap, that like's
+not he keeps heavily insured, in the hopes that some fine day she'll go
+down, when he can buy a newer and better, model with the money he
+collects."
+
+"Oh! I wouldn't say that, if I were you, Giraffe,"' remarked Thad.
+"From the way the gentleman wrote to Dr. Hobbs I'm sure he thought he
+was doing us a favor; and you know it's bad manners to look a gift horse
+in the mouth.  If he was charging us a round sum for the use of the boat
+we, might say something; but outside of the gasoline we consume we don't
+have to put out a cent."
+
+"But do you really expect the rickety old engine'll go back on us before
+we get to that harbor you're heading for?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+"How can I tell?" Thad replied.  "I'm doing everything I know of to coax
+it to be good.  If anybody has a scheme for helping along, the rest of
+us would be glad to listen to the same, and take it up too, if there was
+a ghost of a show that we could profit by doing that."
+
+Apparently nobody did have any idea of bettering conditions as they now
+prevailed; for not a word came in reply, to Thad's request for several
+minutes.  During this time the boys sat there and watched the queer
+actions of the engine that Thad was bending over, now doing this and
+again that in order to see whether he could not obtain more profitable
+results from the laboring motor.
+
+"I s'pose now," Bumpus finally did muster up courage enough to say, "if
+it came to the worst, and you saw we couldn't make that harbor, why, you
+might head her on to the beach, so that we could get ashore, no matter
+what, happened to the old ship?"
+
+"Yes, how about that, Thad?" questioned Step Hen, as though somehow a
+thought along the same lines might have been passing through his mind
+just then.
+
+Thad shook his head in the negative.
+
+"That would be a risky proceeding, at any time," he observed, "when you
+consider that the shore along here is composed of sharp-pointed rocks,
+and that if there was any sea on at all we'd probably be wrecked long
+before we could land.  That must mean we'd all be thrown into the surf,
+and perhaps lose our lives trying to swim ashore among the rocks.  No
+we'll have to try some other plan than that, or else stick to the boat,
+and hope the storm won't be so very bad after all."
+
+"Well, one thing sure," said Davy Jones, who had not taken any part in
+this conversation thus far, "the clouds are coming along right speedy.
+Since I first took note they've crept up till they look twice as big
+now."
+
+This news was not pleasant for them to hear, though every one realized
+that the speaker was not "drawing the long bow" when he made the
+assertion. Yes, they could almost note the rising of the dark mass.  If
+it kept on as it was doing, inside of half an hour the heavens would be
+obscured above, and perhaps the forerunner of the gale be upon them.
+
+Bumpus quickly started to pulling in the various fish lines he had been
+trailing along after the boat, in hopes of meeting up with a hungry fish
+that might be taken aboard, and not only afford a meal for the crowd,
+but give him a good chance to crow over his rival fisherman once more,
+"rub it in," as he called it.
+
+Thad got out his charts, and the whole lot bent over, while he pointed
+out where they were just then, and the distant harbor he had hoped to
+reach.
+
+"If it comes to the worst," ventured Allan, "there's that lone island
+ahead of us, Sturgeon Island it's called on the chart, and we might get
+in the lee of that."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE SQUALL
+
+
+"Sturgeon Island, did you say, Allan?" remarked Step Hen.  "Sounds like
+it might be a good fishing place.  If we happened to land there, perhaps
+Bumpus and Giraffe might manage to do some big stunts, pulling in
+sturgeon. Can anybody tell me what sort of a fish that is, anyway?  I
+never saw one, or a fellow that caught one, either."
+
+"Oh! they grow to big size, and are caught in the Great Lakes in this
+country.  They take sturgeon eggs I believe to make this high-priced
+stuff they use in the tony clubs and call caviar, or something like
+that," observed Bumpus, who really did know considerable about fish and
+fishing, though of course he did not claim to be a fly fisherman,
+capable of casting seventy feet or more.
+
+But the subject did not interest any of them just then.  The way that
+bank of ominous clouds kept advancing higher and higher soon kept their
+attention riveted in that quarter.
+
+"About how far away from our harbor are we, Thad?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"Something like fifteen miles, I should say," came the reply.
+
+Giraffe looked at the balky engine, and shook his head.
+
+"Then we'd better make up our minds right here and now that we'll never
+get to that place this day," he said, positively; and there was no one
+bold enough to accept of the plain challenge his tones conveyed.
+
+"That means our only hope lies in Sturgeon Island, don't it?" Bumpus
+asked.
+
+"Looks that way," Thad told him.
+
+"But that don't seem so far on the map; you, just put your finger on the
+same, Thad; and if she's close enough to do that, hadn't we ought to see
+that island, ahead somewhere?"
+
+"Suppose you take the glasses and look," suggested the pilot, who was
+busy with the engine that had stopped short again, and needed coaxing to
+take up its burden once more, "It's rather hazy, you'll notice, so that
+you couldn't be sure of anything more than three miles away, I reckon;
+but tell us what lies de ahead, will you, Bumpus?"
+
+A minute later, and the fat scout cried out in considerable excitement:
+
+"I can see land ahead, sure I can, fellows!"
+
+"That must be the island, then," rejoined Thad, busily engaged.
+
+"Our only hope, so we had ought to call it our island," Davy went on to
+say, as he deliberately took the glasses from Bumpus, and glued the
+smaller end of the same to his own eyes.
+
+Then in turn everybody but Thad had to have a chance to look; and in the
+end it was the consensus of opinion that Bumpus had spoken only the
+truth when he said there were positive evidences of some sort of land
+ahead.
+
+"Oh! if you could only get that old junk-shop engine to working for half
+an hour, Thad, we'd have plenty of time to circle around to the leeward
+side of that island, and then we could get ashore, no matter what
+happened to the Belle," Bumpus faltered, as he watched the skipper still
+working as rapidly as he could.
+
+All at once the machinery started up again, when Thad gave the crank a
+whirl.
+
+"Bully for you, Thad!" cried Davy, slapping the other heartily on the
+back; and then turning to look at the black clouds following after them,
+as though he would give fair warning that they meant to make a stiff
+fight for the opportunity of finding safety.
+
+"Go slow!" warned the other; "don't be too sure, because she's limping
+already, and I'd hate to risk my reputation in saying that we could
+depend on that thing five minutes at a stretch," and from the way Thad
+said this it was evident that he had by now almost lost all faith in the
+motor.
+
+"Looks like it might be a race between the storm, and our getting behind
+Sturgeon Island," said Giraffe, as he turned alternately from stem to
+stern of the boat, evidently trying to figure out what sort of chance
+they might have for winning out in the end.
+
+But they knew that it all depended on the engine; if it worked as well
+as it was doing right now they could surely pass over the few miles that
+separated them from the island; and once in its lee it would not be so
+difficult to gain the shore.  Neither the wild wind, nor the gathering
+waves could disturb them, so long as the storm continued to come out of
+the south-west, for they were now cruising along the northern shore of
+the great lake, where the Dominion of Canada held sway, and not Uncle
+Sam.
+
+So they watched it anxiously, and every time it missed an explosion
+Bumpus would utter a grunt or a groan; only to catch new inspiration and
+hope when he found that it was a false alarm, and that they were still
+going right along.
+
+Thad was doing everything he knew how to encourage the engine to keep up
+the good work; but he had already made up his mind to be surprised at
+nothing.  There was a possibility that it might keep working fairly well
+as long as they wanted, in order to find safety in the shelter of the
+island; and then again it was apt to let down at any minute.
+
+Thad, however, was not the one to show the white feather.  He knew that
+there were several of his chums who might not be constituted just the
+same as he and Allan, and Giraffe--Bumpus and Davy and Step Hen; and his
+seeming cheerfulness was partly assumed in order to buoy their drooping
+spirits up; as scout-master Thad felt that he had many duties to
+perform, and one of these was to instill a feeling of confidence in the
+breasts of his comrades.
+
+"I can see a white streak on the water away back there!" announced
+Giraffe, presently.
+
+"That's where you've got the advantage of the rest of us, with your long
+neck, and that way of stretching the same," complained Step Hen; and
+determined to meet the other on his own grounds he clambered to the top
+of the cabin, where he could use the glasses he had taken from the hand
+of Giraffe.
+
+"It's the first blow of the squall, as sure as anything," he immediately
+reported; which news made Bumpus turn pale; for he had not forgotten
+what he experienced on that other occasion.
+
+"Coming racing after us, like hot cakes!" added Giraffe.  "Hadn't we
+better get them life preservers out, and fastened on under our arms,
+Thad?  Then, if so be the old tub did take a notion to turn turtle, we'd
+have some show for our money."
+
+"Make him stop talking that way, Thad, won't you?" urged Bumpus; "he
+just does it to make me have a bad feeling down here," and he rubbed his
+projecting stomach mournfully as he spoke.
+
+"No, I'm sorry to tell you he isn't saying anything too strong, Bumpus,"
+the skipper of the Chippeway Belle assured him; and after that poor
+Bumpus had nothing more to say; only he clutched the cork and canvas
+life preserver which was handed out to him, and with trembling hands
+proceeded to adjust the same under his arms; though it was a very snug
+fit, even if Giraffe had given him the largest in the lot under the
+seats.
+
+"If anything happens, remember," said Thad, in all seriousness, as he
+watched the rapid way in which that ominous white line on the water was
+racing after them; "all of you try your best to land on the island.
+We're getting closer all the while to the same, and there seems to be
+some shore for us to crawl up, because, with the rocks I can see little
+patches of gravelly beach.  Keep your eyes fixed on that, and do
+everything you can to get there in case of a wreck."
+
+"Wreck!" muttered Bumpus, as though talking to himself, as he often did
+when in trouble.  "Didn't I dream I was on a ship that went to pieces in
+storm; and first thing I knew I had to swim for it, and me knowing so
+little about doing that.  Oh! I hope nothing happens, and that we ran
+swing around back of that bully old island soon!"
+
+"So say we all of us, Bumpus," Giraffe echoed; and he did not mean to
+draw the attention of the others to the shaky condition of the fat
+scout, because, if the truth were told, every one of the six boys would
+be found to be quivering with the dreadful suspense, while waiting for
+that forerunner of the squall to strike them.
+
+The engine still continued to keep them moving, although to the excited
+imagination of some of the boys they seemed to be almost standing still.
+
+"What do you think of it now, Thad?" asked Step Hen, with the manner of
+one who hoped for good tidings, yet feared the worst.
+
+"I don't just like the looks of that first rush of wind," replied the
+pilot; "of course if we pull through that we may be able to hold out,
+and gradually force a way around the island.  I'm trying to head as near
+as I dare, because if once we're forced past, there's nothing left for
+us, you understand?"
+
+Yes, they could grasp that point well enough, and Step Hen even besought
+the one at the wheel to work in a little closer.
+
+"Better take the chances of being thrown on the island than to be
+carried past by a fluke of the wind!" he declared, and Thad believed so
+much the same way that he did change their course slightly.
+
+The boys had brought out what most they wanted to save in case of a
+wreck. One carried his clothes bag, with the blanket fastened to the
+same; another had the double-barreled shotgun; while Giraffe made sure
+to see that his fishing tackle was safely tucked in with his belongings,
+which he had made up into as small a compass as possible.
+
+As for Bumpus, he had gathered everything he owned, and looked as though
+he might be a walking peddler trying to dispose of his wares to the
+country people.  On the other hand there was Step Hen who did not appear
+to care an atom about his clothes and his blanket; but he had managed to
+wrap something around the owl, and was all the while gripping the bird
+tightly; though Bumpus said he was silly to risk his own life, when all
+he had to do was to cut the cord he had put around the cloth, unfasten
+the chain that gripped the bird's leg, and give him a toss into the air,
+when Jim would look out for himself.
+
+"Wish I could fly away as easy as he can," Bumpus wound up with; but in
+spite of all these suggestions the obstinate Step Hen still persisted in
+holding on to his prisoner, as though he meant to accept every chance
+rather than let him go.
+
+"Hold fast, everybody, for here she comes!" called Allan, presently.
+
+The puttering of the escape connection with the engine could no longer
+be heard, because of the roar made by the rushing wind, and the splash
+of the curling water, as the squall leaped forward and rapidly overtook
+them.
+
+"Oh; my stars!" Bumpus was heard to call out, as he clung to something
+with all his might and main; for the little cruiser seemed to be lifted
+high in the air, and carried forward on the top of a giant billow, only
+to sink down in the trough of the sea with a heavy motion; but still
+keeping head on.
+
+But in that moment of time Thad Brewster knew that the fate of the boat
+was effectually sealed; because the engine had given its last throb and
+they were now a helpless, drifting object in the midst of those angry
+waters!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+CLEVER WORK
+
+
+Imagine the horror of the six scouts when they realized that they were
+now completely at the mercy of the storm, since the last barrier seemed
+to have given way when the treacherous engine broke down.
+
+Even brave-hearted Thad Brewster felt that their case was desperate: and
+he knew in his secret heart that if they managed to escape a serious
+situation it must be through a narrow gap.
+
+At the same time Thad always made it a point to put on a good face when
+up against trouble.  This was of course partly done because of his
+comrades, since, as the scout-master he felt more responsibility than
+fell to the share of the rest.
+
+Bumpus had been hanging on like a good fellow.  He greatly feared lest
+some sudden violent lurch of the boat toss him headlong into that yeasty
+sea; which he was gazing upon with terror.
+
+At the same time Bumpus had been closely observing the actions of the
+eccentric motor, and was one of the first to discover that it had
+petered out, giving up the ghost completely, as Giraffe would have said.
+
+"Oh! what can we do now, Thad?" shouted the stout scout, as usual
+turning to the quick-witted one in an emergency; but for once even Thad
+was at his wit's ends to know what to attempt, the situation was that
+desperate.
+
+"Everybody hold on!" was all Thad called back.
+
+There was hardly any need of this injunction, for each fellow had
+managed to brace himself, so that unless the boat actually "turned
+turtle," or at least was thrown on her beam ends, they could not be
+dislodged.
+
+Thad was straining his eyesight as best he could, endeavoring to see
+ahead. The furious wind of course made this a difficult task, because it
+not only sent the waves high, but as these broke into foam along their
+crests, this was actually cut off as with an invisible knife, and blown
+away in the shape of flying spud; so that the very air was surcharged
+with a fine mist, rendering it hard to distinguish anything fifty feet
+off.
+
+Of course it was the island that the young leader was striving to see
+all this while.  He knew as well as anything that the one slim hope
+remaining to them must rest upon their chance of finding some sort of
+shelter behind this oasis in the watery waste.
+
+At one time it had been Thad's hope that if the worst came they might
+find themselves thrown on the windward side of Sturgeon Island.  Now he
+knew that this had been rendered an utter impossibility; because the
+storm had swept down upon them so rapidly after their course was changed
+that there had been no time for the cruiser to reach a position that
+would bring about any such result.
+
+And then besides, the surf must be dashing high over that exposed end of
+the rocky island, so that even though they struck, it might be on an
+outer reef.  In such a case who could say whether any of the boys would
+manage to overcome the terrible difficulties lying in wait, and be
+thrown up on a sandy beach, rather than dashed ruthlessly against the
+cruel rocks?
+
+So Thad crouched there near the bow, holding on desperately, and hoping
+for he hardly knew what, save that he seemed to have an inspiration
+there presently would come a slender chance for them to survive the
+blow.
+
+"There's the island!" yelled Giraffe, pointing to the right.
+
+Thad had seen it before the other thus called attention to the fact of
+their being so near safety, yet unable to quite reach it.
+
+"But we're going along past it!" shrieked Bumpus.  "Thad, ain't there
+any way we could work in?  Oh! think quick, please, or, it'll be too
+late!"
+
+They were moving quite fast, with wind and wave joining forces to sweep
+the little helpless craft along.  Just as Bumpus had said, unless
+something could be done immediately it must surely be too late; for once
+they left the island behind, the whole immense inland sea would be
+before them; and their hopes of surviving the storm must sink too close
+upon the zero mark.
+
+Thad was thinking as fast as he could; indeed, his very brain seemed to
+be on fire, such was the mental energy he was expending.  But really
+there was nothing in the wide world that could be done then.
+
+True, they had push-poles, but doubtless the depth of water would have
+rendered these utterly useless, even had they started to handle them.
+Nothing was to be hoped for in the direction of the engine, since that
+had collapsed in the most cowardly fashion at the first swoop of the
+blow.
+
+What then?
+
+Thad had made one little discovery that gave a slender promise of
+succor; and it is strange upon what a small foundation hopes can be
+built at such a time as this.  He saw that the wind had shifted just a
+little; but this was enough to carry the drifting launch a trifle toward
+the side of the island.
+
+Now, it did not stand to reason that they would strike, no matter how
+long that shore turned out to be; because there was enough current to
+sheer them off; but when the lower end of the island was reached, Thad
+really believed there might be a sudden inward sweep of the water that
+had been so long held at bay by the rocky shore.
+
+There always is more or less of this eddy at the end of an island in a
+river; and upon a large lake in our country it may be found as a rule
+toward the eastern terminus, since the prevailing storms come from the
+west, southwest and northwest.
+
+The only question with the anxious lad was whether this eddy would have
+sufficient "pull" to drag them in behind the island.  Upon that one
+small possibility rested all their hopes.
+
+Thad knew that possibly he and his chums might render some assistance at
+this critical moment, if so be they were ready.
+
+"Allan--Giraffe, come here!" he called out.
+
+The two scouts heard him above all the racket of the elements, which,
+what with the howling of the wind, the breaking of the waves against the
+boat, and the roar of the surf on the exposed end of the island,
+amounted to a tremendous volume of sound.
+
+"Ay! ay!" Giraffe was heard to cry in return, as he proceeded to make
+his way forward, clinging to every object that offered a stable hold,
+because the wind seemed trying its level best to tear him away.
+
+Bumpus also heard the call, but as his name had not been mentioned he
+dared not take it upon himself to move so much as one of his tightly
+braced feet. He seemed to feel that if he did so it would be at the risk
+of his life; and the thought of being cast adrift on that raging sea
+filled him with actual terror.
+
+Could those boys have had a vivid picture of that scene just then, they
+would never have been able to look at it again without shivering;
+because their faces must certainly have expressed the sensations that
+filled their hearts to overflowing.
+
+But Davy, as the official photographer of the patrol, was too much
+concerned just then in holding on, to dream of making any use of his
+vest pocket kodak; nor would it have been possible to have obtained any
+sort of view under such stormy conditions as surrounded them.
+
+"What is it, Thad?"
+
+Giraffe asked this question as he and the other scout managed to come
+close to where the patrol leader clung.
+
+"We've got a little chance when we get to the end of the island, don't
+you see?" Thad bawled, making use of one hand to serve in lieu of a
+speaking trumpet.  "We're getting closer all the time, and will just
+skim past the last rock.  And then is our chance, when we strike the
+eddy there always is beyond an island.  Do you understand?"
+
+Both scouts nodded their heads violently, and Giraffe called out:
+
+"What d'ye want us to do, Thad?"
+
+"We must get the setting poles out, and be ready to try and push with
+all our might and main when the time comes.  Everything depends on
+that!" Thad replied, also, at the top of his strong, young voice.
+
+"But it may be too deep!" objected Giraffe; though at the same time
+fumbling with the rope that fastened one of the push-poles in question
+to the deck alongside the cabin roof.
+
+"We've got to take the chances of that," Thad went on; "and besides, you
+know it always shallows where the sand is washed around the point of an
+island.  Hurry, fellows, because we must be nearly there!"
+
+He lent a hand himself, for he saw that Giraffe was meeting with more or
+less difficulty in releasing the pole toward which he had turned his
+attention; though had the conditions been different, the boy might not
+have had the slightest trouble about getting it free.  The boat was
+pitching so furiously, that he could only use one hand, because it was
+necessary for him to grasp some hold, lest he be tossed overboard, as a
+bucking bronco hurls an unsuspecting rider from the saddle by a quick
+upward movement.
+
+Hardly had they secured possession of the two long and stout poles than
+the end of the island hove in sight.  They were very close to it now;
+indeed, it almost seemed as though an agile fellow might have made a
+flying leap, and with half-way decent luck manage to alight on the
+sentinel rock that guarded this point.
+
+But no one tried that desperate game; in fact, it was doubtful whether
+it even occurred to Davy or Step Hen before they had been carried past,
+and the widening gulf rendered such a movement impossible of
+accomplishment.
+
+But the three lads toward the bow of the drifting boat were desperately
+engaged in trying to swerve the cruiser more and more behind the island,
+ere they got so far that they would lose the benefits of the half-way
+calm condition existing in the lee of the shore.
+
+Fortunately the water did prove to be fairly shallow at this point, just
+as the scout-master had predicted; for vast quantities of sand had been
+deposited there from time to time through such storms as the present
+one, and also the melting of the ice that drifted there during each
+breaking-up season for ages past.
+
+The poles easily reached bottom and secured a firm hold there, so that
+the boys were enabled to throw their full strength upon the other ends.
+And the Chippeway Bell was thus shoved around, so that the anchor, which
+was watched by Step Hen and Davy Jones, could be easily thrown ahead,
+thus preventing their drifting further away from the friendly shore.
+And this having been accomplished the three scouts were almost ready to
+drop down with fatigue, for they had worked strenuously.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+MAROONED
+
+
+"Hurrrah!" shouted Bumpus, who had been so worked up during this
+struggle between his comrades and the greed of the elements, that he had
+hardly taken time to breathe.
+
+Davy, and Step Hen too, seemed ready to throw up their hats, and cheer
+with exultation because of their wonderful deliverance from continued
+perils.
+
+All of them were pretty well soaked, though it had not rained at all; so
+that their bedraggled condition must have come from the water that was
+in the air, and an occasional wave that slapped over the boat when it
+broke.
+
+Although they had apparently secured a firm grip on an anchorage, and it
+would seem as though their present troubles were over, Thad did not sink
+down like his two fellow laborers, to pant, and rest up.
+
+He proceeded to scramble aft, for he had made an alarming discovery, and
+wished to start an investigation at once.
+
+The boat sat much lower in the water than he had ever known it to do;
+and this circumstance seemed alarming.  One look into the cabin told him
+the reason, nor was Thad very much surprised to find that it was already
+knee deep in water.
+
+"How did this come in here, fellows?" he asked Davy and Step Hen, who
+from their positions might be expected to know; "did you notice many
+waves pour over the stern of the boat?"
+
+"N-no, hardly any water at all came in, Thad," replied Step Hen,
+astonished when he came to look into the partly submerged cabin for
+himself.
+
+"She kept riding like a duck, and was ahead of the waves most all the
+time," was the testimony Davy added; which might be set down as the
+first words of praise given to the little craft thus far during the
+cruise.
+
+"Why, goodness gracious, Thad, we must be sinking!" bellowed the amazed
+Bumpus, also craning his fat neck the best way he could, in order to
+peer into the cabin.
+
+"Just what she is doing," replied the scoutmaster, composedly; because
+they were now in comparatively shallow water, out of the reach of the
+storm; and it did not matter so much what happened after this.
+
+"Sprung a leak, mebbe?" suggested Giraffe, joining the group.
+
+"Wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened," Allan added, as, he
+too took a survey of the flooded interior.
+
+"Then, like as not she'll go down right under us, after a bit, Thad!"
+exclaimed Bumpus, in new excitement, as he contemplated the distance
+still separating them from the point of the island, and mentally figured
+whether he could float to safety with that life preserver on, and one of
+his chums towing him.
+
+"She will, and that's a dead sure thing," Giraffe told him.
+
+"We ought to get her in closer before that happens, hadn't, we,
+fellows?" Step Hen wanted to know.
+
+"We've got to try that same, and right away!" declared Thad, as he
+stooped to once more; pick up a push-pole.
+
+"Here, you Step, Hen and Davy, take hold in our place, because you're
+fresh, and ought to do better work," Giraffe remarked, as he thrust his
+pole into the hands of the former.
+
+Now, under ordinary conditions Step Hen might have wanted to know by
+what authority the lengthy, scout presumed to order him around, when
+they were of the same rank in the patrol; but he realized the force of
+what Giraffe had said, and hence accepted the pole without a murmur,
+starting to work immediately; while, Davy did the same with the one Thad
+allowed him to take.
+
+"When you get the boat part way up toward where the anchor holds,"
+observed the scout-master, "we'll drag the mudhook in, and stand ready
+to throw it out again.  By pulling on the cable after the anchor gets a
+firm hold on bottom, it's possible to claw the boat along foot by foot.
+I've done that same many a time; and it'll help out more than a little."
+
+They speedily found that Thad spoke truly, and under the influence of
+poles as well as the anchor drag the Chippeway Belle began to approach
+the shore, much to the delight of Bumpus.  When the fat scout, closely
+observing the setting poles as they were dipped repeatedly into the
+water, discovered that they struck bottom in a depth of not more than
+four feet, he was ready to shout with joy.  That meant it could not be
+over his head; and if the worst came, he might wade to land.
+
+Despite the fact that their vessel was a wreck, and about to sink, the
+boys had no desire to complain just then.  Their escape from threatening
+danger had been too recent for them to feel ungrateful.  Later on the
+grumblers would no doubt start to work in their customary way, and find
+cause for venting their disgust because things did not come out as they
+might have wished; but even Giraffe was bubbling over with satisfaction
+when he realized that they had actually managed to cheat the storm after
+all.
+
+It had been a close shave, however, and only for that bright thought on
+the part of Thad, they might at that very moment have been drifting far
+away, with their boat slowly but purely sinking, despite all the baling
+they could accomplish.
+
+But then, what was the good of scout-masters if they were not able to do
+the thinking for the crowd, the reckless Giraffe would possibly have
+said, if the question had been put up to him.
+
+Everybody was working like the busy bees; even Bumpus tried to assist in
+hauling at the cable, having moved forward when the boat no longer
+pranced and bobbed on the agitated sea like a skittish horse.
+
+Of course, as the water was coming in so fast, the cruiser was bound to
+presently strike bottom; but it was the design of Thad to work her in
+just as far as possible, for as they had a block and tackle aboard he
+hoped they would be able to make some sort of rude "ways," where she
+might be hauled out later on, patched up, and their interrupted cruise
+continued.
+
+"Stuck fast, Thad; she's on bottom, and no use straining to try and get
+her another inch toward the shore!" announced Allan, presently; and all
+of them realized that he spoke the absolute truth when he said this.
+
+"Well," remarked Bumpus, complacently, "we are on the wreck of our noble
+ship, and close enough to shore to salvage all our possessions; which I
+consider the greatest of good luck.  Who'll carry me on his shoulders,
+now?"
+
+Strange to say, nobody offered to undertake this task, where Bumpus
+pretended to feel very much hurt, though in reality quite merry.
+
+"I was afraid you'd all speak at once, and have a quarrel over the
+honor; but looks now like I might have to do the grand wading act
+myself, holding up my clothes-bag and blanket, to keep from getting the
+same more soaked than they are now.  If we could only make a raft like
+old Robinson Crusoe did, it would be fine.  Can we get this cabin roof
+off, and would it float, do you think, Thad?"
+
+"We'll wade!" replied the scout-master, grimly, and that settled it.
+
+"The sooner the better," remarked Giraffe, "because night's going to
+drop down on us right early to-day, and we ought to have a warm fire
+started somehow, so's to dry us off," for Giraffe had the utmost faith
+in a fire being able to do about nearly everything necessary to the good
+cheer of mankind, because he fairly worshipped a jolly blaze.
+
+Indeed, as most of them had commenced to shiver already, owing to their
+wet condition, and the stress of excitement under which they had been
+recently laboring, the thought of sitting before a comfortable fire did
+seem to buoy up their spirits amazingly.
+
+"Get ready to slip over, and go ashore!" ordered Thad, "I'll take the
+anchor cable with me, and see that it's made fast to a rock or a tree.
+We may find a chance to mend the boat, and anyway it's just as well that
+we try and keep her here; though if the wind whips around no cable would
+hold her, I reckon."
+
+Giraffe was the first to drop over.  The water hardly came above his
+waist; but then his height was responsible for this, and cautious Bumpus
+did not deceive himself on that account.  Still he found that he could
+easily wade, and in a short time all of them had reached the friendly
+rocks.
+
+Here Thad made the rope secure.
+
+"I'm going back for a few more things, and you might come along with me,
+Allan," the scout-master remarked.
+
+"I reckon you think there's a pretty good possibility that the wind will
+veer around, sooner or later, and that the old tub won't be in sight
+when morning comes?" Allan remarked, as he pushed out alongside his
+chum.
+
+"Chances tend that way," was the replied Thad, "and anyhow, it's better
+that we get all the supplies we have ashore.  Then if 'we have to play
+Crusoe for a while we'll have something to go on with."
+
+"Our stock happens to be pretty low," remarked Allan; "and Giraffe was
+only this morning complaining that he didn't get enough to eat, and that
+we'd better stop off  somewhere to buy more bacon and bread and such
+things. Too bad we didn't think of that when near Duluth, which place
+you wanted to avoid because of certain reasons."
+
+They made the trip without accident.  Then it was considered that about
+all had been taken from the stranded and half sunken cruiser that was
+worth salving.
+
+Already was Giraffe hunting for some good place where they might find
+shelter, and start a fire; for while it had not rained as yet, strange
+to say, a flood was likely to come down at any moment, so long as the
+heavens remained as dark as they were still.
+
+Bumpus was looking all around him.  He did not wander away from the
+rest, because it seemed as though that mysterious island on which they
+had been cast might be inhabited by wild beasts of prey, for all they
+knew, ready to spring upon a nice, juicy morsel like him, and make a
+meal.  That was one of the disadvantages in being plump, Bumpus always
+insisted, because envious eyes were won't to fall upon him first of all.
+
+About that time Giraffe hove in sight again, and from his happy manner
+it was evident that he had important news to communicate.
+
+"Just shoulder your packs, fellows, and come with me," he hastened to
+tell them.  "I've run across the boss place for us to keep under
+shelter; and there's aplenty of nice dry wood handy, so we can lay in a
+supply before it rains.  After all it strikes me that with our troubles
+we ought to be thankful things ain't worse'n they are.  With a fire a
+fellow can do nigh anything to make you feel good.  Come on!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+ROBINSON CRUSOE, JR.
+
+
+"There you are," said Giraffe, presently.
+
+"Why, that shelf of rock looks just like it was meant to keep the rain
+off," declared Step Hen, delighted at the prospect.
+
+"Hold on," Bumpus advised.
+
+"What ails you now?" Giraffe wanted to know.
+
+"Why, you see," the stout boy went on to say, "she looks kinder dark and
+gloomy under that same rock."
+
+"But it won't after I get a fire started; you see the night's beginning
+to settle down already," Giraffe told him.
+
+"How d'ye know there ain't somethin' ahiding in there?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+At that the lengthy scout laughed scornfully.  "Oh! that's the way the
+wind blows, does it?  Well, you watch me eat your old wolf up.  I'm
+hungry enough right now to eat anything, I reckon."
+
+Few of them could remember when Giraffe was anything but starving, for
+he always had that appetite of his along, and working overtime.
+
+He immediately crawled under the ledge, for the shelf of rock was not
+high enough to admit of his standing erect.
+
+"Seems to be all right," admitted Bumpus.
+
+"Of course it is, though I kind o' think a wolf, if he showed good
+taste, would let me alone, and wait for you, Bumpus," Giraffe called
+back.
+
+They hastened to deposit their burdens under the shelving rock.
+
+"Now, Thad, don't you think it'd be a good idea to have everybody
+hustle, and collect what fuel we could?" the fire-maker asked.
+
+"As it's apt to rain any, time now," answered the scout-master, "and
+we'll be glad to have a fire all night, it seems as though we'd show our
+good sense by gathering wood while we have the chance."
+
+"That's the ticket!  You hear Thad speaking, fellows, so get busy."
+
+Giraffe showed them how by immediately starting in to collect such wood
+as lay conveniently at hand.
+
+"Pile it up here, where it'll keep dry, and we can get what we need from
+time to time," he told them.
+
+Many hands make light work, and as the entire half dozen boys busied
+themselves like a pack of beavers, before long they had accumulated such
+a pile of good dry fuel as pleased Giraffe exceedingly.
+
+"That's what I call a hunky-dory lot of wood," he finally declared, when
+Thad had announced the they must surely have enough to see them through
+the night, "but better bring in a little more, boys, because you don't
+know how fast the fire eats it up."
+
+As for himself, Giraffe was now ready to get his cheery blaze started.
+
+He actually wasted a match in doing this, muttering at the time that
+there was no use bothering with his fire-sticks, which would come in
+handy later, perhaps, when the stock of matches ran low.
+
+Well, every boy admitted that things certainly did take on a rosier hue,
+once that fire began to crackle and send up sparks.
+
+"That feels good, Giraffe," said Bumpus, holding his hands out toward
+the blaze.
+
+"Sure it does," the fire maker went on to say, "and we'll all feel
+better still after we get some grub inside.  Thad, what are we going to
+have for supper?"
+
+Nobody started making fun of Giraffe now.  They were all pretty sharp
+pushed, and could sympathize with the hungry one.
+
+"Oh! look over our stock, and see what we've got," replied the
+scout-master.  "Only go slow, and don't cook too much, because nobody
+can tell how long we might have to stay here on this island, and we may
+have to come down to half rations yet."
+
+His words struck a chill to some of their hearts.
+
+Giraffe, however, refused to allow himself to be concerned.
+
+"Oh! don't worry, boys," he remarked, "we ain't going to starve, even if
+we have to be marooned here two weeks before a vessel can be signaled.
+Why, what use are the fishing lines to us if we can't take lots of finny
+prizes? Then, if there's ducks around, or anything else to shoot, ain't
+we got a gun?  And last of all, I reckon we'd find lots of mussels or
+fresh water clams in the sand at the end of the island where we landed."
+
+Somehow, his hopeful spirit did a great deal to help buoy up the spirits
+of the other scouts.
+
+Even Bumpus volunteered to assist in getting supper ready; indeed, there
+was no lack of cooks on this occasion, for every one seemed willing to
+lend a hand.
+
+After all, youth is so hopeful, and filled with animal spirits, that it
+takes more than ordinary backsets to dishearten a parcel of healthy
+boys.
+
+By the time the supper was done they were talking like magpies, and it
+would be difficult to imagine that these six happy-go-lucky fellows were
+now actual Crusoes of the great lake, their boat a wreck, and
+deliverance a very uncertain prospect of the future.
+
+"That's the very last of the bacon, ain't it, Giraffe?" asked Step Hen,
+during the progress of the meal.
+
+"Sorry to say it is," came the reply.
+
+"And don't it taste finer than ever, though?" Bumpus wanted to know.
+
+"That's always the way," laughed Thad.
+
+"Yes," added Allan, "you never miss the water till the well runs dry.
+But how about our ham, is that gone, too!"
+
+"Well, I should say, yes," declared Giraffe, an injured look on his
+face, as if he felt accusing eyes fixed upon him, "s'pose you think one
+poor lone ham with six hungry fellows to chaw away at it, could last
+forever, but it won't.  If you want to know what we've got left I'll
+tell you--two cans of Boston baked beans, one of tomatoes, some
+potatoes, a package of rice, plenty of tea, sugar and coffee, three tins
+of milk, some chocolate, and three packages of crackers."
+
+"Is that all?" gasped Bumpus.
+
+"So you see right away to-morrow we've got to get busy trying to lay in
+some sort of supplies," Giraffe went on to say.  "How about that, Thad?"
+
+"You never said truer words," was the scoutmaster's comment.
+
+"Yum, yum, I don't know when I've enjoyed a supper like I have this
+one," Step Hen acknowledged.
+
+"I hope it ain't the last time I'll hear you say that," remarked
+Giraffe.
+
+"Hope so myself," returned the other, "because it'd be too bad if I had
+to quit eating at my tender age."
+
+"Thad, do you think this island could be inhabited?"
+
+It was Davy who asked this question, but Bumpus must have been thinking
+along the same lines, for he nodded his head violently and smiled, as
+though he awaited Thad's answer with interest.
+
+"Of course I couldn't say," the scout-master observed.  "It's only a
+small rocky island, you know, and people wouldn't live here the year'
+through."
+
+"But they might come here, ain't that so?" Step Hen insisted.
+
+"Why, yes, to fish, or shoot wild fowl in the season," Thad went on to
+say.
+
+"Well, I sure do hope there may be some white fish netters here right
+now," Step Hen said.
+
+"Or if their ain't, let's wish they'll be comin' along soon," Bumpus
+added with a fervency that was certainly genuine.
+
+"I wonder," Davy broke in with, "what we could do if our boat was
+carried away, or we found we couldn't mend the same?"
+
+"Huh!  What did old Robinson do but build him a boat?  Here are six
+boys, wide-awake as they make 'em--and I'd like to know why we couldn't
+do as much as one man!"
+
+Bumpus said this rather boastfully, not that he had so much confidence
+in his own ability to do things as he felt satisfied that Thad and Allan
+would be equal to almost any emergency.
+
+"Well, we might, under the same conditions," the former told him.
+
+"Ain't the conditions the same," inquired Step Hen.  "He was wrecked,
+and so are we, you might call it."
+
+"Yes, but there's no tree on this rocky island big enough to make into a
+boat," Thad informed him.
+
+"That's a fact, they do grow dwarf trees here," Step Hen admitted.
+
+"And suppose there was, how could we ever chop one down with one little
+camp hatchet, and hollow out the log?" Thad asked.
+
+"Might take a year," acknowledged the other.
+
+"We'd freeze to death here in the winter time, because it gets awful
+cold, they say," Step Hen continued.
+
+"Why, we could walk over the ice, and get ashore," Davy suggested.
+
+"Guess the old lake don't freeze over solid any time; it's too big,
+ain't it, Thad?" Giraffe went on to say.
+
+"That's something I don't know," came the scout master's answer; "and
+what's more to the point I don't care, because we'll never stay here
+that long."
+
+"Glad to know it," said Bumpus.  "P'raps now our friends'll be looking
+us up, and come to the rescue."
+
+"You mean Smithy and Bob White, don't you?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"That's who."
+
+And so they continued to discuss matters from every view-point possible,
+as only wide-awake boys may.
+
+Meanwhile the scout-master, thinking that while the rain held off he
+might as well step out and take a little look around, proceeded to do
+so.
+
+Allan Hollister was sitting there, resting, and listening to the
+arguments of the other boys, when he saw the scout-master beckoning just
+outside the full glow of light cast by the fire.
+
+"What's up, Thad?" he asked, as he joined the other.
+
+"I think I've made the discovery that we're not alone on the island,"
+came the answer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+WHAT THAD FOUND OUT
+
+
+"That sounds good to me, Thad," remarked Allan.
+
+"Hold on before you say that," the other went on to say, significantly.
+
+"What about it?" demanded Allan.
+
+"Because we don't know who they may be, if there are men out here,"
+answered the cautious scout-master.
+
+The other gave a low whistle that stood for surprise.
+
+"I see now, what you mean," he observed; "but what makes you think there
+are others here, when they never lifted a hand to help us, and haven't
+as much as dropped in to sit at our fire?"
+
+"Well, perhaps they don't want to see us," Thad told him.
+
+"Oh! yes, we were talking about smugglers, and then we ran across that
+Mr. Stebbins who knew all about us, and he was one of a party looking up
+the slick men who fetch things over from Canada to escape the heavy
+duties. But Thad do you, really believe there could be a bunch of that
+stripe hiding out on Sturgeon Island?"
+
+"I don't know anything yet, Allan, except that I've reason to know we're
+not alone out here, that's all."
+
+"Well, what did you see, or hear?" asked the other.
+
+"This is what happened," Thad went on to say, in a low tone, though the
+storm was still making such a racket that he had to put his mouth close
+to Allan's ear in order to allow him to catch what he said.  "While the
+rest kept up their talking I came out here to see how things looked, and
+make up my mind whether we were going to have any wet with this gale or
+not."
+
+"Yes, and it don't look like it now, Thad, because it's gone so far;
+reckon it must be what they call a dry storm; but go on and tell me the
+rest."
+
+"Well, I was standing about here, in the dense shadow, you see,
+thinking, when all at once I discovered that there was something moving
+between me and the fire!"
+
+"Whew!" murmured Allan, deeply impressed.
+
+"Of course, at first I thought it might be only a fox, or something like
+that, curious enough to want to creep up, and learn what sort of
+intruders had landed on Sturgeon Island; I could see that the bushes
+were moving softly, and that soon the thing, whatever it was, would come
+in sight of where stood here."
+
+"And it did?" Allan demanded.
+
+"That's right," replied the other, softly; "and it turned out to be a
+man's head!"
+
+At that the other scout again gave one of his low whistles, to show that
+he was listening, and duly impressed by the startling information
+conveyed.
+
+"Of course," continued Thad, "I couldn't make out what he was like, very
+well, because his face was turned away from me; but as near as I can say
+he was a big man, a rough looking chap, and ugly in the bargain.  More
+than that, he struck me like he might be a half-breed, or else an
+Italian, for his skin was very dark."
+
+"Well, what did he do?" inquired the other.
+
+"Just lay there watching the rest of you for several minutes, Allan.  I
+could see him elevate his head at times, and then duck like a flash when
+he thought some one might be looking his way; which showed pretty
+plainly that he didn't want to be seen, and that he didn't mean to step
+forward and join the crowd."
+
+"Then he went away, did he?" continued the other.
+
+"Yes, backed off, and I lost track of him among the rocks and the
+bushes," Thad went on to say, impressively.  "It struck me as a queer
+proceeding, and I didn't lose much time in getting you out here, so I
+could talk it over."
+
+"Perhaps there's only one, all told, and he might be some fellow who's
+escaped from prison, and is in hiding away off here, where he thinks no
+one will ever take the trouble to look for him," Allan suggested.
+
+The scout-master shook his head.
+
+"I can't say just what he is, or whether there's a dozen here," he
+observed; "but I do know that all his actions were suspicious, for no
+honest fisherman would do what he did."
+
+"We'll have to be on our guard, then, Thad?"
+
+"That goes without saying, until we know more about who our neighbors
+are," the scout-master replied.
+
+"It sort of complicates the situation some, too, don't it?" Allan asked.
+
+"Yes, and perhaps we'd better not say anything to the rest until we
+learn something more about this thing," Thad told him.
+
+"How are you going to do that, when this man seems disposed to give us
+the cold-shoulder?" inquired the other.
+
+"I had about made up my mind to go off for a little stroll, and see what
+I could run across near by," the scout-master continued.  "This island
+isn't so very large but I could find my way around; and while that storm
+is howling I'm not anxious to cross over to the other side.  This is the
+sheltered part, and like as not these people, whoever they turn out to
+be, will have taken up their camp somewhere about here.  But I wanted to
+warn you so you might make sure none of the other fellows wandered off."
+
+"I'll see to it, though I don't think they're apt to do anything of that
+sort, as they're a tired bunch right now," Allan assured him.
+
+"And while you're about it," continued the other, impressively, "you'd
+better keep your hand on that shotgun of ours all the while, until you
+see me beckon to you again."
+
+"That sounds like you expected we'd be up against it good and hard
+before this game came to an end," remarked Allan.
+
+"Oh! not necessarily," replied his chum.  "It's only following out our
+motto, 'be prepared.'  You know there are a whole lot of sayings along
+that line, such as 'fore-warned is fore-armed,' and as the old pilgrim
+fathers used to say: 'trust in the Lord; but, keep your powder dry!'  We
+want to keep our ammunition ready.  But while you go back to the rest of
+the boys I'll take a sneak."
+
+"Don't think you'd better take that gun along with you, Thad?"
+
+"Not at all," was the quick reply.  "I'll depend on the darkness, and
+the noise of the storm, to keep from being seen or heard.  But I'm bent
+on trying to find out whether there's any sort of shack or cabin built
+here on Sturgeon Island.
+
+"Well, take good care of yourself," warned Allan, a little uneasily; for
+it was almost on his lips to ask why he might not be permitted to keep
+the scout-master company, for he did hate so much to see Thad pull out
+alone.
+
+He insisted on gravely shaking hands before he would leave his partner,
+to return to the camp under the rocky shelf.  They had been so much
+together of recent years that these two boys were exceedingly fond of
+each other, more so than brothers could ever have been; which was one
+reason why Allan disliked seeing the other moving away into the
+darkness, and taking voluntarily upon himself the dangers such a scout
+involved.
+
+Obeying orders he himself made his way back to where the other sat.
+Giraffe was holding out, and explaining something that he had advanced;
+but evidently he must have noticed the absence of the others, for he
+soon asked:
+
+"What's the good word, Allan; because I reckon you and our scout-master
+have been taking a squint at the weather?  I was just telling the rest
+here that we won't get any wet with this blow, because all the signs
+point that way, and as I said before.  I'm getting to be an authority on
+weather now-a-days.
+
+"That was about what we thought," Allan told him.
+
+"You mean that Thad is with me in my assertion, do you?" demanded
+Giraffe; and when the other had nodded in the affirmative the tall scout
+turned to Davy, Bumpus and Step Hen triumphantly, to add: "There, didn't
+I tell you I could hit these weather changes on the handle every time.
+When I warn you next time there's going to be a storm, better hurry to
+get in out of the wet."
+
+"I think it's a great pity you waste your precious time bothering about
+what the weather is agoing to be, when we can't help it; and you might
+be racking that really stupendous brain of yours adoing other things
+worth while," Bumpus went on to remark.
+
+"Huh! as what?" Giraffe wanted to know.
+
+"Well, famines in the eating line, for one thing," spoke up the fat
+scout, instantly.  "S'pose now you'd told us we was going to run up
+against hard times, in the way of a scarcity of grub two days back,
+couldn't we just as well have dropped in to some town along the shore,
+and stacked up with heaps and heaps of good things?  Seems to me,
+Giraffe, you've gone and wasted your talent on the wrong thing.  What
+good is it ever agoing to do you, to pretend to tell what sort of
+weather we'll get next week, when it's only a guess after all?  Better
+make a change, and predict famines and such things, so we can take the
+alarm, and buy out some country grocery."
+
+Giraffe had not one word to say in reply.  He must have recognized the
+force of Bumpus' philosophy, and wished in his heart he had been gifted
+with the spirit of prophecy, so that he might have given warning in due
+time as to the need of replenishing their stock of provisions.
+
+The conversation ran on, other subjects being taken up.  Giraffe wanted
+to know what kept Thad away so long, and was told that the scout-master
+had concluded to take a little look around.
+
+At that the other suggested that perhaps he too might stretch his legs;
+whereupon Allan informed him that he was under orders to keep them all
+close to the ledge under which they had found shelter; and that Thad had
+told him no one must be allowed to stray away a single yard.
+
+After that the boys did not talk quite so volubly; possibly some
+suspicion may have entered their minds that perhaps things were not
+quite so peaceful as they appeared on the surface; and that Thad might
+know of some reason for expecting a new batch of troubles to descend
+upon them.
+
+Allan kept sitting there, gun in hand.  He was waiting to receive some
+sort of sign from Thad, to tell him his presence was desired once again
+out there beside the tree where they had previously conferred.
+
+It seemed a very long time before he caught a movement there, and then
+saw the hand of the scout-master beckoning to him.
+
+"Stay here, as Thad wants to talk with me," he told the rest, after
+which he strode forth to join the other.
+
+"Well, did you find out anything?" he asked, the first thing.
+
+"Only this," replied Thad, solemnly, "the island is occupied by a party
+of several rough men, who have a boat in a sheltered cove over there,
+and a cabin half hidden among the rocks and brushwood; but the mystery
+of it all is, what they may be doing here, and why they look on us as
+enemies!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+BAD NEIGHBORS
+
+
+"It seems to be getting worse and worse, the further we go, don't it,
+Thad?" Allan asked, after he had had time to digest the startling
+information which his chum had imparted, as they stood there within the
+outer edge of the glow cast by Giraffe's camp-fire under the overhanging
+ledge of rock.
+
+"Looks that way," replied the other, seriously enough, for he did not
+exactly like the situation.
+
+"Seems like it wasn't bad enough for us to be wrecked, and marooned on
+this queer island, but we have to fall across the trail of some unknown
+parties who may be up to all sorts of unlawful dodges, for all we know.
+But Thad, tell me more of what you saw and heard."
+
+"When I started out from here," the scoutmaster began, "I knew that I'd
+probably only have to look around at this end of the island, because no
+sensible man was going to take up his quarters where these storms always
+strike in.  And then I figured it out that the chances were, these
+parties, if there were more than the one fellow I'd seen sneaking
+around, and spying on us, would want to be down close to the water, for
+a good many reasons. You can understand that, Allan?"
+
+"Yes, and I think that notion would have come to me, just as it did
+you," replied the other promptly, showing that he was following the
+narrative closely.
+
+"Well, that being the case," resumed the scoutmaster, "I stuck to the
+lower part of the land, climbing over and around such outcropping rocks
+as I came across.  The moon wasn't helping me very much, though it's up
+there behind the clouds; and on that account you see the darkness is
+never so bad as when there's no moon at all.
+
+"It wasn't so very long before I heard something knocking softly near
+by, and listening carefully I made up my mind that it must be a boat
+that was kept in a snug cove perhaps, and yet where it got more or less
+wash of the sea beyond.
+
+"That was just what it turned out to be, Allan, a fair sized motorboat,
+stoutly built, and yet something of a hummer when it would come to
+speed. Her outlines told me this as soon as I could make her out down in
+the berth she occupied between the rocks where they had protected the
+sides of the little basin with logs to keep her from chafing too much.
+
+"Now, speed indicates that the people owning that boat expect to show a
+clean pair of heels, as they say, at times.  They want to be in
+condition to skip out in a hurry, and be able to outrun any ordinary
+craft that might try to overhaul them.  Wouldn't you think that way,
+Allan?"
+
+"You're speaking my mind to a dot, Thad."
+
+"But I wasn't satisfied wholly, and made another move, to see whether
+they had any sort of a cabin around.  Seemed to me that if they were
+using Sturgeon Island for some sort of shady business, they ought to
+have a shelter.  Well, I found it before ten minutes had passed, and by
+just creeping along what I made out to be a regular trail leading from
+the boat up the shore a piece."
+
+"Good for you, Thad; no woodsman could have done better!" exclaimed the
+other scout, who, having had practical experience extending through many
+trips into the wilderness with hunting parties, was pretty well posted
+on the numerous little "wrinkles" connected with woods lore.
+
+"Oh! that was the most natural thing in the world for any one to do, and
+I don't deserve any credit, Allan.  But there were times when I admit I
+did have to almost smell that trail, for it passed over little stretches
+of rock, you see.  At such times I had to look around, guess about where
+it ought to be found where the earth began again, and in that way pick
+it up once more."
+
+"And it really led you to a cabin, did it?" Allan asked, as the other
+paused.
+
+"Yes, and there had been a fire burning in front of the shack, though I
+found only the ashes, as though it had been-hurriedly put out, perhaps
+when they first saw us heading toward the island, just before the storm
+came along."
+
+"The ashes were still warm, then?" queried Allan, knowing that to be the
+logical way a forest ranger always learns about how long past a fire has
+burned out, or been extinguished.
+
+"They were, and I could see that the brands had been torn apart, showing
+that some one was in a hurry to keep its light from betraying the fact
+of any person being camped on Sturgeon Island."
+
+"Just what I'd think myself, Thad."
+
+"After I saw that there was a cabin," continued the scout-master, "I
+wondered whether I had better take chances, and crawl up close enough to
+hear what they were saying, if so be there were men there.  Before I had
+gone far in that scheme I realized that it was a little too risky,
+because I could hear a moving about, as though several men might be
+passing in and out.  I also caught an occasional low muttering tone; but
+the noise of the waves dashing against the rocks, and the rattling of
+the branches of the trees that overhung the lone cabin, kept me from
+catching more than a single word now and then.
+
+"After listening for quite a while I thought you would be getting
+anxious about my staying so long; and as I couldn't get any real
+satisfaction out of the game by hanging around any longer, why, I made
+up my mind to clear out.  I'd learned several things, anyway, and by
+putting our heads together thought we might get at the meat in the
+cocoanut."
+
+Of course that was a neat way of admitting that he wanted to talk
+matters over with his best chum, on the supposition that "two heads are
+better than one."  Allan took it that way, for had he not on numberless
+occasions done just about the same thing?
+
+"Of course you couldn't tell how many of these men there were, Thad?" he
+asked.
+
+"I tried to make a stab at it by noticing the different sound of voices;
+and I'm dead sure there must have been three anyhow, p'raps more," the
+scout-master told him.
+
+"And I think you've said once or twice that they seemed to be a rough
+lot?" the other went on to remark.
+
+"That's my impression, Allan, from a number of things which I won't
+bother mentioning now.  And there's something more.  I told you that
+when I had a glimpse of the fellow who spied on our camp I thought he
+might be a foreigner, or a half-breed, didn't I?"
+
+"Yes, I remember you did, Thad."
+
+"Well," explained the other, "although I heard so poorly while I was
+hanging out near that hidden shack there were times when I thought one
+of the men was talking in some tongue besides plain United States.  Fact
+is, he rattled off something in French."
+
+"Oh! then it's plain who they are--half-breed Canadians from the North
+Shore.  As this island properly belongs to Canada they would have a
+right to land here, and our coming needn't bother them any--if they are
+honest men."
+
+"Thad, they wouldn't hide out like they do if they were the right sort.
+Make up your mind they're doing something that's against the law.
+Honest men don't carry on this way, and spy on a camp of Boy Scouts
+wrecked in a storm.  Why, no matter how rough they might be, they'd drop
+in on us, and offer to share whatever they had.  It's only fear of
+arrest that makes cowards of men this way."
+
+"I forgot to tell you that among the few words I did manage to pick up
+by straining my ears to the limit, were just three that gave me an idea
+they took us for a detachment of militia, either Canadian or Yankee, out
+on the lake on some serious business that might interfere with their
+trade.  Those three words were 'soldiers,' 'khaki,' and 'arrest.'"
+
+Allan gave a soft whistle to indicate how his state of feeling
+corresponded with that of his chum.
+
+"There isn't any doubt about it in my mind, Thad," he asserted,
+vehemently; "but that they're here for no good.  That fast launch means
+they are in the habit of making swift trips back and forth, perhaps
+taking the night for it every time, so as to run less chance of being
+seen.  And here hard luck has marooned us on Sturgeon Island with a
+bunch of desperate smugglers, who look on us as soldiers sent out by the
+Government to gather them in.  If ever we were up against it hard, we
+sure are right now, Pard Thad."
+
+"You seem to have set your mind on that one explanation of their
+presence here; and I'll admit that this island would be a great half-way
+place to hide the smuggled goods on, till the right night came to run
+them across to the American shore; but perhaps you're barking up the
+wrong tree there, Allan!"
+
+"Oh! I'll admit that when I call them smugglers I'm only guessing,
+because, so far as I know we haven't any sort of evidence looking that
+way.  It only seems the most natural explanation of why they're so much
+afraid of us, believing as they seem to that we're connected with the
+Government, one side or the other, just on account of these Boy Scout
+uniforms, which I reckon they don't happen to be familiar with.  But
+Thad, you're holding something back; I can tell that by the way you act.
+You learned more than you've told me so far; own up to that."
+
+The young scout-master chuckled.  He liked to spring little surprises
+once in a while.  It was just like tapping a peg until he had it set in
+the ground to suit his fancy; and then with one master-stroke driving it
+home. He had whetted Allan's curiosity now, and the time had come to
+satisfy it.
+
+"Yes," Thad went on to say, "there was one little discovery I made that
+gave me certain information, and it was strong enough to convince me
+that our earlier suspicions about smugglers and all that sort of thing
+were away off the track."
+
+"Yes, go on, please, Thad."
+
+"It struck me while I was lying there not so very far away from that
+shanty hidden among the rocks and brushwood.  Most of the time the wind
+was blowing on my left side, but every little while there would come a
+pucker or a flaw, causing it to change for just for a second or two.
+And it was when this happened the first time I got scent of what was in
+the wind, in a double sense.  In other words, Allan, I discovered a
+distinct odor of fish in the air!"
+
+"Oh! now I tumble to what you mean!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"And every time that wind brought me a whiff of the fishy smell the
+stronger became my conviction that these men must be poachers, who knew
+they were breaking certain game laws by taking white fish or trout
+illegally, and reaping a harvest that honest fishermen were unable to
+reach.  Stop and think if things don't point that way?"
+
+And Allan did not have to hesitate in the least, for what his companion
+had just told him seemed to settle the matter beyond all dispute.
+
+"Yes, Thad," he said, "now you've let the cat out of the bag there can't
+be any question about it.  These half-breed Canadians are illegal
+fishermen, poachers they'd be called up in Maine; and they believe we've
+come to arrest the lot.  It's a bad lookout for the Silver Fox Patrol;
+but we've seen worse, and always came out on top."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+"HOLD THE FORT!"
+
+
+As a rule it did not take these boys long to decide upon their course of
+action. And in the present instance they had so little choice that
+unusually prompt results might be expected.
+
+"We'd better tell the other fellows, to begin with?" ventured Allan.
+
+"Yes," remarked the scout-master, promptly, "it wouldn't be fair to keep
+things like this from the boys.  They're just as much interested in how
+it turns out as we are.  And, besides, we may get a bright idea from
+somebody."
+
+"You never can tell," added Allan; and some of those same other scouts
+might not have felt complimented could they have heard him say these
+words, as they seemed to imply that miracles did sometimes happen, when
+you were least expecting them.
+
+But having made up their minds on this score the pair walked over to the
+camp under that friendly ledge.
+
+Upon their arrival every eye was immediately glued upon Thad.  It seemed
+as though Giraffe, Bumpus, Davy and Step Hen must have guessed that the
+scout-master had made some sort of exciting discovery, and now meant to
+take them into his confidence.
+
+Complete silence greeted the arrival of the two who had been conferring
+so mysteriously near by.  Of course, once Thad broke the ice, and
+started to tell what he had discovered, this was apt to give way to a
+bombardment of questions; for Giraffe and Bumpus could think up the
+greatest lot of "wants" imaginable; so that it would keep Thad busy
+explaining, until their ammunition ran out, or he had to throw up his
+hands in surrender through sheer exhaustion.
+
+He started in to explain what he had seen, and done, as soon as he
+dropped down beside his comrades of the Silver Fox Patrol.  Immediately
+he had the attention of every one enlisted.  Bumpus sat there, watching
+and listening with such intentness that you would hardly believe he
+breathed at all. Step Hen, too, was following every word spoken by the
+scout-master, as though trying to grasp the seriousness of the
+situation, and figure out a way to circumvent the danger that had arisen
+so unexpectedly in their path. And the other two could not be said to be
+far behind in the interest they betrayed.
+
+As we have already heard Thad tell Allan about his first, seeing the man
+who was spying upon the camp; and later on how he came to find the
+hidden boat, as well as the concealed cabin, there is no necessity for
+us to follow the scout-master while he imparts this information to the
+quartette who, having been absent from that interview, had no previous
+knowledge of the facts.
+
+By the time he spoke of crawling silently away, and coming back to join
+the balance of the patrol, he had his chums worked up to a feverish
+pitch of excitement.
+
+"Well," Step Hen was the first to break in with, "anyhow, game-fish
+poachers ain't quite so bad as smugglers would have been, and that's one
+satisfaction, I take it."
+
+"But they're bad enough," urged Davy; "because they must be breaking the
+laws by taking fish in some way that ain't allowed.  And if trapped they
+stand a chance to face a heavy fine, or a long sentence in jail, perhaps
+both.  And if, as Thad says, they've got the silly idea in their heads
+that we're connected with the Canadian militia, and came here meaning to
+destroy their nets, and likewise haul the men over the coals, why,
+they'll either skedaddle and leave us marooned on old Sturgeon for
+keeps, or else do something worse."
+
+"What sort of worse, Davy?" demanded Bumpus.  "There you go again,
+saying things in a sort of half-cooked way, and leaving the rest to a
+fellow's wild imagination.  Do you mean you believe they'd really hurt
+us, when we ain't so much as lifted a finger to do the bunch any harm?
+Speak out and tell us, now, you old croaker."
+
+"Thad, what do you think they might do?" Davy asked, under the
+impression that he would be wise to leave the explanation of the matter
+to one who was more capable of handling it than he could possibly be.
+
+"If they were sensible men," remarked the other, deliberately, as though
+he had given that particular thought much attention, "I wouldn't be
+afraid, because then we could reason with them, and explain that we were
+only a party of the Boy Scouts of America, off on a little cruise, and
+shipwrecked in the storm; also, that if they helped us in any way we'd
+just forget that we'd ever seen them here."
+
+"But explain and tell us what you mean by hinting that they mightn't be
+sensible men?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! well, that was my way of putting it," Thad went on to say; "I meant
+that as near as I could guess they seem to be Canadian half-breeds, for
+some of their talk was in a French patois I couldn't just understand.
+And I've always heard that those kind of men are mighty hard to handle,
+because, like Italians they get furiously excited, and let their
+imaginations run away with them, like some other fellows I happen to
+know."
+
+"Did you say there, were only three of this bad crowd, Thad?" Giraffe
+asked.
+
+"I wouldn't like to say for sure," came the reply, "but as near as I
+could make out that would cover the bill."
+
+"Huh! and we count six, all told," continued the tall scout,
+indifferently, although Thad imagined he was not feeling so comfortable
+as he pretended to be.
+
+"Yes, six boys," the scout-master reminded him.
+
+"But husky boys in the bargain, and accustomed to taking care of
+themselves in tight places," Giraffe went on to remark, proudly.
+"Besides, ain't we got a gun that shoots twice?  That ought to account
+for a couple of the rascals; and then what would one poor fish poacher
+be against a half dozen lively fellows, tell me that?"
+
+Allan laughed at hearing the boast.
+
+"How easy it is to figure out who's going to win the next championship
+in the National League of baseball clubs, while you're sitting around
+the stove in the winter time?" he told Giraffe.  "But these paper
+victories seldom pan out the same way when the good old summer time
+comes along, and the boys get hustling.  I suppose now, Giraffe, you'll
+be the one to knock over those two men, each with a single shot from
+your faithful double-barrel.  Give him the gun, Step Hen, and let him
+start in right away."
+
+Of course that rather startled the tall scout.
+
+"Hold on there, don't be in such a big hurry!" he went on to say,
+holding up a hand to persuade Step Hen to keep the firearm a while
+longer.  "Course now I didn't exactly mean it that way.  I never wanted
+to shoot a man, that I know of.  What I had in my mind, I reckon, was
+that one of us could keep a pair of these rascals covered with the
+shotgun, and hold 'em steady, while the other five managed the third of
+the bunch.  See?"
+
+"The trouble is," Thad told them, "none of us know French, and in that
+case we mightn't be able to talk with the poachers, even if they gave us
+half a chance.  They seem to have a bad case of the rattles right now,
+and if it wasn't for the storm I really believe they'd get away from
+here in a hurry."
+
+"Do we want 'em to go, or stay?" asked Bumpus, as though he could not
+settle in his own mind which one of these several openings would be best
+for their interests.
+
+"For my part," spoke up Step Hen, "they couldn't clear out any too soon
+to make me feel happy.  I know what the breed is like, and believe me,
+boys, I don't care to make their acquaintance, not me."
+
+"That's all mighty fine, Step Hen," remarked Giraffe, loftily, "but when
+you talk that way you don't look far enough ahead."
+
+"Just explain that, will you, and tell me why I don't?" demanded the
+other, with some show of indignation.
+
+"Well, suppose now they did jump the island, and give us the merry ha!
+ha! what difference would it make to us whether they upset out there on
+that stormy lake or not; wouldn't we lose all chance of being ferried
+across to the mainland, and so making our escape from this measly
+island?"
+
+Step Hen apparently caught the force of this reasoning, for he subsided,
+with a sort of discontented grunt.
+
+Davy, however, took up the reasoning at this point.
+
+"But suppose now they wouldn't want to get out in such a hurry?  What if
+they had a lot of valuable fish nets around somewhere that they hated to
+let go?  Don't you reckon in that case they might take a notion to try
+and bag the lot of us, so's to hold us prisoners till they could decide
+what to do with the ones they took to be Government spies?"
+
+Bumpus groaned as he listened to all this terrible talk.  His mind was
+already on fire with anticipations of what the immediate future might
+bring forth.  Still, on occasion Bumpus could show considerable valor;
+and several times in the past he had astonished his chums by certain
+feats which he had engineered.
+
+"It's up to me to think up some way to get us out of this terrible
+pickle," he was telling himself, over and over again; but even if any
+one of his five comrades heard what he was saying they paid little
+attention to it; but the fat scout meant all he said, as the future
+proved.
+
+"One thing sure," Giraffe went on to remark, presently, "they know where
+our little camp is, because Thad saw that spy watching what we was
+adoing here.  And if so be they should take a notion to pay us a visit
+before morning, why, they wouldn't have any trouble finding us out."
+
+"Not less we made a move," argued Davy.
+
+"And we're too nicely fixed here for that, ain't we?" Giraffe demanded,
+as he cast a swift look around to where the various blankets, having
+first been dried in the heat of the fire, were now inviting to repose,
+each fellow having apparently selected the particular spot where he
+meant to sleep, let the wind howl as hard as it wished, for that
+projecting rocky ledge would keep any rain from coming in upon them.
+
+"That's right, Giraffe; you know a good thing when you see it!" declared
+Bumpus, who did not altogether fancy starting out to seek another camp,
+where they would have to lie down in the dark, and take chances of being
+caught in a rain, if later on such a change in the character of the
+storm came about.
+
+"Then, if Thad says the word, we'll stick right here, and hold the
+fort!" the tall scout exclaimed.  "In the words of that immortal Scot we
+read about, what was his name, Roderick Dhu, I think, who cried: 'Sooner
+will this rock fly from its firm base, than I.'  Them's our sentiments,
+ain't they, fellows?"
+
+"Hear! Hear!" came from Bumpus, as he snuggled down again contentedly,
+believing that this disagreeable part of the program at least had been
+indefinitely postponed, and that they stood a good chance for staying
+out their time under that friendly protecting ledge.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+GIRAFFE HAS A SCHEME
+
+
+"If they'd only leave us alone, why, what's to hinder us mending our own
+ship, and sailing away out of this, sooner or later?" Bumpus wanted to
+know; after they had been talking the matter over for a long time.
+
+"I suppose you'll do the mending part, Bumpus?" demanded Step Hen,
+wickedly.
+
+"Well, I'd be only too willing, if I knew how," instantly flashed back
+the other, "but unfortunately my education was neglected when it came to
+patching up boats, and tinkering with machinery.  I'm ashamed to confess
+to that, but it's the whole sad truth.  But, thank goodness, we've got a
+scoutmaster who can do the job mighty near as well as any machinist
+going. I'll back Thad, yes, and Allan in the bargain, to make a decent
+job of it. And even Giraffe here might fix things up in a pinch.  So
+long as we've got a chance to make the Chippeway Belle do duty again at
+the old stand we hadn't ought to complain, I think, boys."
+
+"I'm sorry to tell you that there's only a slim chance of that ever
+coming about," Thad remarked, right then and there.
+
+"Then you believe she was smashed worse'n any of us thought was the
+case; is that it, Thad?" asked Giraffe.
+
+"No, it isn't that so much as another thing I've noticed lately, that's
+going to upset our calculations," replied the scout-master.
+
+"Tell us what that might be, won't you?" pleaded Bumpus, with a doleful
+shake of his head; as though he might be beginning to believe in the
+truth of that old saying to the effect that "troubles never come
+singly."
+
+"You may remember," Thad went on to say, "that when you asked my opinion
+be fore about the boat staying where we left it, I said there was a good
+chance we'd find her there in the morning if the wind didn't shift?"
+
+"And now you mean that it's doing that very same thing, do you?" Giraffe
+asked.
+
+"If you'd taken the trouble to notice all sorts of things, that you had
+always ought to as a true scout," the other told him, "you'd have found
+that out for yourself.  The fact of the matter is that when we first
+reached this place under the ledge the wind seemed to find a way in
+here, and make the fire flare at times.  Look at it now, and you'll see
+that it's as steady as anything; yet you can hear the rush of the wind
+through the treetops just the same.  It's turned around as much as
+twenty degrees, I should say."
+
+"And that's bad for the boat, ain't it?" Bumpus wanted to know.
+
+"I'm afraid so," the scout-master replied; "because it will get the full
+force of both wind and heavy seas.  Long before morning it will most
+likely be carried out into deep water, and disappear from sight.  I
+think we've seen the last of the Chippeway Belle, boys."
+
+"But, Thad," observed Giraffe, "how about that anchor rope?  You know we
+carried it ashore, and fastened it to a rock.  Would that break, now?
+It was a dandy rope, and nearly new."
+
+"Well," said Thad, decisively, "once the seas begin to pound against the
+boat, with every wave the strain on that rope is bound to be just
+terrific. It might hold for a time; but mark my words, the constant
+chafing against the rock, where you fastened the end, will wear the
+strands until they snap; and then good-bye to our boat."
+
+"Then we had better make up our minds to facing that fact, and not feel
+very much disappointed if in the morning we can't see a sign of the
+Belle," Allan went on to give, as his opinion; for he accepted, the
+theory advanced by the scout-master as though there could be no
+reasonable doubt about its being a positive fad.
+
+"What if them fellows took a notion to step in on us to-night, and make
+us all prisoners of war?" queried Bumpus; for this possibility had been
+working overtime in his brain, and he was only waiting for a break in
+the conversation to advance it.
+
+"Just what I was going to speak about," Giraffe up and said, somewhat
+excitedly.  "You all sat down on me when I happened to remark about
+getting a pair of the birds with the gun.  I move that we ask Thad to
+take charge of the firearm, and the rest can load up with whatsoever
+they can find," and leaning over, he deliberately appropriated the camp
+hatchet before Step Hen, whose eye had immediately started to look for
+the same, could fasten, upon it.
+
+"Me too, I second the motion!" exclaimed Davy, in turn making a dive for
+the long and dangerous looking bread knife, which had proved so handy
+for many services while on the trip, and was being constantly lost and
+found again.
+
+"But where do I come in?" asked Bumpus, as he saw the favorite weapons
+of offense and defense taken possession of so rapidly.
+
+"A club will do for you, and Step Hen as well," remarked Giraffe,
+complacently; "for when a fellow has appropriated the best there is, he
+can afford to smile at his less fortunate comrades, and assume a
+superior air.
+
+"Oh! well, I'd just as soon arm myself that way," the fat scout told
+them, as he set about finding something that would answer the purpose
+from amidst the firewood they had carried under the ledge to keep it
+from getting wet. "I'm a peaceful fellow, as you all know, and think
+there's nothing like a good hickory or oak club to convince other people
+that you've got rights you want them to respect.  I've practiced
+swinging Indian clubs by the hour; and when it comes to giving a right
+hard smack, count me in.  That's going to hurt, without injury to body
+or limb."
+
+At another and less exciting time Giraffe would have surely insisted
+upon Bumpus explaining the difference, between these two sources of
+injury; but just then he had too much else to bother his head about to
+start an argument.
+
+"Now, let's see any three men tackle this crowd, that's what!" he went
+on to remark, as he swept his eye proudly over the motley array of
+weapons; for even Allan had armed himself, having a stout stick, with
+which he doubtless felt able to render a good account of himself in a
+tussle.
+
+"But let's remember," warned Thad, "that we don't want to let ourselves
+be drawn into a battle with these poachers, unless it's the last resort.
+They're ignorant men, and just now they must feel pretty desperate,
+thinking that we're going to break up a profitable game they've been
+playing for a long time, carrying their fish to some American market
+against the laws of Canada, and perhaps smuggling their cargo in, if
+there's any duty on fish, which I don't know about."
+
+"If only you could get a bare chance to talk with one of the lot, Thad,"
+Allan spoke up, "I'm pretty sure you'd be able to let them know the
+truth; and in that way we'd perhaps make friends of them.  They might
+take our solemn promise that we never would give them away, and land us
+somewhere ashore, so we could make our way to either Duluth, or some
+other place to the north here."
+
+"I'm hoping to get just such an opening, if we can hold the fort till
+morning; and they haven't skipped out by then," Thad told him; which
+proved that he had planned far ahead of anything that had as yet been
+proposed.
+
+"And meanwhile try to be thinking up any French words you ever heard,"
+suggested Bumpus, artfully.  "Who knows what use the same'd be to you in
+a tight hole.  How'd parley vous Francais sound, now?  I've heard our
+dancing-master in Cranford use that more'n a few times, though I own up
+I don't know from Adam what she means.  But it might make a fellow come
+to a standstill if he was agoing to run you through, and you suddenly
+shot it at him."
+
+"Thank you, Bumpus, I'll remember that, though I think it means 'do you
+speak French?'  And what if he took me up, and became excited because I
+couldn't understand anything he said, you see it wouldn't help much,"
+the scout-master told him.
+
+"But say, what are we meaning to do about standing guard; because I
+reckon now we've got to watch out, and not let them fellows gobble us up
+while we're sleeping like the babes in the wood?" Step Hen asked.
+
+"Oh! that can be fixed easy enough, if we all have to stay awake through
+the whole night.  Wouldn't that be the best plan, Thad?"
+
+It was Bumpus who put this important question, but none of them were
+deceived in the least by this apparent warlike aspect on the part of the
+fat scout.
+
+Bumpus could play a clever game when he became fully aroused; but if
+Thad guessed what his true reason might be for asking such a question,
+he did not choose to betray the fact, knowing that it would cause the
+fat scout more or less confusion.
+
+"Yes, it might be as well for all of us to try and stay awake!" he
+declared.  "As you seem to have settled it that the gun falls to my
+share, why, I'll make up my mind not to close an eye the whole livelong
+night; and if the rest choose to sit up with me and help watch, the more
+the merrier."
+
+"I will, for one," said Giraffe, stoutly.
+
+"You can count on me to make the try," added Davy.
+
+"Ditto here," Allan went on to say.
+
+"Oh! I'm willing enough," Bumpus observed hastily, seeing that several
+of his comrades were waiting for him to speak; "but I hope that every
+time anybody just sees me abobbing my head he'll stick a pin in me; only
+please don't jab it too deep, or you'll make me howl."
+
+"As for me," Step Hen added, "I don't feel a whit sleepy right now; and
+my eyes are as starey as a cat's, or Jim's over yonder," pointing to
+where he had managed to fasten the captive owl, which he had persisted
+in carrying ashore, despite the fact that he had about all the burden
+any boy would care to carry when compelled to wade through water almost
+up to his neck.
+
+"Well, listen here, then," remarked Giraffe, mysteriously, "I've been
+thinking up a scheme that looks good to me, and I want to know how the
+rest of you stand when it comes to trying it out."
+
+"Go on and tell us what it is, Giraffe!" exclaimed Bumpus, eagerly.
+
+"Yes, if you have thought up anything worth while, we'd be mighty glad
+to hear about the same," added Allan.
+
+The tall scout looked cautiously about him, and lowering his voice went
+on:
+
+"Why, I'll tell you, fellows, what I thought.  Now, about that boat
+belonging to these here poachers, what's to hinder us from coolly
+appropriating the same, and starting out to look for the mainland
+ourselves?  Then, you see, it'll be that bunch that's left behind to be
+marooners on old Sturgeon Island; and when we get to town why, we can
+let the authorities know all about what they're adoing out here, so
+they'll come and arrest the whole kit.  Now, what d'ye say about that
+for an idea, hey?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE LONG NIGHT
+
+
+"Good for you, Giraffe!" exclaimed Bumpus, ready to seize upon the idea
+without stopping to examine the same in order to find out whether or not
+it were possible to carry it out.
+
+"It ain't half bad," admitted Step Hen.
+
+"But how about starting to sea in this blow?" asked Allan, quietly,
+after he and Thad had exchanged winks.
+
+"Oh! hang the luck, I clean forgot all about that!" admitted the tall
+scout, his smile of triumph disappearing immediately.
+
+"Whew!  I should say we couldn't!" Bumpus hastened to add, showing that
+it was possible for a boy to change his opinion almost as speedily as a
+shift of wind causes the weather vane to turn around, and point toward a
+new quarter.
+
+"And," added Thad, "that will all have to be left to the morning,
+anyway. If we should find a half-way chance to do something along those
+lines, why, we'll gladly give Giraffe the credit for thinking up the
+scheme. But it's time we settled down for the night now; so let's fix
+our blankets and be as comfy as we can, even if we do expect to keep
+awake."
+
+"And don't you think it'd be a good plan, Thad," suggested Step Hen, "to
+always keep that gun in evidence?  If we could make them believe we all
+of us carried the same kind of weapons, we'd be more apt to see sun-up
+without any trouble happening; and that's what I think."
+
+"Well, now, there's some meat in that idea of yours, Step Hen," the
+scout-master told him; "and it wouldn't be a bad scheme for those who
+have clubs, to carry them more or less this way under your arm, just as
+you would your gun if tramping, or on a hunt.  In the firelight they may
+think that's what they are, and the effect will be worth something to
+us, as you say."
+
+All of the boys started to settling down.  Policy might have told them
+that if they made themselves too comfortable the chances of their
+remaining awake were rather slim.
+
+Bumpus was a lad of good resolutions.  No doubt he meant to stay awake
+just as firmly as Thad himself could have done.  But sleeping was one of
+the fat boy's weak points, and it was not long before he found himself
+nodding.
+
+Twice he was jabbed in the leg with the point of a pin, once by Giraffe,
+and the second time by Davy; for the other boys, took his request
+literally, and doubtless enjoyed having the chance to "do him a to
+favor."
+
+Each time he was thus punctured the fat scout would start up hurriedly,
+and open his mouth to give a yell, perhaps under the impression that he
+had been bitten by a snake, which reptiles he despised, and feared very
+much.
+
+Discovering where he was in time, however, he had managed to hold his
+tongue, and muttered to himself that they "needn't go it quite so
+strong," as he ruefully rubbed his limb where the pin had entered.
+
+After each sudden awakening Bumpus would sit sternly up straight, as
+though he had taken a solemn vow not to be caught napping again; but as
+the minutes dragged along he would begin to sink lower and lower again,
+for sleep was once more getting a firm grip upon him.
+
+When the fat boy reeled for a third time Thad, who was watching
+operations with more or less amusement, noticed that neither Step Hen
+nor Davy offered to make any use of their pins; the truth being that
+both of them had meanwhile gone fast asleep, and hence there were all
+three in the same boat.
+
+It happened that Bumpus managed to arouse himself presently with a
+start; as if a sudden consciousness had come upon him. Perhaps he
+imagined he felt another jab with a pin, and the sensation electrified
+him.
+
+First he looked on one side and then on the other.  When he discovered
+that his persecutors were both sound asleep, a wide grin came over the
+good-natured red face of the stout youth.  Thad could see him
+industriously hunting along the lapels of his khaki jacket, as if for a
+weapon in the shape of a pin; and having secured what he wanted Bumpus
+carefully reached out both hands, one toward Step Hen and the other in
+the direction of Davy Jones.
+
+Then, with a low squeal of delight, he gave an outward motion with each
+hand.  There instantly broke forth a chorus of yells that could be heard
+above the noise of the breakers on the rocks, and the wind rattling the
+branches of the low oak trees.
+
+"Tit for tat," exclaimed. Bumpus; "what's sauce for the goose is sauce
+for the gander.  After this we'll call it off, fellows, remember.  It
+was give and take, and now the slate's wiped clean."
+
+Davy Jones and Step Hen, quite tired out from their exertions, slept
+peacefully, one on either side of Bumpus; while Giraffe dozed, and
+whenever he happened to arouse himself he would wave that hatchet
+vigorously, as if to call attention to the fact that he was "on deck,"
+and doing full duty.
+
+The long night dragged on.
+
+Once Thad had some good news to communicate.
+
+"Clouds seem to be getting lighter," he announced, pointing overhead.
+
+"Yes," added the other, "and there's a sure enough break, I reckon,
+p'raps now we'll see something of that old moon before the peep of day
+comes."
+
+At any rate the fact of the khaki-clad denizens of the camp under the
+ledge being constantly on guard must have impressed itself upon the
+minds of  the poachers, for they made no hostile move while darkness
+held sway.
+
+Of course though, both sentries were glad to see the first peep of dawn
+in the far east.  The wind had died down, and there seemed to be some
+chance that the wild waves would subside by noon, at least sufficiently
+to allow them to go forth if by any good luck they were given the
+opportunity to leave the island upon which they had been marooned by so
+strange a freak of fate.
+
+The others were soon aroused, and made out to have just allowed
+themselves a few winks of sleep toward morning, though they cast
+suspicious looks toward each other, Thad noticed.  However, neither he
+nor Allen said a word about the hours that they had been by themselves
+on guard.  The dreaded night had passed, and nothing out of the way had
+happened, so what was the use of rubbing it in, and making some of their
+good chums feel badly.
+
+"I think it would be possible to see the place where we left our boat,
+if I went out on that point there," Thad remarked, while some of the
+rest were busying themselves in getting breakfast ready, as though
+meaning to make all the amends possible for their lack of sentry duty.
+
+As though he wished to make sure concerning this matter the scout-master
+left them, and made his way to the lookout he had indicated.  He came
+back later on, and his face did not seem to show any signs of good news.
+
+"No boat in sight, I take it, Thad?" asked Giraffe, rightly interpreting
+his lack of enthusiasm.
+
+"It's sure enough gone, and look as hard as I could there didn't seem to
+be the first sign of the poor Chippeway Belle.  Dr. Hobbs' friend will
+have to buy him another cruising boat, that's sure," Thad told them.
+
+"Well, he can do that, all right, out of the insurance money he collects
+from that old tub," declared Giraffe, indignantly.  "Let me tell you
+he's been hoping we might sink the thing, somehow or other."
+
+Breakfast was a bountiful meal, because Giraffe happened to be a fellow
+who disdained half-way measures, when it came to feeding time.  The idea
+of going around half starved so long as there was the smallest amount of
+food in camp did not suit him at all.
+
+So they ate until every one, even Giraffe, announced that he had had
+enough; but by that time the frying-pans were empty, and the coffee-pot
+ditto, so perhaps it may have been this condition of things that
+influenced some of them to confess to being filled.
+
+The face of the tall boy had become clouded more or less, and it was
+evident to the scout leader that Giraffe was busily engaged in pondering
+over something that did not look just right to him.
+
+"What's the matter, Giraffe?" he asked, as they lounged around, enjoying
+the fire, because the morning had opened quite cool after the blow of
+the previous night.
+
+"I don't like this thing of an empty pantry, that's what!" observed the
+other, who could not forget that in less than five hours there was bound
+to be a demand from somewhere inside that he get busy, and supply
+another ration; and where was he to get the material to carry out this
+injunction when their supplies were practically exhausted.
+
+"Well, we can't do anything about it, can we?" demanded Step Hen,
+trembling in the hopes that the tall scout might have thought of a plan.
+
+"That's just like some fellows," remarked Giraffe, disdainfully; "ready
+to throw up the sponge at the first show of trouble.  Now, I ain 't
+built that way; and say, I've thought up a plan by which we might get
+some grub."
+
+"Yes, what might it be?" asked Thad, seeing that the other was waiting
+for a little encouragement before bursting out into a display of
+confidence; for he knew Giraffe's ways to a fraction.
+
+"I tell you what we ought to do," the other suddenly explained; "march
+on that cabin in a bunch, looking mighty determined, and then demand
+that they supply us with what grub we need to tide us over.  There you
+are; and how about it?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WHERE WAS BUMPUS
+
+
+"Huh?  I don't all speak at once, please.  Seems like my splendid idea
+ain't made a hit like I expected it would.  What ails you all?" Giraffe
+demanded, after a dead silence had fallen upon the little party, instead
+of the quick response he had hoped for.
+
+"We're waiting to hear from Thad," explained Step Hen, as though he
+might himself be "up in the air," or, as he would himself have said,
+"straddling the fence," not knowing whether to scoff at the other's
+scheme, or give it his unqualified approval.
+
+"Well, I wanted to figure it over in my own mind first," remarked the
+scout-master, slowly.  "It has some good points, Giraffe, but we'll have
+to get good and hungry before we start to holding up other people and
+demanding that they supply our wants, even if they are only fish
+poachers."
+
+"Then you don't think we had ought to rush the cabin, as yet?" asked the
+other in a disappointed lone.
+
+"Wait awhile; and see what turns up," Thad told him.
+
+"But what could come along to give us a meal around noon?" Giraffe
+flashed up, always thinking of the main chance, which meant looking
+after the demands of that voracious appetite.
+
+"Oh! lots of things," laughed Thad.  "You know yourself it's the
+unexpected that keeps happening with us right along.  Many a time in the
+past we didn't have any idea of what was going to stir us up, till it
+came along. Just now it strikes me all of us ought to stick together,
+and not go wandering around by ourselves."
+
+"Bumpus ought to be here to get that advice, then," remarked Davy.
+
+At that Thad turned upon the other scout.
+
+"Why, I hadn't noticed that he was away," he said, hastily, and frowning
+at the same time; "when and where did he go, can you tell me that, Davy,
+since you seem to be the only one who knows about his being gone?"
+
+"Why, you see, Thad," began the other, looking a trifle alarmed himself
+now, "he just remembered after we'd had our breakfast, you know, that he
+must have dropped his belt somewhere; and as he remembered having the
+same after he came out of the water, he said he expected he'd be able to
+pick it up between here and that place; so he strolled off.  Why, I
+never thought but what some of the rest of you saw him go; and because
+nobody said a word I 'spected it was all right."
+
+"How long ago was that, did you say, Davy?" Thad asked.
+
+"Why, just after Giraffe here cleaned out the last piece of bacon in the
+pan, as he said it was silly to waste even little things; and, after
+all, he wasted it in a hurry, too, let me tell you," Davy proceeded to
+say.
+
+"Why, I think that must have been nearly twenty-five minutes ago!"
+exclaimed Step Hen, in some excitement, as he cast an anxious look away
+across the rocks and brush that interfered somewhat with their view of
+the route Bumpus would be apt to take on his way toward their landing
+place.
+
+Thad jumped to his feet.
+
+"This must be looked into!" he said, decisively.
+
+"You're going off to hunt for him, I take it?" observed Giraffe; "how
+about not getting separated, like you just told us?  Ain't it going from
+bad to worse, Thad, if so be you rush out by yourself and leave us
+here?"
+
+"Yes," added Davy, quickly, "if they're alooking around for chances to
+gobble us up, one by one, first it'd be Bumpus, then our scout-master,
+and then another of the bunch, till we all got caught.  Thad, hadn't we
+ought to go along with you--"
+
+"Just what I would have proposed, if you'd let me speak," the other
+assured them readily enough; "so get, ready now, and we'll start off."
+
+"But how about all our stuff here; shall we leave it behind?" questioned
+Davy.
+
+"Oh! I hope not," remarked Step Hen; "I've got somewhat attached to that
+blanket of mine, you know."
+
+"Yes, we've noticed that lots of times, when you hated to get up in the
+morning," chuckled Giraffe.
+
+"But how about it, Thad; do we leave 'em here, and run the chance of
+getting the same took; or shall we take the stuff along with us?"
+
+"I don't believe these men will bother with such small things as
+blankets and cooking things; if we had a supply of eatables it might be
+a different matter; but we happen to be shy along that line.  Yes,
+bundle them up, and hide them 'as best you can. We may be in for a
+fight, for all we know, and in that case we'd want the freedom of our
+arms to work those clubs."
+
+"Sounds like business, anyway!" muttered Giraffe, as he started in to do
+as the scout-master recommended; for obedience is one of the first
+principles laid down in the rules by which Boy Scout are guided when
+they subscribe to the regulations of the troop they have joined.
+
+They were soon ready.
+
+As the five lads went forth they presented quite a formidable appearance
+indeed, what with the gun, the camp hatchet, the long bread knife, and a
+pair of clubs thick enough to give a fellow a nasty headache if ever
+they were brought in contact with his cranium.
+
+"First of all, it's only right we should give a hail; and if Bumpus is
+wandering around somewhere he may answer us; and then we can wait for
+him to come in.  I see he's left his bugle with his blanket here; pick
+it up somebody and give the recall, if anybody knows how."
+
+"Trust that to me!" exclaimed Davy; and snatching up the nickeled
+instrument he placed it to his lips, immediately sending forth the
+strident sounds that have done duty on many a battlefield.
+
+No sooner had the last note pealed forth than every boy listened
+eagerly; but there was no reply.
+
+"Sure he could have heard that, even if he was at the other end of the
+island," remarked Davy, ready to try again if the scout-master told him
+to do so.
+
+"And Bumpus has got a good pair of lungs, so he'd be able to let us know
+he was on to the job, if he had the use of his mouth!" remarked Giraffe,
+darkly.
+
+"But you don't hear even a peep, do you, fellows?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Come on, and fetch that bugle with you, Davy," said Thad; "we might
+need it again later, you know.  I wonder, now, what the poachers will
+think when they hear a bugle sound?  If they don't know anything about
+the Scouts, they'll think more than ever that we belong to the Canadian
+militia."
+
+Thad could understand just what course Bumpus was likely to take in
+passing along the rough surface of the ground between their landing
+place and the spot where they had found the friendly ledge.
+
+That was the way he expected to go also, keeping constantly on the
+lookout for any sign calculated to tell him if the fat scout had fallen
+into difficulties.
+
+It led them down near the edge of the water, too; and this gave Thad a
+sudden bad feeling.  Could it be possible that Bumpus, who was always a
+clumsy fellow at best, owing to his great bulk, had tripped, and taken a
+nasty fall, so that his head had struck some cruel rock?
+
+He would not say anything to the rest just now upon that score; but all
+the same it troubled him not a little as he wandered along, keeping on
+the alert for just such a trap, into which the missing scout may have
+fallen.
+
+All at once Thad stopped, and the others saw a peculiar look cross his
+face.  It seemed to tell them that their guide had conceived an idea.
+
+"Guessed where he's gone, have you, Thad?" inquired Giraffe, quickly.
+
+"Well, no, hardly that," was the reply; "but I ought to tell you that
+right now we're close to that clump of brush that hides the little rock
+hollow where they've got their boat hidden."
+
+"Oh! mebbe Bumpus he went and took a look in there, just the same as you
+did, and discovered the boat, too!" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Well, what if he did, would that explain his absence one little bit?"
+demanded Davy.  "You don't think, now, I hope, our chum is such an idiot
+that he'd start to take a little cruise out there on that rough water
+all by himself?  Bumpus ain't quite so much in love with sailing as all
+that, let me tell you right now."
+
+In another minute they were looking at the boat that lay concealed in
+among the rocks and brush.  Thad even jumped down, and passed into its
+cabin; while the others listened, and waited with their hearts
+apparently ready to jump up into their throats, lest they caught sounds
+of a conflict.
+
+But presently the scout-master again appeared, and joined them.
+
+"Not there, then?" asked Giraffe, in a disappointed tone.
+
+"No, but I saw the print of his shoe on the seat of the boat, which
+shows Bumpus did climb down here; but it was heading outward, so it
+seems he came up again.  Now to look a little further, and find out if
+he went on toward the spot where we came to land."
+
+They started off, leaving the vicinity of the fish poachers' hidden
+boat. For a couple of minutes, Thad seemed to be having little or no
+trouble in following the marks which Bumpus had left behind him; for the
+fat scout never so much as dreamed that there was such a thing as
+covering his trail; nor would he have known of any reason for doing
+anything like this had he been so far up in woodcraft.
+
+"Hold up!" they heard Thad say, suddenly, as he bent over more than he
+had been doing up to now.
+
+All of the others waited anxiously to hear what the scout-master
+believed he had discovered, for they could see him moving this way and
+that. Finally Thad looked up, to disclose a frown upon his usually calm
+brow.
+
+"Well, would you, believe it," he went on to say, as free from anger as
+he possibly could bring himself to speak, "they've gone and done it,
+after all."
+
+"What, Thad?" asked Giraffe, who had been actually holding his breath
+the while.
+
+"Jumped on our chum right here, and made him a prisoner," came the
+staggering reply; "I reckon they must have done something rough to him,
+or we'd have heard him make some kind of an outcry; but they got Bumpus,
+all right, boys!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+LOYAL SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+This assertion on the part of their leader was so tremendous that for
+almost a dozen seconds the boys could not utter a single word; but just
+stood there, and gazed at Thad, speechless.
+
+But it is a very difficult thing to muzzle some lads for any length of
+time; and Giraffe presently burst out with:
+
+"Jumped on poor Bumpus right here, did they, Thad?  And p'raps pounded
+him into a condition where he just couldn't give the alarm, no matter
+how hard he tried?  Oh! mebbe I don't wish I could have been there to
+touch up the scoundrels with this fine hatchet?  What I'd a done to 'em
+would have been a caution, let me warn you!   But how do you tell all
+this from the signs, Thad?  We're only a bunch of next door to
+tenderfeet scouts when it comes to reading trail talk; but we know
+enough to understand when she's explained to us. Please open up, and
+tell us now."
+
+"And then we must decide what we'll do, so as to rescue our chum," said
+Step Hen angrily; "because scouts always stand by each other, you know,
+through thick and thin; and Bumpus is the best fellow agoing, you bear
+me saying that?"
+
+"Well, it's this way," said the scout-master, always ready to oblige his
+mates whenever he could do so; "you can see that some sort of a scuffle
+has taken place where we're standing right now.  Other feet than those
+of Bumpus are marked; and then they all start away from here, heading in
+that direction.  But although Bumpus walked to this spot there's never a
+sign of his footprints, which I know so well leading off from here."
+
+"What's the answer to that?" asked Davy.
+
+"Why," broke in Giraffe, quickly, "that's as plain as the nose on your
+face, Davy.  Our chum was carried away!  Either he couldn't walk because
+he'd been tapped on the head, and was senseless; or else they had got
+him tied up that quick."
+
+"Is that so, Thad?" demanded Step Hem
+
+"Giraffe has got the answer all right," came the reply.  "I can see
+where these fellows must have been hiding, and let Bumpus pass them by.
+Then one dropped down on top of him, so that he couldn't so much as draw
+in his breath before they had him.  This is what I was thinking about
+when I said we shouldn't be caught off our guard; and that we'd be
+foolish if we separated at all, for they could pick us off one by one,
+where they'd be afraid to tackle the whole bunch.  It came quicker than
+I thought it would, though."
+
+"Well, we ain't going to stand for this, I hope?" remarked Giraffe.
+
+"We'd be a fine lot of scouts, wouldn't we," broke in Davy, indignantly,
+"if we were ready to desert our chum when he was in hard luck?  Anybody
+that knows what the boys of the Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford Troop are
+would make certain that could never go down with them.  Sure we ain't
+ameaning to keep on hiding our light under a bushel, and sneaking off,
+while Bumpus, good old Bumpus, is in the hands of the enemy, and p'raps
+with a splitting headache in the bargain."
+
+"Headache!" echoed Step Hen; "just wait till we get our chance, and if
+they ain't the fashion among these here poachers, then I don't know
+beans, and I think I do.  Wow! you hear me talking, fellows!" and he
+caused his club to fairly whistle through the air, as though getting
+into the swing, so that he would know just how to go about laying out
+one of the law-breakers when they finally rounded them up.
+
+"Hope we ain't meaning to waste any more time around here than's
+necessary, Mr. Scout-master?" Giraffe observed, grimly, running his
+finger suggestively along the edge of the camp hatchet, which they kept
+in pretty good condition, so that it would really cut quite well.
+
+"We're off right away," said the other.
+
+"And Thad," observed Allan, speaking for the first time, because he was
+usually a boy of few words, and one who left it to some of the others to
+do pretty much all the talking, "the new trail, where we fail to find
+any mark of Bumpus' shoes leads this way, which I take it is toward that
+shack you said you'd seen last night when you took that little scout on
+the sly?"
+
+"It sure does, Allan," came the reply.
+
+"Well, then, we must expect that was where they carried our chum; and so
+we'll make for the cabin now," Allan continued.
+
+"We'll see it soon enough," Thad told them, "because it's only a little
+ways from where they have their powerboat hidden.  Move along as still
+as you can, boys; and no more talking now--except in whispers."
+
+Every scout must have felt his heart beating like a trip-hammer as the
+forward progress was continued.  The very atmosphere around them seemed
+to be charged with electricity; at least one would imagine so to see the
+way they looked suddenly from right to left with quick movements, as
+they went stooping along.
+
+It was only a space of sixty seconds or so when Thad came to a stop.
+They knew from this that the cabin spoken of must already have been
+sighted; and this proved to be the case, as was made apparent when they
+came to examine the territory just ahead.
+
+Among the rocks and undergrowth it could hardly be seen; indeed, if they
+had not known of its presence there, possibly none of them would have
+thought a cabin was so near by.
+
+They stared hard at it, but failed to see the first sign of any living
+being in the neighborhood.
+
+"Any signs of 'em, Thad?" whispered Giraffe, who was close at the heels
+of the scout-master; so close indeed, that Thad had more than once
+wondered whether the tall and nervous scout were still waving that
+up-to-date tomahawk, and if he the leader, might be so unlucky as to get
+in the way of the dangerous weapon.
+
+"Nothing that I can see," Thad answered, softly.
+
+"But you think they're in that place, don't you?" Giraffe continued to
+ask.
+
+"Like as not they are," the scout-master replied.
+
+All of them were staring hard at what they now saw.  Having continued to
+advance a little farther they made out what seemed to be a lot of
+barrels; and some of them must have contained ice, to judge from the
+straw scattered about.  Well, ice was needed in order to properly pack
+fish for the market; and if the poachers had ever had a supply on the
+island, secured during the winter time, it must have been exhausted
+before now, because the season was late.
+
+Yes, and what was more to the point, as the breeze happened to waft an
+odor to their noses all of the scouts detected the strong and
+unmistakable smell of fish, which must always be associated with every
+fishing camp.
+
+"Are we agoing to walk straight up to that door, and knock it in?" asked
+Giraffe, after they had stood there for a couple of anxious minutes,
+staring hard at the lone shack, as though trying to peer through the log
+walls, and see what lay within.
+
+"That might be hardly the thing for scouts to do," Thad told him.  "They
+are taught to be cautious as well as brave.  If those men happen to be
+hiding inside there, wouldn't they have a fine chance to riddle us if we
+walked right up as big, as camels?  No, we've got to show a little
+strategy in this thing, eh, Allan?"
+
+"Just what we have, Mr. Scout-master."
+
+"So let's begin by circling around, and coming up on the shack from the
+other side," Thad said this he started off, with the others skulking
+along behind, about like a comet is followed by its tail.
+
+They kept a bright lookout all the while, not meaning to let the
+poachers get the better of them by creeping away from the shack while
+the boys in khaki were carrying out this evolution.  Nothing however was
+seen.  If the men were still in there they kept very quiet, everybody
+thought; and somehow this worried more than one of the scouts.
+
+Giraffe could not see what all this creeping around was intended for,
+anyhow; he would have been in favor of separating, and rushing toward
+the cabin from as many points of the compass as there were scouts.  That
+sort of plan at least had the benefit of speed; for they would either be
+at the door inside of ten seconds, or have been staggered with a volley
+from within.
+
+But it would not be for much longer, because even now they had made such
+good progress that a few minutes more must put them through.
+
+It seemed an age to Giraffe since they had started to creep to the other
+side of the shack; when he saw by the actions of their leader that Thad
+was now ready to order the real advance.
+
+There did not appear to be any sign of a window on this side of the rude
+building, so that the chances were no one inside could watch their
+coming; which Giraffe well knew had been the principal reason why Thad
+had chosen to make this rear approach.
+
+"Now listen, all of you," whispered the leader, in thrilling tones; "I'm
+going to call out to Bumpus, and perhaps we'll get a clue regarding
+what's happened to him."
+
+Raising his voice, he called out the name of the fat scout twice in
+succession, being very particular to speak it distinctly, so that any
+one within would have to be absolutely deaf not to hear it.
+
+There was no reply, that is, nothing in the way of an answering voice;
+but all of them caught a peculiar sound that kept up intermittently for
+almost a full minute.
+
+"Now, what sort of a queer rumpus would you call that?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"Made me think of somebody kicking his heels into the floor, or some
+such stunt as that," Giraffe declared; while Davy nodded his head, as
+though there was no need for him to say anything when another voiced his
+sentiments so exactly.
+
+"Thad, are we going to stand this any longer?" Allan demanded,
+
+"No, we must see what's inside that place; so come along, boys, and
+we'll break in the door!" with which words the scout-master ran quickly
+forward, the others almost outstripping him, so great was their
+eagerness to be "in the swim," no matter what happened.
+
+The door seemed to be fastened in some way; though there was nothing in
+the way of a pistol shot or even a gruff voice warning them off.
+
+Thad tried in vain to find the fastening.
+
+"Pick up that log, and use it as a battering ram!" he ordered; and the
+other four scouts hastened to do so, while the patrol leader stood ready
+with his gun, not knowing how soon he might have need of it for defense.
+
+As the log came crashing against the door it flew wide open, proving
+that it had never been really intended as a means for keeping enemies
+out. Dropping the log, and at once snatching up their weapons, the
+scouts rushed to the open doorway, to stare into the cabin.  What they
+saw amazed, and yet delighted them.  There was not an enemy in sight;
+but some object moved upon the hard puncheon floor; and looking closer
+they discovered that it was no other than Bumpus, bound hand and foot,
+gagged, and with his face as red as a boiled lobster, redder by far than
+his fiery hair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+NOT SO GREEN AS HE LOOKED
+
+
+The only reason that Bumpus did not call out help! was because the rough
+gag, consisting of a cloth tied about the lower part of his face,
+prevented him from saying a single word.
+
+It was a sight that staggered the other scouts, although at the same
+time they felt considerable satisfaction at finding their lost churn so
+speedily, and thus learning that he had not come to very serious harm.
+
+There was an immediate rush made inside the shack, each seeming desirous
+of being the first to render Bumpus assistance.  All but the scoutmaster
+entered in this promiscuous way, and Thad was too wise a bird to be
+caught with chaff.  What if this should be some sort of a trap, into
+which the rest of the boys were rushing headlong?  He did not stop to
+consider how they might be caught, but made up his mind that it was
+policy on his part to stand guard there at the door.
+
+There were more than enough hands to free the prisoner, and he would not
+be missed in that way.  So Thad, handling his ready gun suggestively,
+and keeping a keen lookout for signs of trouble, stood there, waiting
+for the rest to come out.
+
+Amidst more or less confusion Bumpus was unbound, after that gag had
+been removed from his mouth.  The first thing he did was to breathe
+heavily, as though during his confinement he had not been able to get
+his wind as freely as he liked.  Then, when he could get on his feet
+with the help of Step Hen and Giraffe, he stamped on the cloth that had
+done duty as a preventative of speech.
+
+"Oh! what haven't I suffered, having that measly old thing under my nose
+for ages, and this smell of fish everywhere around me!" he exclaimed, as
+though fairly bursting with indignation.   "How long have I been shut up
+here, anyway, fellows?  Seems like days and weeks must a passed since
+they took me.  I kinder lost my senses I reckon, after that chap dropped
+on top of me, like the mountain was acoming down.  Please tell me what
+day of the week this is?"
+
+At this the others looked puzzled.
+
+"Why, you sure must be locoed, Bumpus, to get so twisted as that!"
+declared Giraffe.
+
+"I should say he was!" echoed Davy.
+
+"Why, this is the same morning after the storm, don't you know, Bumpus,
+really and truly it is," Step Hen went on to assert, with a ring of pity
+in his voice.  "And, say, did you think it was to-morrow, or the next
+day, and we'd just about forgotten we had a chum who was missing?  Well,
+if this don't take the cake, I never heard the beat of it."
+
+"Fetch him outside so I can ask a few questions!" called Thad just then.
+
+"Yes, for goodness sake get me where I can have a whiff of clean air;
+I'm nearly dead with this fishy smell.  I always did hate to handle fish
+after they got over their jumping stage, and this is awful!" Bumpus
+wailed.
+
+"It certain is," muttered Giraffe, holding his fingers up to his nose.
+
+So they all bustled out of the door, where they found the scout-master
+on duty; and all at once it struck the other fellows how smart Thad had
+been in holding back at the time the rush was made to free Bumpus.
+
+"Oh! this is a thousand per cent better!" the late prisoner declared,
+with genuine thanksgiving in his tones, as he fairly reveled in the
+clear air that had been purified by the recent blow.
+
+"I heard you asking what day this was, and from that we understand that
+you must have lost your senses for a while, and got mixed up?" Thad
+remarked.
+
+"That's what happened, Thad," replied the other, promptly enough.
+
+"Well, it's not only the same morning after the storm," continued the
+other, "but just about an hour after you went off to hunt for your belt.
+I see you found the same, and that they made good use of it to fasten
+your arms behind your back."
+
+Bumpus looked astonished, as though what he heard was hard to believe;
+for he shook his head slowly, and observed:
+
+"Tell me about that, will you?  Well, sir, that was the longest hour
+that ever happened to me in all my life!"
+
+"Hold on!" corrected Giraffe, "you're forgetting that time you tripped
+in the dark, and fell over a precipice a thousand feet deep, and hung
+there from the top, yelling for help.  We came galloping to the spot,
+and rescued you, about as limp as a dish-rag; and you told us how you'd
+suffered such agonies that you lived ten years, and wanted to know if
+your hair had turned white.  But when we held the light over the top of
+that awful precipice, and showed you that the ground was just about six
+inches below your toes as you dangled there, why, you made out that it
+was all a good joke, and that anyhow you'd given the rest of us a bad
+scare."
+
+Bumpus grinned, as though the recollection rather amused him now.
+
+"But this time it was different, Giraffe, because they wanted me to
+tell, and I just wouldn't.  Then the big man who was leader, gave me a
+knock on the head, he was so mad at me, and I keeled over a second time.
+That's when I thought days had passed, when I heard you fellows talking
+outside, and after that an earthquake came knocking down the door.  My!
+but I was glad to see the bunch come piling in, you can take it from me.
+Never will forget it, I give you my word, boys!"
+
+"But see here, Bumpus," said Thad, "what do you mean when you say you
+refused to tell?  Of course all of us know how stubborn you can be, when
+you take a notion; but what could these men want to get out of you that
+you'd refuse to let go?  Not any information about us, I should think?"
+
+"Well, hardly," replied the other.  "You see, they had me tied up, and
+that horrible fishy rag fastened around my mouth so I couldn't talk; but
+the fellow that could speak United States bettern'n either of the others
+told me to nod my head if I promised to show 'em where I'd hid it; but
+every time I shook it this way," and he proceeded to give an emphatic
+demonstration of what a negative shake might be.
+
+"But what had you hid away that they wanted so badly?" persisted Thad.
+
+Bumpus grinned, and raised one of his eyebrows in a comical manner.
+
+"Oh! that was a little trick of mine," he remarked, composedly.  "P'raps
+the rest of you'll give me credit for being a mite smart when I tell
+you. But in order to make you understand, just wait till I go back to
+the time I left camp to look for this belt."
+
+"That's the best way, I should think," agreed Giraffe, who knew from
+experience how hard it sometimes proved to drag the details of a story
+from Bumpus.
+
+"Oh! I ain't meaning to string it out everlastingly!" declared the
+other. "I'm going to be right to the point, see if I don't.  Well, after
+I picked up my belt I just happened to remember what Thad had told us
+about that concealed boat belonging to the queer chaps who were hiding
+on this island; and before I knew hardly what I was doing I found myself
+aboard the same, nosing around.
+
+"All at once it struck me what a bad job for us it'd be if they took a
+notion to skip out after the wind and waves went down, and left us here
+by our lonely.  So I made up a cute little plan calculated to block that
+game right in the start.  What did I do?  Just unfastened the crank they
+used to start the engine agoing and hid the same under my coat.  I was
+meaning to fetch it to our camp, so we could make terms with the men,
+when I thought I saw somebody slip around a tree and, on the impulse of
+the moment, as they say in the books, I just let that handle drop into
+the hollow of a stump I happened to be passing."
+
+"Good for you, Bumpus!" exclaimed Giraffe, patting the other on the
+shoulder.
+
+"Well, it wasn't so very good for me in one way," the fat scout
+remarked, with one hand tenderly caressing a bump he seemed to have on
+his head; "because that same little trick got a fellow of my size in
+heaps of trouble right away.  But you know how I hate to give a thing
+up, boys; and once I'd done this job I was bent on holding out to the
+bitter end.
+
+"Well, to make a long story short, the next thing I knew I didn't know
+anything, because that big clodhopper came down from a tree right on top
+of me, and one of his shoes must a struck me on the head right here, for
+it hurts like the mischief.
+
+"When I came to my senses I was fixed up like you saw, and inside this
+old fish house.  Honest boys, first thing, before I got a good look
+around, I thought I had died, and was amouldering in my grave.  The
+three men were hanging over me, ajabbering like so many monkeys or poll
+parrots.  Then the big fellow with the black beard began to throw all
+sorts of questions at me, which I managed to understand.
+
+"Seems like they had gone to the boat after leaving me here, p'raps
+meaning to take chances out on the lake, waves or no waves, because they
+thought if they stayed any longer they were agoing to be gobbled by the
+soldiers, sure pop.  And then they missed that old crank.  Course they
+knowed I'd been pottering around their boat, and they wanted to find out
+what I did with the handle, because it happens you can't start that
+engine like some I've seen, in an emergency, without the crank.
+
+"We had it pretty warm back and forth for a session, him a firing
+questions at me, sometimes in French, and again in mixed English; and me
+a shaking my head right and left to tell him I wouldn't give up the
+information, not if he kept going for a coon's age.  And sudden like, he
+got so fiery mad he just slapped me over the head, and I admit I lost
+all interest in things on this same earth till I came to, and heard
+voices outside that seemed familiar like.  You know the rest, boys; now
+let's get away from this place in a hurry.  I'll taste rank fish for a
+month of Sundays, sure I will. Ugh!"
+
+"Wait, don't be in such a hurry, Bumpus," said Thad.  "First of all I
+want to say that you've done a smart thing, even if it was reckless;
+because with that boat in our hands we can really leave Sturgeon Island
+any time we want, once the lake quiets down some.  And on the way back
+to camp we'll just pick up that crank, after which all we have to do is
+to make sure these three frightened men don't jump in on us, and take us
+by surprise. But while we're here we ought to see what they've got that
+makes them want to avoid the officers who patrol the lakes looking for
+smugglers, game-fish poachers and the like."
+
+"Give me the gun then, Thad," said Allan, promptly, as he saw the other
+glance toward him; "and I'll stay out here on guard while some of the
+rest investigate."
+
+"Thanks, that pleases me," replied the scout-master, relinquishing the
+weapon that had proved to be worth its weight in silver to them, in that
+it cowed the trio of lawless men who had their headquarters on Sturgeon
+Island.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE SKIES BEGIN TO BRIGHTEN
+
+
+It was not very light inside the cabin, so that the first thing Thad did
+in his customary energetic way was to take a lantern from a hook, and
+put a match to the wick.  After that they could see better.
+
+"Don't seem, to be much of anything around here now that we can see
+half-way decent," remarked Giraffe.
+
+"Oh I ain't there?" said Bumpus, who was, pinching his nose between his
+thumb and forefinger, "now, it strikes me there's a whole lot, when you
+come to think."
+
+"However those men could sleep in here beats me?" ejaculated Step Hen,
+who was not looking very happy himself, as he sniffed around.
+
+"Oh! mebbe you'll kinder get a little used to it after awhile," Bumpus
+assured him, in a tone meant to be comforting.
+
+"I don't believe they did sleep in here at all," Thad remarked, after he
+had been spying around a little longer.  "You can't see a sign of a bed,
+or a blanket, or even leaves in a corner to tell where anybody laid
+down."
+
+"And outside of these few old oilskin rags that they use to wear in
+their business," added Giraffe, "and hung up on nails along this wall,
+there ain't anything to tell that they stayed here.  Say, Thad, whatever
+do you think this shack could a been used for?"
+
+"Where's your nose?" demanded Bumpus at that juncture.
+
+"Yes," Thad went on to say, "that's about the only thing you need to
+tell you, Giraffe.  Seems like they must store their catch here until
+they get enough on hand to pay to stop work, and pack and ship the same
+out.  Let's look around.  What d'ye call this but a kind of trap in the
+floor?"
+
+"It sure is, Thad," admitted the tall scout, promptly.
+
+"Looks like it had been used a heap, in the bargain," advanced Step Hen.
+
+"Why, of course, because there must be some sort of well underneath the
+house, where they keep ice all the while, and drop the fish in as they
+net them.  Perhaps one reason why they hate to leave here in a rush is
+that they've got illegal nets out in different places right now, which
+cost a heap of money, and they hate to let them go.  Hand me that strip
+of iron, please, Davy.  Looks to me as if they use this to pry up the
+trap.  There, what did I tell you?"
+
+As the scout-master said this he managed to skillfully raise the square
+that was cut in the floor of the cabin.  Underneath the old building
+there must have been a natural well in among the rocks; for as Thad held
+the lantern over so that all of the boys could see, they discovered what
+looked like a cellar of solid stone, some fifteen feet deep, and with a
+ladder at one side that was doubtless used as a means of passing up and
+down.
+
+"Well! I declare! look at the piles of fine fish, will you?" exclaimed
+Step Hen.
+
+"All sorts too--trout, white fish, and even black bass, whoppers at
+that!" added Davy, staring at such a remarkable sight.
+
+"They must take these in some way that's against the law!" Thad
+declared. "Their suspicious actions prove that, plain enough."
+
+"That's the greatest lot of game fish I ever saw together!" Giraffe
+ventured, "and if such things keep going on, chances are even the Great
+Lakes'll be drained of decent sport before many years.  It's a shame,
+that's what it is."
+
+Bumpus was the only one who had made no remark; but all the same he
+seemed to be busy.  They saw him dive into a pocket, and what should he
+fetch out brut a stout fish line wound around a bobbin, and with a hook
+attached. This he immediately began unrolling so that the end carrying
+hook and sinker fell down toward the bottom of the pit.
+
+"Look at Bumpus, would you?" exclaimed Step Hen; "he's gone clean dippy,
+that's what?  Thinks he's out on the lake, and these fish are swimming
+down there waitin' to bite at his bait!  Poor old Bumpus, that knock on
+the head was too much for him!"
+
+"Was, hey?" snapped the object of this commiseration, as he went on
+unreeling his line; "you just wait and see whether I've lost my mind, or
+if I ain't as bright as a button.  See that buster of a trout alying
+there on top?  Well, that beats the record so far; and if I can only tip
+my hook under his gill I'm meaning to yank him up here the quickest you
+ever saw. Guess the rules and regulations of our watch only said a
+fellow had to catch his fish with hook and line; it never told that they
+had to be alive, and swimming, not a word of it.  You watch me win that
+championship right here!"
+
+"There's a fish pile down in the cellar," spoke up the rival of Bumpus,
+indignantly, "and what d'ye think, Bumpus here means to fetch up a lot
+of 'em with his hook and line, and count the same against me.  Hey!
+guess two can play at that sort of game, if there's going to be anything
+in it; so look out; because I'm after that same big trout myself."
+
+Twice Bumpus managed to get his hook where it seemed to catch upon the
+monster trout's exposed gill, and with a cry of triumph he started to
+pull in; but on one occasion the slender hold his hook had taken broke
+away; and the second time it chanced that Giraffe had managed to fasten
+his barb somewhere about the dorsal fin of the fish, so that there was
+an immediate struggle for supremacy, with the usual result in such cases
+that the anticipated prize fell back, and was lost to both contestants.
+
+"Tell them to let up on that silly business, and let's get out of here,
+Thad," said Step Hen, when this thing had gone on for some time, with no
+result save a weariness to the two rivals.
+
+"But seems to me," Dave put in just then, "that couple of them same
+trout and white fish would be mighty tasty dish for a bunch of scouts I
+know of who always carry their appetites with them."
+
+When Giraffe heard him say that, he suddenly seemed to lose all his
+fierceness as a contestant for honors.
+
+"Here, let's stop this business, Bumpus, because I ain't agoing to let
+you grab up any fish that easy like; and I reckon you feel the same way
+about me.  Anyhow, I leave it to Thad here if it's a sportsmanlike way
+of scoring in our game?  If he says no, why I'm willing to let you hook
+up some of the beauties for our dinner; or to make things more lively I
+agree to climb down that greasy old ladder and put 'em on the hook for
+you.  How about it, Mr. Scout-master; is it fair?"
+
+"Perhaps the letter of the law might favor such a course," he said,
+solemnly; "but we pretend to be sportsmen, all of us, and as such we go
+farther than that.  And Bumpus, you know very well that nothing of this
+kind was thought of when you made your wager with Giraffe.  As I was
+counted on to be the umpire I say now and here that the fish taken have
+to be alive at the time they are hooked, and swimming in the lake."
+
+"Then that settles it, Thad," chuckled Bumpus, with a grin; "anyhow, I
+was only fooling, and wouldn't want to count honors won so cheap as
+this.  But drop down there, Giraffe, since you were so kind as to
+promise, and hook me on that gay fellow I nearly had two different
+times.  Let me feel how heavy he is?  I'd go myself, but chances are I'd
+sure collapse down there, because already I'm feeling weak again, and
+that's the truth."
+
+Giraffe evidently did not mean to go back on his word; and accordingly
+he carefully climbed over the edge of the opening, found a resting place
+for his feet on the top round of the ladder, and then began to slowly
+descend.
+
+First of all he hooked on the big trout, and gaily Bumpus pulled the
+prize up, remarking at the time that it felt as though he were lifting a
+grindstone.  When he lowered his line again Giraffe had a splendid fresh
+looking white fish ready, and this he sent up, after the trout.
+
+"I just can't stand this any longer," the boy below called up; "and I'm
+acomin' right along with the next one, which ought to be a white fish, I
+reckon.  Oh! my! hope I don't keel over before I get to the top.  If I
+do, please, please don't run away and leave me to my fate, boys!"
+
+Perhaps Giraffe was only joking, but it was noticed that when he hastily
+clambered out of the fish pit he made a streak for outdoors, still
+hanging on to his latest capture.
+
+In fact, as they had had enough of that thing, all of them hastened to
+follow the example set by the tall and lanky scout.  Outside they found
+Allan examining the prize with considerable interest, while Giraffe was
+fanning himself, and making all sorts of grimaces as he raised first one
+hand and then the other to his nose.
+
+"I'll step in and take a look now, while we're here," mentioned Allan;
+"because I may never get another chance to see what a fish poacher's
+storage place is like."
+
+"Queer where they've gone and hidden themselves," Step Hen remarked, as
+he looked all around as though half expecting to see a bearded face
+thrust out of the bushes, or above a pile of rocks near by.
+
+"Well, just now they're in a sort of panic, and hardly know what to try
+next," Thad told them.  "Of course they must see that we're only boys,
+after all; but from the fact that we wear uniforms they suppose we are
+connected in some way with the militia, and that perhaps a boatload of
+soldiers is even now on the way here, obeying some sort of wireless
+signal we've managed to transmit.  They thought to seize Bumpus, and
+perhaps get us all, one by one; but when they found that he had rendered
+their boat helpless they just threw up the sponge and quit."
+
+"Well, I kinder feel a mite sorry for the rascals," Step Hen observed;
+whereupon the usually gentle Bumpus, who could be depended on to forgive
+the first one of all, fired up, and burst out with:
+
+"Then I ain't, not one whit; and I guess you wouldn't either, Step Hen
+Bingham, if you had a lump as big as a hickory nut on top of your head,
+that felt as sore as a boil, and knew one of that crowd did it to you.
+Ain't they breaking the law of the land; and every fish they take in
+their illegal nets or seines means one less for the fellow that fishes
+for sport, or the man that does business according to the rules and
+regulations. Sorry, well I guess not!  And when we move away with their
+old boat we'll send somebody with brass buttons over to Sturgeon Island
+to take off the marooners."
+
+"Whew! listen to the savage monster, would you?" purred Step Hen; but
+Bumpus had suffered too much to be in a forgiving humor, and he
+continued to shake his head ominously while he kept on breathing out
+threatenings, like Saul of old.
+
+"Now let's head for our camp," Thad gave the order, when Allan had
+joined them, and declared he had seen all he wanted of the fish
+poachers' storehouse.
+
+"I only hope they haven't stolen a march on us, and got away with our
+traps," Davy happened to remark, as they stepped out at a lively rate.
+
+"What a job we'd have cookin' these fine fish, if we didn't have any
+frying-pan," was the first lament of Giraffe.
+
+"And my blanket that I think so much of, I wouldn't like to lose that,"
+Bumpus told them; but Thad gave it as his opinion that after the men had
+fled, upon hearing the voices of the boys near by, they must have fallen
+into such a panic that no doubt they were now in hiding away off at the
+other end of the island.
+
+"Now don't forget to show us where you bid that crank belonging to the
+boat engine, Bumpus," Step, Hen cautioned, as they strode along.
+
+"Good thing you spoke of it when you did, Step Hen," the fat scout
+declared, "because here's the old stump right now.  Feel down, and see
+if it ain't there, somebody.  Here, let me do it myself, because I know
+just where it lies."
+
+In proof of his words Bumpus speedily drew out the crooked bit of steel
+in question.
+
+"Here you are, Giraffe, like to like!" he sang out gaily, as he tossed
+his find toward the tall scout.
+
+"I s'pose that's as much as calling me a crank," muttered Giraffe; "but
+then, we'd take anything from you, Bumpus, just now, we feel so good
+after your splendid work."
+
+Of course upon receiving that fine compliment Bumpus became contrite at
+once.
+
+"Excuse me for saying that, Giraffe," he called out; "because I reckon
+now you ain't one whit more a crank than some others in this crowd."
+And then noticing that Step Hen and Davy were looking daggers at him, he
+hurriedly added, "particularly a stout feller they call Bumpus for short
+instead of Cornelius Jasper Hawtree."
+
+"My idea is about this," Thad went on to say; "as we are going to depend
+so much on using this boat to get away in, we'd better make our camp
+right alongside; and in that way they won't have much chance to steal
+the same from us."
+
+"But ain't we going away soon?" asked Davy, looking around him again, as
+though he still expected to see a party of furious poachers rush towards
+them, reinforcements having meanwhile arrived on the island.
+
+"Not till that sea goes down a whole lot more," replied the scout-master;
+"and if that doesn't happen until late this afternoon I'm afraid
+we'll have to spend one more night on Sturgeon Island," which
+information the others did not hear with any degree of enthusiasm for
+they were all heartily tired of the place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TAKEN UNAWARES, AFTER ALL
+
+
+As there was no longer any necessity for their depending upon the
+shelter of the projecting ledge, since the sun was shining cheerily, the
+scouts set about changing camp.
+
+This did not take any great while, because they had no tents to bother
+with; and it was easy enough to gather up their blankets and the few
+things they had saved from the wreck of the Chippeway Belle.
+
+As none of them ever saw the first sign of that ill-fated boat again, it
+was always taken for granted that when the wind shifted in the night, at
+the time Thad drew attention to the fact, the strain became so great
+that the anchor cable had to give way, allowing the still floating boat
+to be carried out into deep water before the end came.
+
+They found the anchor where it had been placed, with the rope broken
+part way out, and this told the story as well as words could have.
+
+And so camp was made close by the boat belonging to the fish poachers,
+which it must be their duty to guard, so that later on they could make
+use of the same in order to escape from the island.
+
+The waves did not go down as rapidly as the boys would have liked, and
+when high noon came they were still rolling along in a way that was
+dangerous to any small craft, especially on such a great inland sea as
+Superior is, with harbors few and far between.
+
+Thad admitted that the chances of their getting away that day did not
+look good to him.  Giraffe was the only real cheerful fellow in the
+party, and as he superintended the cooking of the delicious white fish
+for lunch he was heard to express his opinion several times.
+
+"Well, one thing good about it is that there's enough fish on the ice
+down in that well to last us till Christmas; and it's to be hoped that
+somebody with a boat comes along before then, to take us off; or we can
+get this chunky craft of the poachers to working some.  But let me tell
+you, that same fish does smell grand to me.  Needn't make a face,
+Bumpus, because you think you'll never eat fish again.  It's either that
+or go hungry with this crowd."
+
+"But the white fish, like all other delicate fish, is only at its best
+when eaten on the spot where it's caught," Thad told them; "putting it
+on ice for days hurts the flavor, and sometimes it's just as tasteless
+as so much sawdust."
+
+"Then this one was fresh caught," Giraffe affirmed,  as he looked
+hastily about, took up the last bit that was in the second pan, and
+asked: "anybody want this; if nobody else does, I'm Johnny on the spot."
+
+"Well, I declare, I like that!"  burst out Step Hen; "did you see him
+swing that pan around, and before a fellow could even open his mouth to
+say yes, he had that last big piece in his tin dish.  Oh! well, since
+you've got to be filled up, or you get to growling, go ahead and bolt,
+it; only look out for bones.  If one ever got fastened in that rubber
+neck of yours, Giraffe, nobody's fingers could ever reach it.  And as
+hard luck would have it, I left my fish disgorger at home."
+
+Giraffe never minded this sort of talk, for he was making away with the
+last of the fish with his usual speed.
+
+"Bones never trouble him at all," remarked Bumpus, who was always
+telling about dreaming of choking to death on a fish-bone.
+
+"That's where you're wrong," chuckled Step Hen; "they trouble him a
+whole lot, every time he sits down, I reckon, because Nature ain't been
+so kind to our long friend as to you, Bumpus."
+
+Joking in this style they finished their meal, and the afternoon stared
+them in the face.  It promised to be a long stretch, if they had to stay
+there until another morning.
+
+Bumpus and Giraffe presently got their lines out, and finding a place
+near by where it seemed safe to remain, they started to try and add to
+their score.
+
+"Let's call it off, Bumpus," suggested Giraffe, who was getting weary.
+"What's the use of all this bother, when we've got a storehouse cram-full
+of fine fresh fish close at hand, so we sure don't need this sort
+of a job for the sake of filling our stomachs.  Anyhow, you can keep it
+up if you feel like it; I'm dead sleepy after passing such a night; and
+we ought to get some rest."
+
+"That's so," echoed Bumpus, just as if he had been on guard every minute
+of the previous night, "and as like as not we'll have to be keeping one
+eye open to-night again, who knows?"
+
+"One?" cried Giraffe, looking sharply at him; and then shaking his head
+he went on to add: "but I said I wasn't agoing to poke fun at you this
+whole day, Bumpus, after what you done.  Course you can't help it if you
+get sleepy, any more'n I can about being hungry all the time.  So let's
+call it a draw, and quit kidding."
+
+"What's that smoke over there mean?" asked Step Hen, a short time later;
+and even Giraffe, who was trying to get some sleep, sat up on hearing
+this.
+
+"Hurrah! mebbe it's a rescue boat coming out after us!" cried Davy,
+standing on his hands, and kicking his heels in the air, just as the
+ordinary boy might clap his hands together.
+
+"What do you say, Thad?" asked Giraffe, cautiously, having arisen to his
+feet, and stretched his long neck in the endeavor to see better than his
+chums.
+
+"Well," remarked the scout-master, after he had made a mental
+calculation; "you notice, don't you, that it comes from toward the other
+end of the island."
+
+"Yes, that's a fact, Thad," slowly admitted Davy, who had now returned
+to his normal condition, with his head higher than his heels; though
+some of the boys often declared that the reverse was true, and that he
+seemed more natural when hanging head downward from the limb of a tree,
+like a giant bat or a monkey.
+
+"And there isn't enough of it to make me think a boat could be coming,"
+Thad went on to say.  "In fact, the chances are those men, as badly
+frightened as they are, have to eat, and I think they've lighted a fire
+to cook something."
+
+"Oh! is that all?" grunted Giraffe, immediately dropping back upon his
+blanket; "please don't wake me up again for such a silly thing as that;
+though of course I can feel for 'em if they are really hungry."
+
+Acting on the advice of Thad the other boys managed to get some sleep
+from time to time, though they were very careful not to let the camp go
+unguarded.
+
+"We're going to be kept here on the island another night, seems like,"
+he had told them, "and that means a constant watch.  So far we've
+managed to hold our own, and we can't afford to get careless, and lose
+out."
+
+"I should say not," Step Hen had echoed, as he cuddled down to carry out
+the suggestion of the scout-master.
+
+Along about half an hour before evening set in an expedition was
+arranged to pay another friendly visit to the fish preserves of the
+poachers.  They wanted to get enough supplies this time to cover several
+meals, so that they would be able to feel that they had food for the
+next day, should they be able to make the start in the morning.
+
+Now Bumpus would much rather have remained behind; but it was a choice
+between two evils with him.  His recollections of the harsh methods by
+means of which the poachers tried to get him to give up his secret were
+still fresh in his mind; so was his detestation of that fishy odor that
+clung to the shack.  But Thad would not let him have any choice in the
+matter, telling him that he must accompany the expedition, and carry
+home his share of the spoils, though Giraffe had promised to again drop
+down into the pit, and send up all they wanted.
+
+They met with no adventure on the way, nor were they interrupted in
+their task of securing a store of fish food for present necessities, and
+looking into the near future a bit.
+
+Giraffe managed his end of the labor manfully.  He suffered a great
+deal, he admitted; but then, somebody had to take on the hard jobs; and
+as no one else volunteered he just had to be the "goat."
+
+"Oh! as if we don't know the real reason," Step Hen declared,
+indignantly. "If you wasn't so crazy after eating all the time, I guess
+now you'd be the last one to go down there of your own free will.  But
+that ain't saying we ain't glad of it.  'Taint often we get a chance to
+harness that appetite of yours to something that pays.  Go on down a few
+more times, Giraffe; we might toddle along under another fish apiece."
+
+"Not much I will," grunted the other; "six trips is the limit for
+anybody with a weak stomach."
+
+"Weak stomach-what, you?" cried Step Hen, scornfully throwing up his
+hands.
+
+The tall scout however did not want to be drawn into an argument just
+then, since that would only delay their departure from the cabin and all
+that it spoke of in such a distinct way.  He darted in again, however,
+for a last visit, and vanished down the pit; to appear a minute later
+holding the largest fish they had as yet run across.
+
+"There, what d'ye think of that for a jim dandy, fellows?" he cried.
+"And Bumpus, take a good look at him, because I'm bound to hook the mate
+to this next time we get out our lines.  I'm not only a weather prophet,
+but there are times when I feel it in my bones that something is going
+to happen."
+
+He tripped just then, and took a header, whereupon Bumpus, with
+pretended sympathy, hurried to his side, and offered to help him get up,
+saying;
+
+"Oh! Giraffe, that was the time your bones told you the truth, didn't
+they; and I reckon your knee joints are skinned some after that tumble,
+too?"
+
+Giraffe may have been suffering all sorts of agonies at the time, but of
+course he was not going to let the others see him wince; so he smiled
+sweetly as he once more gained his feet, and took up the big fish,
+saying at the same time:
+
+"Don't mention it; I'm all right, Bumpus."
+
+But they could see him limp more or less as they headed for the camp by
+the captured motorboat of the fish poachers.
+
+Of course, when they went off like this they made sure to carry the
+crank belonging to the engine along with them, so that even if the enemy
+did enter the camp during their absence they could not run away with the
+craft, which on account of the make of motor was practically helpless as
+soon as the crank was gone.
+
+"Here we are, right-side up with care; plenty of grub, and no damage
+done except that we've decreased the stock of fish supplies the poachers
+have laid by," Step Hen was heard to declare; and though Giraffe gave
+him a pained look, and unconsciously rubbed his injured knee, he did not
+make any remark to the contrary.
+
+And when it came time to get supper ready he was apparently just as able
+to move around as ever, barring a slight limp.
+
+Of course they kept close watch all the while, not wishing to be taken
+by surprise, should the enemy muster up enough courage to attempt some
+desperate trick, possibly looking to making the scouts prisoners, so
+that they could once more secure the valuable crank, and go away on
+board their boat.
+
+Thad himself had managed to secure some rest during the day, because he
+knew that another hard night awaited him.
+
+As on the previous occasion he told the others they could sit up if they
+chose, and keep both he and Allan company; and just as had happened
+before all of them tried hard to accommodate; but before one hour passed
+poor Bumpus had fallen by the wayside; and then soon afterward Davy,
+Giraffe and Step Hen all found themselves unable to hold out.
+
+Since they had really undergone considerable in the way of privation and
+excitement of late, Thad did not have the heart to blame them.  He
+believed that with the one faithful chum alongside, he could take as
+good care of the camp as though the whole six were on duty.
+
+The time dragged along until it must have been close on midnight; and so
+far nothing out of the way had happened, though the sentries did not
+relax their vigilance on that account, for they were too good woodsmen
+to think of that.
+
+As the boat had been secured with all the available ropes, and a part of
+the engine dismantled in the bargain, neither of the scouts dreamed that
+the enemy would aim to strike a blow at them in that quarter.  They
+could not carry the boat off; and even granting that this were possible,
+it would be useless, since they had no means for running the same.
+
+Still another hour had crept along, and Thad was just beginning to
+congratulate himself on the way the night was passing, when without the
+least, warning there came a sudden flash of light down in the rocky
+berth where the boat lay; immediately succeeded by a deafening crash.
+Up into the air arose burning fragments of the poacher's boat; and this
+was the startling spectacle that greeted the astonished eyes of the
+Silver Fox scouts who had been sweetly sleeping, as they sat up and
+stared around them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+GOOD-EYE TO STURGEON ISLAND--CONCLUSION
+
+
+All sorts of loud cries and exclamations arose, as the startled boys
+began to dodge the falling pieces of the blown-up boat.
+
+Thad, although almost stunned by the sudden catastrophe that had come
+upon them, in spite of their vigilance, kept a bright lookout, for fear
+lest the next thing they knew the poachers would come dashing among
+them, hoping to take advantage of the confusion to disarm them.
+
+But nothing of the sort occurred, and presently the six boys huddled
+there in a heap, trying to figure out what had happened, and why the
+three men had resorted to such desperate tactics rather than allow the
+seeming soldiers to sail away in the morning, and perhaps carry the news
+to some place where the authorities would be sure to fit out an
+expedition at once, looking to their capture.
+
+After a great deal of talk, and many odd ideas being advanced, which it
+would not profit us to mention here, they settled on what seemed to be
+the most plausible theory.  This was that the three poachers, believing
+they could not make use of their boat so long as the boys in uniform
+held the key, in the shape of that crank, had decided to blow it up.
+Their reason for this may have been that they would in this way compel
+the others to remain marooned there on the island; and perhaps it was
+expected that another boat, with a fresh lot of poachers, would be along
+after a certain time.
+
+This was the nearest they could ever come to it, for they did not have a
+chance to make the personal acquaintance of the three hide-out men, and
+therefore could not get information at first quarters.
+
+When the morning came the scouts were not so merry as they had felt on
+the previous evening when all things looked rather rosy.  Still, it is
+difficult to keep some fellows moping all the time; and even Giraffe
+tried hard to look at the bright side; thought he often complained that
+he had consider difficulty in making up his mind which side that was.
+
+As long as the food supply held out, Giraffe was not going to give up to
+despair; even if fish as a steady diet might pall on the ordinary
+appetite, Giraffe thought he could stand the bill of fare for a week or
+two, if they had to stick it out that long.
+
+Thad kept them on the watch for some sort of vessel, steamer, sailing
+craft, whaleboat barge or anything that would afford an asylum, if only
+they could by the greatest of good luck attract the attention of those
+on board.
+
+As the morning got pretty well along the boys were beginning to feel
+downcast once more, when all at once Step Hen, who had been using the
+glasses at the time, let out a joyous whoop.
+
+"Would you believe it, fellows," he cried, "while we've been nearly
+breaking our necks looking to the east and south for a sail, why, here's
+a little buzzing motorboat acoming along an the same tack we carried;
+and ten chances to one now, it's carrying our two good Silver Fox pards,
+Smithy and Bob White!"
+
+All of them had to take a look through the glasses, and the consensus of
+opinion seemed to trend that way; though at first some of the more
+dubious were inclined to fear that it might only be another poaching
+boat, that was coming straight to the island to land a catch of
+illegally taken fish.
+
+"Get busy right away, and let them know where we are!" exclaimed Bumpus,
+all of a tremble with anxiety.  "Goodness gracious! just think how we'd
+feel if they went speeding past old Sturgeon Island, never heating us
+yell; because the breeze was wrong.  Bang away with the gun, Thad, and
+make 'em look!  Do something that'll stir things up!  Wish I could let
+out a whoop that'd carry ten miles, you'd hear me spreading myself some,
+I tell you."
+
+But all Bumpus's fears were useless, for those aboard the little
+motorboat that had really come all the way from the Soo, starting
+earlier than Thad and his five companions, heard the combined shouts,
+and signaled that they would head in without delay.
+
+"Say, couldn't you hold up a little while, and let me go back after a
+few more of those fine fish?" pleaded Giraffe, when the rescuing craft
+was drawing close; and when the scout-master shook his head in the
+negative the tall member went on: "you never know how much grub you need
+when on one of these here lake trips, with the chances in favor of
+something happening to knock the engine out.  Besides, remember there
+will be two more mouths to feed, Thad; and sure I could snatch up some
+of them fish in a jiffy.  Say yes, won't you?"
+
+"No need of it, Giraffe," the other assured the lean scout; "it's true
+that we'll have a couple more with us, but don't forget that they are
+expected to have a pretty good supply of food aboard as it is.  Then who
+wants to live on fish diet."
+
+"And we'll get to a place right soon," added Bumpus, "where we can lay
+in all the stores we want."
+
+"Yes," Step Hen thought fit to remark, "and then too, if we loaded down
+so with too much fish, what's ever going to become of that game you and
+Bumpus are working?  We expect to have the table supplied right along
+now with the product of your combined skills as anglers."
+
+"Oh!" chuckled Giraffe, "after all that honey, I give up, and agree to
+let things run as they are.  But I want to warn the said Bumpus here and
+now that I'm camping on his trail; and from this time out the fight is
+agoing to be just fierce!"
+
+"Bah! who's afraid?" sang out the fat scout, with a shrug of his
+shoulders.
+
+"Everybody get their things together so we can climb aboard as soon as
+our comrades come close enough to shore.  We may have to wade a little,
+for the landing places are few and far between, and we don't want to
+take any chances."
+
+"Then I hope some kind friend will have the goodness to carry me on his
+back; because I sure hate to get my footsies soaked again," remarked
+Bumpus, unabashed.
+
+It turned out, however, that there was no need of this. The two boys in
+the motorboat knew how to manage, and brought the little vessel in close
+enough so that even clumsy Bumpus was able to clamber aboard, after
+handing up his possessions.  And Thad smiled when he saw that the other
+included among these the rusty crank belonging to the destroyed boat
+which the poachers had used in their illegal business, evidently
+romantic Bumpus meant to keep that as a reminder of his little adventure
+on Sturgeon Island.
+
+Smithy and Bob White were two of the Silver Fox Patrol whom many readers
+will remember figuring largely in previous books of this series of Boy
+Scout tales.
+
+They were instantly almost consumed with eagerness to know what had
+happened to maroon their chums on the island; but until they had passed
+some distance out Thad would not attempt to relate the stirring
+circumstances.
+
+"Looky, there they are, ashaking their fists after us; and I reckon
+they're letting out a few remarks that might burn our ears if we heard
+the same, which the breeze keeps us from doing," and Giraffe, as he
+spoke, pointed to where the trio of lawless poachers stood on a rock
+near the other end of the island.
+
+That was the last they were fated to see of the men.  Later on they
+happened to enter a Canadian port in search of supplies, and of course
+Thad made it an object to narrate their adventure to some person in
+authority. The boys heard afterwards that an expedition was at once
+started out by the Canadian people, looking to the capture of the
+poacher crowd, and the breaking up of their illegal business; but
+apparently the other boat must have arrived before them; for while they
+found the ice pit, just as the boys had described to them, the fish were
+all gone, nor did a search of the entire island reveal any sign of human
+occupation.
+
+Of course it did not matter at all to Thad And his chums whether the
+three men were ever apprehended, as they did not expect to cruise in
+this region again and consequently there was no chance of their ever
+meeting any of them afterwards.
+
+They would never be apt to forget the strange things that had come to
+them however, while marooned on Sturgeon Island; and often when they
+pored over the Government charts that Thad kept, they could see again in
+memory many of those adventures looming up along the mental horizon the
+wreck of the boat; the lively time they had getting ashore; the
+discovery of the fish packing cabin; the mysterious disappearance of
+Bumpus; how he was found again under such remarkable conditions; the
+blowing up of the poachers' boat; and last but not least the opportune
+arrival of their mates with the other craft.
+
+No doubt many a time the very odor of fish would carry the thoughts of
+those boys away back to this period in their adventurous careers.  Not
+that it marked the culmination of the good times fortune had in store
+for them; because before many months passed a splendid chance was going
+to come along that would give the members of the Silver Fox Patrol an
+opportunity to enjoy another outing, this time while the North, where
+their home town lay, was swathed in snow and ice.  The title of this
+next book will be "The Boy Scouts Down in Dixie; or, The Strange Secrets
+of Alligator Swamp."  And the reader of this volume may rest assured
+that the adventure's befalling Thad and his jolly mates, Allan, Giraffe,
+Bumpus, Davy, Smithy, Step Hen and the Southern boy, Bob White, will
+afford them as rich a treat in the new story as anything that has
+preceded it.
+
+As to that wager between Giraffe and Bumpus, it kept dragging along
+during the balance of the cruise, sometimes one, and then the other
+being ahead. But luck finally favored Giraffe, as on the very last day,
+with the score a tie, he happened to be trailing a stout line out, when
+his hook became fast to the tail of a big fish that came near pulling
+him overboard before he succeeded in landing the same, after the engine
+was hurriedly stopped.
+
+After that Bumpus threw up his hands, and said he would wait on the
+crowd when they had their dinner upon arriving home; which he certainly
+did, and with such success that the boys voted he continue to accept
+"tips" in that vocation whenever they were in camp, Bumpus vigorously
+dissenting, of course.
+
+Thad learned later an that the poor old Chippeway Belle was fully
+insured, and no word of complaint ever reached them after they had
+furnished the owner with all the evidence he needed in order to collect
+the amount; so there may have been a little truth in what several of the
+scouts hinted among themselves, that the sinking of the powerboat
+cleared the air, and allowed the gentleman to replace her with a newer
+model.  "Blessings often come, in disguise," Bumpus says, as he looks up
+at that rusty crank, tied with a red bow of ribbon, and hanging from the
+wall of his den at home; and then feeling of his head to ascertain
+whether that lump has fully subsided, he is apt to go on to remark that
+sometimes they even drop down from trees, and give a fellow the queerest
+kind of a thump; for if he had not conceived that little plan of hiding
+a part of the machinery belonging to the poachers' boat, things might
+have turned out vastly different from what they did.
+
+The End
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island, by 
+Herbert Carter
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+
+Title: The, Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island
+       or Marooned Among the Game-fish Poachers
+
+Author: Herbert Carter
+
+Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8067]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on June 11, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE, BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Sean Pobuda
+
+
+
+
+THE BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND
+
+Or Marooned Among the Game-Fish Poachers
+
+By Herbert Carter
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+OUT FOR A ROYAL GOOD TIME
+
+
+"Will you do me a favor, Bumpus?"
+
+"Sure I will, Giraffe; what is it you want now?"
+
+"Then tell me who that is talking to our scoutmaster, Dr. Philander
+Hobbs; because, you know, I've just come in after a scout ahead, and
+first thing saw was a stranger among the patrol boys."
+
+"Oh!  You mean that thin chap who came along in his buggy a bit ago,
+chasing after us all the way from that town where we had a bite of
+lunch? Why, I understand he's the son of the telegraph operator there.
+You know we made arrangements with him to try and get a message to us,
+if one came along."
+
+"Whew! then I hope he ain't fetched a message that'll spoil all our fun,
+just when we've got to the last leg of the journey, with the boat only a
+few miles further on!  That'd be the limit Bumpus.  You don't know
+anything about it, I reckon?"
+
+"Well, our scout-master looks kinder down in the mouth, and I'm afraid
+it must be some sort of a recall to duty for him," remarked a third lad,
+also wearing the khaki garments of a Boy Scout, as he joined the pair
+who were talking.
+
+"I'm afraid you're right, Davy," said the tall, angular fellow who
+seemed to own the queer name of Giraffe, though his long neck plainly
+proved why it had been given to him by his mates.  "But don't it beat
+the Dutch how many times Doe Hobbs has had to give up a jolly trip, and
+hurry back home, just when the fun was going to begin, because the old
+doctor he works with needed him the worst kind?"
+
+"But say," spoke up the fat boy who answered to the designation of
+Bumpus, "mebbe the Cranford Troop, and the Silver Fox Patrol in
+particular, ain't lucky to have such a wide-awake, efficient assistant
+scout-master as our Thad Brewster, who knows more in a day about out-of-
+door things than Dr. Hobbs would in a year."
+
+"Yes, that's right," replied Giraffe; "but we're going to know what's in
+the wind now, because here's the scout-master heading this way, with
+several of the other boys tagging at his heels, and sure as you live
+they're grinning too.  Looks to me like Stephen and Allan thought it a
+good joke, though they look solemn enough when Doc turns their way.
+He's just got to leave us, you mark my words, fellows."
+
+It turned out that very way.  An urgent message had come that
+necessitated the immediate return of the scout-master.  The old doctor
+with whom he practiced had been unlucky enough to fall, and break a leg;
+so it was absolutely essential that his assistant come back to look
+after the sick people of Cranford, hundreds of miles away.
+
+While the scout-master is getting his personal belongings together, and
+the six boys gathered around are trying to look terribly disappointed,
+it might be well to introduce the little party to such of our readers
+who have not had the pleasure of making their acquaintance in previous
+volumes of this series.
+
+The Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts now consisted of two full patrols, and
+a third was in process of forming.  The original patrol was known as the
+Silver Fox, and the six scouts who were with Doctor Hobbs, away up here
+on the border of Lake Superior, bent on a cruise on the great fresh
+water sea, all belonged to that division of the troop, so that they are
+old friends to those who have perused any of the earlier books.
+
+Thad Brewster, whom Bumpus had spoken of so highly, was a bright,
+energetic lad, who had always delighted in investigating things
+connected with outdoor life.  He had belonged to a troop before
+organizing the one at Cranford, and was well qualified for being made
+the assistant scoutmaster, having received his credentials from the New
+York Headquarters long ago.
+
+Allan Hollister, who would assume the responsibility should Thad be
+absent, was a boy who had spent quite a time in the Adirondacks before
+joining the scouts, and his knowledge was along practical lines.
+
+Then there was another fellow, rather a melancholy chap, who had a queer
+way of showing the whites of his eyes, and looking scared, at the least
+opportunity, only to make his chums laugh; for he would immediately
+afterwards grin--in school as a little fellow he had insisted that his
+name of Stephen should be pronounced as though it consisted of two
+syllables; and from that day to this he had come to be known as Step Hen
+Bingham.
+
+The other three boys were the ones who engaged in the little talk with
+which this story opens.  Bumpus really had another name, though few
+people ever thought to call him by it; yet in the register at school he
+was marked down as Cornelius Jasper Hawtree; while the fellow who had
+that strange "rubber-neck" that he was so fond of stretching to its
+limit, was Conrad Stedman.
+
+Davy Jones, too, wag a remarkable character, as may be made evident
+before the last word is said in this story.  He seemed to be as nimble
+as they make boys; and was forever doing what he called "stunts," daring
+any of his comrades to hang by their toes from the limb of a tree twenty
+feet from the ground; walking a tight-rope which he stretched across
+deep gully, and all sorts of other dangerous enterprises of that nature.
+Often he was called "Monkey," and no nick-name ever given by boy
+playmates fitted better than his.
+
+Once Davy had been a victim to fits, and on this account gained great
+consideration from his teachers at school, as well as from his comrades.
+But latterly there had arisen a suspicion that these "fits" that doubled
+him up so suddenly always seemed to come just when there was some hard
+work to be done; and once the suspicion that Davy was shamming broke in
+upon the rest, they shamed him into declaring himself radically cured.
+It was either that, or take a ducking every time he felt one of those
+spells coming on; so Davy always declared the camp air had effected a
+miracle in his case, and that he owed a great deal to his having joined
+the scouts.
+
+"Too bad, boys," said Dr. Hobbs, who was a mighty fine young man, and
+well liked by all the scouts in Cranford Troop, although they saw so
+little of him because his pressing duties called him away so often; "but
+I've got to go home on the first train.  Doctor Green has a broken leg,
+and there's nobody to make the rounds among our sick people in Cranford.
+I never was more disappointed in my life, because we've fixed things for
+a glorious cruise up here on Old Superior."
+
+The boys assured him that they deeply sympathized with him, because they
+knew it would break their hearts to be deprived of their outing, now
+that they had come so far.
+
+"Fortunately," continued Dr. Hobbs, with a twinkle in his kindly eyes,
+"that isn't at all necessary; because all arrangements have been made,
+the boat is waiting only a few miles away, and you have an efficient
+assistant scout-master in this fine chap here, Thad Brewster, who will
+take charge while I'm away, as he has done on numerous other sad
+occasions."
+
+"Hurrah!" burst from Bumpus; "that's the kind of stuff we like to hear.
+Not that we won't miss you, Doctor, because you know boys from the
+ground up, and we all feel like you're an older brother to us; but we've
+been out with Thad so much, we're kinder used to his ways."
+
+"Well," continued the scout-master, with a long sigh, "I've got to hurry
+off if I expect to catch that afternoon train, and there's no other
+until morning; so good-bye, boys.  Take good care of yourselves, and
+write to me as often as you can.  I'll try and picture the jolly
+happenings of this Lake Superior cruise as I read your accounts of it."
+
+He squeezed the hand of every one of the six lively lads; and there was
+a huskiness in his voice as he bade them a last good-bye that told
+better than words how sorry he was to leave the merry bunch, just when
+they were almost, as Bumpus put it, "in sight of the Promised Water."
+
+So the vehicle passed from sight, and the last they saw of Doctor Hobbs
+was a hand waving his campaign hat to them just before a bend in the
+country road was reached.
+
+All of them now turned to Thad to see what his plan of campaign would
+be.
+
+"If it's just this way, fellows," he remarked, with one of his smiles
+that had made him the most popular boy in all Cranford, barring none;
+"we've got about three miles to hit it up before we reach the lake
+shore.  Then we'll make camp and spend another night, which I hope will
+be our last ashore for some little time.  Because, unless there's a
+hitch to the program, we ought to come on the landing where our boat is
+going to be in waiting, by ten o'clock to-morrow."
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Bumpus, who was already weary of "hiking" because his
+build made him less active than some of the other scouts, notably Davy
+and Giraffe.
+
+"Let's get a move on, then," suggested Step Hen.  "I can see that poor
+old Giraffe here is nearly perishing for a little bite of supper."
+
+A rippling laugh ran around at this, for every one knew the failing of
+the long-legged scout, whose stowage capacity when it came time to eat
+had never as yet within the memory of any comrade been fully tested; for
+they always declared that his legs must be hollow, for otherwise it was
+a mystery where all the food he devoured went to, since he never seemed
+to get any stouter after a meal than he was before.
+
+The march was accordingly resumed, with Tad and Allan leading the van.
+The boys were going light, because they did not intend to do much
+camping on this trip, as it was expected that the boat would accommodate
+all of them with sleeping quarters.
+
+Each one had a blanket strapped to his back, and with this were a few
+necessities in the line cooking utensils and food.  Most of their
+luggage had been sent on by another route, as had also their supplies.
+Doctor Hobbs had wished them to go to the landing where their boat was
+to meet them, by following this roundabout course, having had some
+reason of his own for visiting the country.  His folks in Cranford owned
+considerable land in this vicinity, and it was said that there were out-
+croppings of valuable copper to be found upon it; which accounted for
+the young man's desire to make inquiries while up in this region.
+
+Joking and laughing, and even singing snatches of school songs, the boys
+of the Silver Fox Patrol tramped along the road that was to bring them
+to the shore of the lake by and by.
+
+It was about half-past four when they obtained their first glimpse of
+the apparently boundless body of water, said to be the largest fresh
+water sea in the whole world.  Shortly afterwards they reached the shore
+and were looking almost in awe out upon the vast expanse of water, upon
+the bosom of which they anticipated making their home for some weeks
+during vacation time.
+
+"Here's the finest camp site you ever struck in your born days,
+fellers!" called out Giraffe, as he waved his arm around at the trees
+that grew close to the edge of the inland sea; and every one of the
+other five scouts agreed with him.
+
+They had made many camps in the last two years, for they had wandered
+far from the home town, down in Tennessee, up in Maine, and away out to
+the Rockies on one memorable occasion; but no better place to spend a
+night had ever greeted their eyes.
+
+It was soon a bustling scene, with a fire being started, and
+arrangements made to build a sort of lean-to shelter that would even
+shed rain in a pinch should a storm come upon them during the night they
+expected to spend here.
+
+Davy, as usual, was climbing trees, and spying into every hole he could
+find.  When Monkey Jones had a chance to exercise his peculiar gifts
+like this present opportunity afforded him it was utterly out of the
+question to hold him in.  And so he swung daringly from one limb to
+another, just for all the world like a squirrel, chattering at times in
+a way that Giraffe always declared left no doubt in his mind concerning
+Davy's having descended from the original tree-climbing tribe that
+sported tails.
+
+There was one very large tree close by, that is, large considering that
+in this section there were few that could boast a girth of more than a
+foot; but this one was really what Bumpus called a "whopper;" and Davy
+sported among the higher branches with all the delight of a child with a
+new toy; giving the others more than one thrill as he swooped this way
+and that with reckless abandon.
+
+But suddenly he sent out a shout that caused every fellow to take
+notice; and Bumpus actually turned pale with apprehension, as he vainly
+looked around for some sort of weapon with which to defend himself;
+because he always believed he must be a shining mark for any hungry wild
+beast, on account of his plumpness.
+
+"Oh!" shouted the boy in the tree, "a panther, fellers, a really true
+panther!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THAD GOES AFTER THE YELLOW EYES
+
+
+"He says a panther is up there!" echoed Giraffe, stretching that long
+neck of his at a fearful rate, in the endeavor to locate the animal in
+question.
+
+All of them became immediately intensely interested in the further
+doings of Davy Jones.  The boy chanced to be in a position where he
+could not apparently pass down the trunk of the tree, for fear lest he
+come in contact with the sharp claws of the dreaded beast which he
+claimed was hiding up there somewhere; but then that was a small matter
+to one so active as the Jones boy.
+
+He immediately started to fearlessly slide down the outside of the tree,
+making use of the branches as he came along, to stay his program when it
+threatened to become too rapid.
+
+The sight of Davy spinning down from that height with such perfect
+abandon, was one none of those fellows would ever forget.
+
+When he finally landed on the ground they gathered around him with some
+misgivings, for Davy was addicted to practical jokes, and some of his
+chums suspected that even now he was, as Step Hen suggested, "putting up
+a job on his unsuspecting comrades."
+
+One look at his really white face told them that at least Davy's fright
+had been genuine.  He may not have seen a truly savage panther up there
+in the tree, but he firmly believed he did.
+
+"Where was it, Davy?" demanded Giraffe, who had hastened to snatch up
+the camp hatchet in lieu of any better weapon with which to defend
+himself.
+
+"Did it try to grab you?" asked Bumpus, with a tremor in his voice that
+he tried in vain to conceal by a great show of assumed bluster.
+
+"And was there only one up there?" queried Step Hen, anxiously,
+fingering the double-barreled Marlin shotgun, which was the only firearm
+they had with them, as this expedition had not been organized with any
+idea of hunting; and the season for game was not on as yet, either, even
+in this northern country; though Giraffe, who owned the gun, had fetched
+it in the hope that they might be forgiven if they knocked over a few
+wild ducks, should their rations run low.
+
+"I didn't wait to ask," stammered Davy, "fact is, boys, I didn't really
+see the terrible beast at all, only his big yellow eyes!"
+
+"Oh! is that so, Davy?" exclaimed Thad, turning to give Allan a wink, as
+much as to let him understand that the truth would soon be coming now.
+
+"But see here," Step Hen wanted to know; "however was you agoin' to see
+his eyes and not glimpse the panther himself; that's a thing you've got
+to explain, Davy Jones."
+
+The other bent a look of commiseration on the speaker.
+
+"What's the answer to that?" he went on to say, recovering his voice
+more and more with each passing second, now that his personal safety
+seemed assured; "I'll tell you, Step Hen.  You see, there's a big
+yawning gap in the tree up there, as black inside as your hat after
+night.  And when I just happened to look that way what did I see but a
+pair of round yellow eyes astaring straight at me!  Guess I've seen a
+panther, and I ought to know how his eyes look in the dark--just like
+you've seen the old cat alooking at you to home, when you went into a
+dark room.  Wow! say, did you notice me acoming down that tree outside
+like greased lightning?  I own up I expected I'd be pounced on any
+second, and that made me in something like a hurry, fellows!"
+
+One or two of the scouts snickered at this.  The sound appeared to annoy
+Davy, who was plainly very much in earnest.
+
+"Huh! easy to laugh, you fellows," he remark, with deep satire in his
+voice.  "Mebbe, now, you, don't believe what I'm telling you!  Mebbe one
+of you'd like to just climb up there, and see for yourself what it is?
+I dare you, Bumpus!"
+
+"You'll have to excuse me, Davy; it's too big a job for a boy built like
+me, you understand, though sure I'd like to accommodate first rate,"
+replied the scout with the red hair and mild blue eyes, shrinking back,
+and shrugging his shoulders.
+
+"Then how about you, Step Hen," pursued Davy, determined to put it to
+each of the scoffers in turn until he had shown them up in good style;
+"I notice that you're looking like you didn't reckon there couldn't
+abeen such a thing as a genuine panther around this region in the last
+twenty years and more.  Suppose you tumble up there, and take a look-
+in!"
+
+But the party indicated smiled sweetly, and laid his hand on the region
+of his stomach, as he went on to say:
+
+"Why, really and truly, Davy, I think I'm going to have one of those
+nasty cramps just like you used to have so often.  There's agripe coming
+on right now, and you see how unpleasant it would be to find myself
+doubled-up while I was thirty feet from the ground.  I'm afraid I'll
+have to pass this time."
+
+"Then, there's Giraffe who'll he sure to volunteer," continued the
+other, bound to take all the scoffers in by turns.  "He's of an
+investigating turn of mind, and if he wants to, I reckon he might take
+that gun along, so he could have some show, if the thing jumped right
+out in his face!"
+
+"Well, now," the long-legged scout answered, with a whimsical grin, "I'd
+like to accommodate you the worst kind, Davy, but you know how it is
+with me.  I ain't worth a cooky before I've had my feed.  Feel sorter
+weak about the knees, to tell you the honest truth; and I never was as
+keen about climbing to the top of tall trees as you were, Davy.  Count
+me out, please, that's a good fellow."
+
+At that Davy laughed outright.
+
+"I see you've got cold feet in the, bargain, Giraffe," he asserted.
+"Well, then, if anybody's going to climb up there and poke that ugly old
+beast out of his den it'll have to be either our scout-master, or Allen;
+for I tell you right now you don't catch me monkeying with a buzz-saw
+after I've had my fingers zipped."
+
+"I'll go," said Thad, quietly.
+
+"Here, take this, Thad," urged Step Hen, trying to force the shotgun
+into the hands of the other, as he stepped toward the base of the big
+tree.
+
+Thad and Allan again exchanged looks.
+
+"Don't think I'll need it, do you, Allan?" the former asked.
+
+"Hardly," came the reply; "and even if you did carry it up, the chances
+are you couldn't find a way to hold on, and shoot at the same time.
+Here, let me take that thing, Step Hen; you're that nervous.  If
+anything did happen to fluster you, I honestly believe you'd up and bang
+away, and perhaps fill our chum with bird-shot in the bargain."
+
+Step Hen disavowed any such weakness, but nevertheless he was apparently
+glad to hand over the weapon; because he realized that Allan knew much
+better how to use firearms than he did, and if there was any occasion
+for shooting, the responsibility would be off his shoulders; for Step
+Hen never liked to find himself placed where he was in the limelight and
+had to make good, or be disgraced.
+
+Thad did not appear to be at all worried, as he took a last good look
+aloft, as though wishing to assure himself that there was no panther in
+sight among the thick branches above, before he trusted himself up
+there.
+
+His good common sense told him that the chances were as ten to one that
+Davy had not seen what he claimed at all; but his fears had worked
+overtime, and simply magnified some trifling thing.
+
+Of course had Thad really believed there was any chance of meeting such
+a savage beast as a panther he would never have ventured w make that
+climb; or if he did he must have surely taken the gun along with him.
+
+The others gathered around near the foot of the tree, and tried to
+follow the daring climber with their eyes, meanwhile exchanging more or
+less humorous remarks in connection with his mission.
+
+All of them, saving possibly Allan, seemed to be a little nervous
+concerning the outcome; because Davy kept on asserting his positive
+belief that it was a real true panther that lay in the aperture above,
+and not a make-believe.
+
+"I only hope Thad can dodge right smart if the old thing does come
+whooping out at him!" was the way Davy put it; at which the eyes of
+Bumpus grew rounder and rounder, and he began to quietly edge away from
+under the tree, an inch at a time; for he hoped none of his chums would
+notice his timidity, because Bumpus was proud of having done certain
+things in the line of bagging big game, on the occasion of their trip to
+the Far West.
+
+"There," remarked Step Hen, "he's getting up pretty far now, and I
+reckon must be close by the place where you saw your old panther, Davy."
+
+"Yes," added Giraffe, "and you notice that Thad's marking time, so to
+speak, for he's hanging out there, and trying to see what's above him."
+
+"A scout should always use a certain amount of caution," interposed
+Allan; "there are times when a fellow might take chances, if it's a case
+of necessity, and quick action is necessary in order to save life; but
+right now Thad's only carrying out the rule he's always laid down for
+the rest of us.
+
+"Be prepared, you know, is the slogan of every scout, and that's what
+he's doing.  He wants to be sure of his ground before he jumps."
+
+"Hub!" grunted Davy, "if I'd stopped to count ten before I slid down, I
+wonder now what would have happened to me.  Some fellers act from
+impulse every time, and you can't change the spots of the leopard, they
+say. What's dyed in the wool can't be washed out, as took as Bumpus here
+with his carroty hair."
+
+"You leave my hair alone, Davy Jones, and pay attention to your own
+business," complained the stout scout, aggressively.  "You just know
+you're a going to get it when Thad makes his report, and you're trying
+to draw attention somewhere else.   Make me think of what I read about
+the pearl divers when they see an old hungry man-eating shark waiting
+above 'em; they stir up the sand with the sharp-pointed stick they
+carry; and when the water gets foggy they swim away without the fish
+being able to see 'em. And you're atrying right now to befog the real
+case, which is, did you really see anything, or get scared at your own
+shadow."
+
+"Hear! Hear!" crowed Giraffe, who always liked to see Bumpus aroused,
+and when this occurred he often made out to back him up with approval,
+just as some boys would sick one dog on another, or tempt rival roosters
+to come to a "scrap."
+
+"You fellow's let up, and watch what Thad's agoin' to do," Step Hen
+advised them at that juncture; and so for the time being Davy and Bumpus
+forgot their complaint and riveted their eyes on the boy who was up in
+the tree.
+
+"I can't hardly see him any more, the branches are so thick," complained
+Bumpus ducking his head this way and that.
+
+"That's because he's gone on again," argued Giraffe; "seems like he
+didn't find any signs of a real panther when he took that survey."
+
+"Hold your horses!" was all Davy allowed himself to say, though no doubt
+he himself had commenced to have serious doubts by now.
+
+Half a minute later and there broke out a series of strange sounds from
+up above their heads.
+
+"Listen to that, now, would you?" cried Davy, bristling with importance
+again.  "Don't that sound like Thad might a hit up against something
+big? Hear him talking, will you?  Didn't you catch what he said right
+then--no, you don't grab me, you rascal; I'm afraid I'll have to knock
+you on the head yet!  Say, don't that sound like Thad had found my
+panther, and was keeping him off with that club he took up with him.
+Oh! what's that?"
+
+Something came crashing down as Davy uttered this last exclamation.  The
+boys were horrified at, first, because they imagined it might bit Thad
+and the panther, that, meeting in midair, had lost their grip, and were
+falling to the ground, fully forty feet below.
+
+"Why, it's only his club" cried Giraffe, quickly.
+
+"Then he must have let it get knocked out of his hand!" ejaculated
+Bumpus. "Oh! poor Thad.  He'll be in a bad fix without a single thing to
+fight that animal with!"
+
+"That's where you're mistaken, because I can see him now, and he's
+acoming down the tree right smart!" Step Hen announced; which
+intelligence allowed Bumpus to breathe freely again, for his face was
+getting fiery red with the suspense that had gripped him.
+
+"That's so!" echoed Giraffe, "and I'm looking to see if there's any
+signs of a big cat trailing after him, but so far nothing ain't come in
+sight."
+
+The five scouts on the ground hastened to close in around the foot of
+the big tree, so as to welcome their patrol leader when he dropped from
+the lower limb.
+
+"Seems to me Thad acts kind of clumsy, for him," announced Step Hen;
+"now, if it'd been Bumpus here I could understand it, because, well I
+won't say what I was agoing to, because it might make hard feelings
+between us; and with all his shortcomings Bumpus is a good sort of a
+chap."
+
+"Huh! dassent, that's what!" grunted the party indicated, making a
+threatening gesture in the direction of his fellow-scout.
+
+The arrival of the scout-master caused them to forget all other things.
+Thad, as soon as he found his feet fixed on solid ground once more,
+strode straight up until he faced Davy Jones, and suddenly called out:
+
+"There's your panther, Davy!"
+
+There was a craning of necks, a gasping of breaths, and then a series of
+yells broke forth that made the nearby woods fairly ring with the
+echoes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE CAMP ON THE LAKE SHORE
+
+
+"Why, it's only a big owl!" shouted Giraffe.
+
+"Hey, Davy, shake hands with your yellow-eyed panther!" roared Step Hen.
+
+Bumpus snatched up his bugle, for he held that office in the Cranford
+Troop, and let out a piercing series of blasts that would have
+undoubtedly frightened any wild animal, had there been such within a
+mile of the camp on the lake shore.
+
+It was a large owl that Thad grasped in such fashion that the bird could
+not reach him with its curved beak, though it made several vicious
+lunges, as though anxious to fight the whole patrol at once.
+
+He had kept it hidden under his coat when descending the tree, and now
+gripped it firmly by its two splendidly colored wings.
+
+"Well, it did have yellow eyes, all right," complained the dejected
+Davy; "and as it stuck there in that black hole, how was I to know it
+was only a harmless old owl, a hooter at that?"
+
+"If you think he's harmless just try and lay a finger on him," said
+Thad. "Why, he'd snap you like lightning; once let that beak strike, and
+you'd lose a piece of skin as big as a half dollar.  He's a savage bird,
+let me warn you."
+
+"Oh! say, can't we, keep him for a pet?" ejaculated Bumpus, who could
+hardly take his eyes off the bird, for its plumage was certainly
+beautiful, being a combination of creamy yellows and nut browns, while
+two bunches stuck up like horns from the region of his ears.
+
+"I've got a nice little chain we might put around one of his legs, and
+what fun we'd have with the thing while we were afloat on the raging
+lake," Step Hen went on to say.
+
+"Allan, get on that thick pair of gloves we brought, and see if you
+could fasten the chain to his leg.  It would be worth while to have some
+sort of pet along with us; because Bumpus has kicked over the traces
+long ago, and won't let us make a baby out of him any more," Thad went
+on to remark.
+
+When he had protected his hands in this way, Allan had little difficulty
+in adjusting the slender but strong steel chain which Step Hen had
+brought with him, intending to use in case he managed to capture a
+raccoon, or some other small beast, for he was especially found of pets.
+
+When they had fastened the other end of the chain to something, the owl
+sat on the limb of a tree, and gazed at them with blinking eyes.  There
+was still enough of daylight, with all that glow in the western heavens
+to interfere with his sight more or less, and he simply ruffled up his
+feathers in high dudgeon, and kept trying to pick at the chain that held
+his leg.
+
+"Now, that's what I call a pretty good start," argued Step Hen, as he
+stood in front of the chained owl, and admired his plumage; "perhaps
+later on I might happen to land a 'coon or a mink, who knows.  I've
+always believed that I'd like to have a pet mink, though somebody told
+me they couldn't be tamed."
+
+"Yes," went on Giraffe scornfully, "if you had your way the whole boat'd
+be a floating menagerie, you've got such a liking for pets.  The mink
+would soon be joined by a 'possum; then would come a pair of muskrats;
+after which we'd expect to find a fox under our feet every time we
+stepped; a wolverine growling like fun at us when we made the least
+move; a squirrel climbing all over us; a heron perched on the garboard
+streak, whatever that might be; and mebbe a baby bear rolling on the
+deck.  All them things are possible, once Step Hen gets started on his
+collecting stunt."
+
+"Well, forget it now, won't you, Giraffe, because there goes Bumpus
+putting supper on the fire; and unless you look sharp he'll just cut
+down your ration till you'll only get as much as any two of us," advised
+Step Hen.
+
+In spite of all these little encounters of wit, and the sharp things
+that were sometimes said, boy fashion, these six churns were as fond of
+each other as any lads could possibly be.  There was hardly anything
+they would not have done for one another, given the opportunity; and
+this had been proved many times in the past.
+
+While they were fond of joking the tall scout on his appetite, truth to
+tell every one of the others could display a pretty good stowage
+capacity when it came to disposing of the meals.  And so they were all
+anxious to help Bumpus when he started getting the camp supper ready.
+
+Besides these six lads there were of course two others who went to, make
+up the full complement; of the Silver Fox Patrol; and who have figured
+in previous stories of this series.
+
+These boys were named Robert Quail White, who was Southern born, and
+went by the name of "Bob White," among his friends; and Edmund Maurice
+Travers Smith, conveniently shortened to plain "Smithy."
+
+These two had taken a different route to the lake, and expected to meet
+their six churns at a given rendezvous.  They were intending also to
+make use of another boat, since the one engaged for the party would only
+accommodate seven at a pinch, and counting the scout-master they would
+have numbered nine individuals in all.
+
+The other two had found that they wanted to see the wonderful Soo Canal,
+and the rapids that the St. Mary river boasts at that point, where the
+pent-up waters of Superior rush through the St. Mary's river to help
+swell the other Great Lakes, and eventually pass through the St.
+Lawrence river to the sea.
+
+It is no joke cooking for half a dozen hungry scouts, and the one whose
+duty compelled him to be the chef for a day had to count on filling the
+capacity of coffee-pot and frying-pans, of which latter there were two.
+
+Evening had settled down upon them by the time they were ready to enjoy
+the supper of Boston baked beans, fried onions with the steak that had
+been procured at the last town they had passed through; crackers, some
+bread that one of them toasted to a beautiful brown color alongside the
+fire, and almost scorched his face in the bargain; and the whole flanked
+by the coffee which was "like ambrosia," their absent chum Smithy would
+have said, until they dashed some of the contents of the evaporated
+cream into each tin cup, along with lumps of sugar.
+
+"This is what I call living," sighed Giraffe, as he craned his neck
+visibly in the endeavor to see, whether there was a third "helping" left
+in the pan for "manners," which was another name for Conrad Stedman.
+
+"Hadn't we better save this piece of steak for Tim?" suggested Step Hen,
+wickedly, for that was the name he had given to the captive owl.
+
+"No, you don't," objected Giraffe, vociferously, just as the other had
+known he would do; "that's the very last beef steak we're apt to see for
+half a moon; and I say it would be a shame to waste it on a heathen
+bird. Besides, you couldn't coax Jim to take a bite till he's nearly
+starved; ain't that so, Thad?"
+
+They always appealed to either the assistant scout-master or Allan,
+whenever any question like this came up, connected with bird or animal
+lore; and no matter how puzzling the matter might seem to the one who
+asked, it was promptly answered in nearly every instance.
+
+"Yes, he isn't likely to take hold for a day or two," replied Thad.  "By
+that time the old fellow will sort of get used to seeing us about; and
+he won't refuse to eat when you put something out for him; only all of
+you be careful that he doesn't prefer a piece out of your hand.  Don't
+trust him ever!"
+
+"You can make up your mind I won't give him a chance to grab me,"
+asserted Bumpus, never dreaming that by accident he would be the very
+first to feel the force of that curved beak.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed Step Hen; "as sure as anything there's another!
+Why, this must be what you might call Owl-land."
+
+From far away in the timber came the plain sound of hooting.  All of the
+scouts knew what it was easily enough, though there had been a time when
+they were real tenderfeet, and could hardly distinguish between the call
+of an owl and the braying of a donkey; but camping-out experience had
+done away with all such ignorance as that.
+
+"There, don't that make you feel foolish, Step Hen?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+"Me?  Whatever put that silly notion into your head, Bumpus?"
+
+"Why," the other went on to say reproachfully, "it was you that really
+wanted to keep the poor old bird; and just listen to its mate mourning
+for it, would you?  I'd think you'd feel so sorry you'd want to unfasten
+that chain right away, and give the owl its freedom."
+
+"Not for Joseph, though I'll let you go and undo his chain if you feel
+inclined that way," Step Hen observed, knowing full well that Bumpus did
+not want to see the feathered captive set free quite that bad.
+"Besides, how d'ye know that's a mate to my bird whooping it up back
+there?"
+
+"Well, if you want to find out, just you sleep with one eye open,"
+Bumpus told him; "and take it from me you'll see that other owl come
+winnowing around here, wanting to know why our new pet don't come when
+she calls."
+
+"Huh! mebbe I will,"' was all Step Hen would say about it; but evidently
+the idea had appealed to him; and there was a chance that he would
+indulge in very little rest that night, for trying to "keep one eye open
+while he slept."
+
+After supper was all over, and the boys lay around on their blankets,
+they fell to talking of other days when they had been in company, and
+met with a great many, surprising adventures.
+
+Then Bumpus, who really had a very fine tenor voice, which he could
+strain so as to sing soprano like a bird, was coaxed to favor them with
+a number of selections, the others coming in heavy in each chorus.
+
+Sometimes it was a popular ballad of the day that Bumpus gave them; but
+more often a school chorus, or it might be some tender Scotch song like
+"Comin' Through the Rye," "Annie Laurie," or "Twickenham Ferry;" for
+boys can appreciate such sentiments more than most folks believe; and
+especially when in an open air camp, with the breeze sighing through the
+trees around them, or the waves murmuring as they wash the sandy shore
+of a lake, and the moonlight throwing a magical spell upon all their
+surroundings; for there is the seed of romance in the heart of nearly
+every healthy lad.
+
+So the evening wore on until some of them began to yawn frequently,
+showing that they were ready to turn in.  As one of them had said, this
+might be the last time they would camp ashore during trip, because on
+the morrow they anticipated, unless something unforeseen came up to
+prevent it, going aboard their boat, and starting on the cruise upon the
+big waters of Superior.
+
+They had no tent on this occasion, but really that was not going to
+prove any hardship to these bold lads, accustomed to spending many a
+night in the woods, with only a blanket for a cover against the dew and
+frost.
+
+It was arranged to keep the fire going.  This would serve in a double
+capacity, for not only would they be kept warm through the cold part of
+the night, but if there did happen to be any wild beasts around in that
+section of the Lake Superior country, which both Allan and Thad rather
+doubted, why, the glow of the blaze was apt to make them keep their
+distance.
+
+The last thing Giraffe remembered, as his heavy eyes persisted in
+closing, was seeing Step Hen bob up his head to stare over toward the
+low branch upon which the captive owl was fastened; as though he might
+have arranged a program with himself and meant to do this thing at
+stated intervals all through the night.
+
+Giraffe chuckled at the idea of sacrificing good sleep in the interest
+of knowledge; he was willing to simply ask some one who knew, and be
+satisfied to accept their answer as conclusive.
+
+An hour later and the camp seemed to be all quiet, for every one was
+apparently sound asleep.  Even Thad and Allan had known of no reason why
+a watch should be maintained, for they felt sure there could hardly be a
+human being within miles of the camp; and even if this were not so, the
+chances were strongly in favor of its proving to be an honest farmer, or
+some miner on his way to the workings further west.
+
+The only sounds that could have been heard from time to time were an
+occasional peevish fretful croak from the captive owl, as it continued
+to peck savagely at the chain around its leg; or it might be a snore
+from Bumpus, or some other fellow who had a fashion of lying squarely on
+his back.
+
+Perhaps pretty soon, when one of the scouts had been kept awake by this
+noise until patience ceased to be a virtue, he would get quietly up, and
+pour a tin-cup of lake water over the one who persisted in sleeping with
+his mouth wide open; for that sort of radical remedy had proven
+effective on other occasions, and brought relief.
+
+It must have been almost midnight when a sudden change came about that
+took even the seasoned campers by surprise, for they had not been
+anticipating any such startling event.
+
+The stillness was broken by a piercing scream that caused every head to
+bob up, and the blankets to be hurriedly thrown aside.
+
+"My owl's mate has come in on us, mebbe!" exclaimed Step Hen; for that
+idea was so firmly lodged in his brain that it had to occur to him as
+soon as he heard all that row.
+
+But some of the others were wiser, for they knew that shout had surely
+come from human lips.
+
+Giraffe was the first to call out and draw their attention to certain
+facts.
+
+"Looky there at old Bumpus dancing a jig, will you!  Whatever ails the
+feller, d'ye think!  Acts like he'd clean gone out of his head, and got
+loony!" he cried, as with the other boys he came tumbling out from under
+the rude shelter made of branches.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+LAUNCHED ON THE INLAND SEA
+
+
+Sure enough Bumpus was in plain sight, for the fire still burned, and
+there was also a bright moon high up in the heavens.  The fat scout
+seemed to be trying to execute all the steps in a Southern hoedown, or
+an Irish jig; for he was prancing around this way and that, holding on
+to his hand, which the other boys now discovered was streaked with
+blood!
+
+"Oh! what's happened to you, Bumpus?" cried Step Hen, as he ran out
+toward the spot where the other continued to waltz around in his bright
+red and white striped pajamas, that made him look like an "animated
+sawed-off barber's pole," as one of his chums had once told him.
+
+"It bit me, oh!  I'll bleed to death, I reckon now!" wailed the other;
+"say, Thad, get out some of that purple stuff you use for scratches from
+wild animals.  Mebbe blood, poisoning'll develop; and I'd just hate the
+worst kind to die up here, away off from my own home."
+
+
+"What bit you; can't you tell us, Bumpus?" asked Thad, though already he
+may have had suspicions that way.
+
+"Jim did, the bally old owl!" came the dismal answer; "please, oh!
+please tell me whether his beak is poisonous, won't you, Thad?"
+
+"Well, what d'ye think of that?" ejaculated Step Hen, "however did you
+happen to meddle with my owl, tell me?  Sure, I did give you permission
+to unchain him, if you had the nerve; but I never did believe you'd go
+and take me up at that."
+
+"I didn't neither," Bumpus declared, still dancing around.
+
+"Here, let me see that wound!" called out Thad, as he and Allan cornered
+the sufferer; "all it may need is washing, and then binding up with some
+healing salve.  But it makes a nasty cut, don't it, Allan?"
+
+"I should say yes," replied the other; "but it's some lucky it wasn't
+his face the bird struck at.  Why, Bumpus might have lost an eye."
+
+At that possibility the fat scout set up another roar.
+
+"Just you believe the old thing meant to snap my eye out when he bit at
+me; and I must have happened to put out my hand--so he struck that!" he
+declared; while Allan hastened to open a package and take out some salve
+and tape such as scouts should always carry along with them when in
+camp, because there is no telling when it may be needed badly, just as
+in the present instance.
+
+"But see here, what possessed you to walk around in this way, and go
+over to try and pet that savage bird?" asked Thad.
+
+"Give you my solemn affidavit that I don't know a single thing about
+it!" the other went on to say, as solemn as the owl that sat on the
+branch near by."
+
+"Do you mean you don't remember getting up, and coming out here?"
+continued the scout-master, who always probed things to the very dregs,
+or until he had extracted all the information possible.
+
+"Not a thing," reaffirmed Bumpus, and his face showed that he was
+speaking only the truth.  "I can remember laying down for a snooze, and
+then everything seems to be blank after that, till all of a sudden I
+felt that awful pain, and it made me let out a whoop, I'm telling you."
+
+"I should think it did," muttered Giraffe; "ten Injuns rolled into one
+couldn't beat that howl.  I sure thought the panther had got you that
+time!"
+
+"Well, likely I thought just that same thing, Giraffe, when I warbled
+that way, because I remember now I was dreaming about gray-coated
+panthers. Then I thought about rattlesnakes too, because you know I
+can't stand for the crawlers.  Next thing I opened my eyes with a jump,
+and saw that old owl, with every feather on his back standing up like
+the quills of a porcupine, and trying to jab me a second time."
+
+Thad and Allan, who had now returned in time to hear this last exchanged
+looks.
+
+"A clear case of sleep walking, seems like!" ventured the former.
+
+"Oh! my goodness gracious!  I thought I was over them tricks years ago!"
+exclaimed Bumpus, shivering.  "If they're agoing to take me again I see
+my finish; because some night I'll walk off a precipice, and that'll be
+the end of me."
+
+"We'll like as not have to tie you by the leg every night, just like Jim
+is now; and that'll stop you prancing around loose, trying to set my
+pets free in your sleep," Step Hen went on to say, reassuringly; but
+somehow Bumpus did not seem to take to the idea the least bit.
+
+"You let me alone, that's all, Step Hen Bingham," he told the other,
+"and I'll fix my own business.  That's what comes of you keeping the
+silly old owl.  Serve you about right if his mate dropped in and bit the
+end of your big toe off to pay you up for fastening that chain on the
+poor thing's leg."
+
+"Say, I like that, now; when you were the very first one to ask if we
+couldn't keep that same owl!" Step Hen told him.
+
+"Wow! that hurts some, let me tell you, fellows!" groaned the fat scout,
+when Allan was putting some salve, calculated to help heal the wound, on
+the torn place, and then with the assistance of the scout-master started
+binding the hand up with windings of soft linen that came in a tape roll
+two inches wide.
+
+"But let me tell you it's some chilly out here, with only pajamas on,"
+objected Giraffe; "and for one I'm going to skip back under my blanket,
+where I can snuggle down.  Somebody remember to throw a little wood on
+the fire, please.  Let Davy do it."
+
+Of course that really meant either the scoutmaster or Allan; and Giraffe
+often had a failing for shirking some duty like this.  It was so easy to
+expect some other to do disagreeable things; though as a rule the boys
+were accustomed to saying, "let Davy do it," until it had become so
+tiresome that the Jones boy had rebelled, and refused to be the errand
+boy any longer for the entire patrol.
+
+In half ah hour silence again brooded over the camp.  Bumpus must have
+done something to make sure he did not start walking in his sleep again,
+for nothing occurred to disturb their slumbers until dawn came along
+and, with birds singing, as well as gray squirrels barking lustily at
+the intruders, awakened them all.
+
+Breakfast was hurried, because all of them were' anxious to be on the
+move. They knew that by following the shore of the big water several
+miles they would come to the point where there was a village, with
+something of a landing place in a sheltered nook; and here they expected
+to find their boat awaiting them.
+
+It was about an hour after sun-up that the cheery notes of Bumpus'
+silver-toned bugle gave the signal for the start; and the six khaki-clad
+lads could be seen moving at a fairly fast pace along the shore of the
+lake.  Step Hen had managed to bundle the captive owl in a spare
+sweater, so he could carry him all right without danger.
+
+The little waves came purling up close to their feet, and seemed to
+welcome the strangers to their domain; but Thad knew full well that
+under different conditions these same waves would unite to threaten them
+with destruction.
+
+Step Hen having found a way to muzzle the owl, so that he could carry
+the prisoner, without fear of dire attacks from that sharp beak seemed
+more determined than ever to try and keep Jim; and he frowned every time
+he saw Bumpus observing the, bird thoughtfully, because he imagined the
+fat scout might be hatching up a scheme for choking the thick-necked
+prisoner, in revenge for what he had suffered from its savage thrust.
+
+Finally a loud shout was heard from Giraffe, who, being so much taller
+than the balance of the scouts, and possessed of a neck he could stretch
+to an alarming degree, was in a position to see much further than the
+rest.
+
+"The village is in sight!" he announced, whereat there was a cheer, the
+owl commenced to struggle afresh, and Step Hen had his hands full trying
+to quiet his feathered prisoner.
+
+With their goal now close at hand the boys were able to step out at a
+more lively pace, even Bumpus showing surprising gains.
+
+About ten o'clock they arrived at the settlement where they had seen
+some sort of dock, at which a couple of ore barges of the whaleback type
+were being loaded.
+
+Already the eager eyes of the boys had discovered a boat that answered
+the description of the one they expected to find awaiting them.
+
+Making straight for the place they found that they had guessed rightly.
+That good sized powerboat was the Chippeway Belle, the vessel which was
+to be their home for the next two weeks or more, as they pleased.
+
+An investigation revealed the fact that their stores were all aboard, as
+well as their extra supplies that went under the general designation of
+"duffel."
+
+"Nothing else for us to do but go aboard, and make a bully start, is
+there, Thad?" asked the impatient Giraffe, eager to find out how the
+craft could go; for up to now the Silver Fox Patrol had generally spent
+their outings on dry land; and this idea of a cruise had come somewhat
+in the shape of what Thad called an "innovation."
+
+"Nothing at all, Giraffe," replied the other, himself looking pleased at
+the prospect of being about to start on such a splendid pleasure trip.
+
+"How about paying for the use of the boat; has all that been attended
+to?" asked careful Bumpus, who was not so very much of a water-dog
+himself, and rather viewed the prospect of getting out of sight of land
+on board so small a craft with anything but exultant delight; indeed, to
+tell the honest truth, the fat scout was already secretly sorry he had
+come.
+
+"Oh! yes," replied Thad, quickly; "Dr. Hobbs attended to all that for
+us; fact is, this boat is owned by a friend of his, which was how we got
+it as cheap as we did.  And more than that, the gentleman attended to
+packing all our supplies at the Soo, and sent the boat here on a
+steamer, so we could start from this place.  It was Dr. Philander's
+idea, you know, this coming through the copper region along the south
+shore of the Eke.  And now, if you're all of the same mind, let's get
+started."
+
+"Hurrah; hoist the Pennant of the Silver Fox Patrol that your Sister
+Polly made us, Giraffe, and every fellow dip his hat to the colors of
+the gay Chippeway Belle!" and in answer to this request on the part of
+Davy Jones they did salute the raising of the neat little burgee that
+had a silver fox fashioned in silken hand-work upon it.
+
+Thad examined the engine carefully.  He knew considerable about such
+things, and yet he fancied, he might have more or less trouble with the
+motive power of this Lake Superior boat; for it was of rather an ancient
+pattern, and had evidently seen its best days.
+
+Between them Thad and Allan confessed this much, but they did not think
+it good policy to say anything to the others, though anxious Bumpus
+watched their conference uneasily, and could be seen to carefully pick
+out a spot on the rail where he perched, and seemed inclined to stay--it
+was handy to a quick getaway in case the worst happened, and the engine
+blew up, as he whispered to himself.
+
+After he had, as he believed, mastered the rudiments of the working of
+the motor Thad told them to cast off, and they would make a start.
+Several men stood around to watch them get away, among them the party in
+whose charge the boat had been left, and who had only delivered it up
+after Thad had produced an order for the same, and paid certain expenses
+for storage and watching.
+
+"Were moving at last!" called Step Hen excitedly, as the machinery
+started to go with a rush, after Thad had cranked the engine.
+
+Allan stood by the wheel, and as the prow of the boat gurgled through
+the clear waters of the great lake, every scout was thrilled with the
+vast possibilities that faced them, now that their cruise had begun.
+
+"This means that we'll eat our first meal aboard at noon to-day,"
+remarked Giraffe who seemed determined that no regular feeding time
+might be neglected, if he could help it.
+
+"You ought to be a happy fellow, Giraffe," remarked Davy Jones, "after
+taking a look over the piles of grub we've got aboard.  Why, do you know
+there's a whole big ham, two slabs of bacon, and all sorts of good
+things. No danger of any of us going hungry on this excursion; unless
+the old tub should happen to sink, and leave us marooned on some rocky
+island."
+
+"Oh! see here, stop joking about that sort of thing, Davy," remonstrated
+Bumpus, shivering as though he felt a cold draught; "I know right well
+that if such a horrible thing ever did happen to us, the rest of you'd
+make up your minds to begin on me the first thing."
+
+"Well, that's the penalty you have to pay, Bum, pus, for being so
+tempting," chuckled Step Hen; "now, who'd ever think of picking Giraffe
+out for a dainty meal; why he's as skinny as an old crow."
+
+"There are times when it pays right well to be thin," remarked the scout
+held up to derision, "and that'd be one of 'em, I reckon."
+
+They were by now far away from the ore dock, and the barges that were
+loading; indeed it was only with an effort they could see either, for a
+haze had crept over the surface of the lake.  The Chippeway Belle had
+been going along at quite a fair pace, thought making more noise than
+was agreeable to either Thad or Allan, when all at once, without the
+least warning there was heard a loud report.  Instantly the sound of the
+engine ceased.
+
+"She's broke down, and we're wrecked already!" yelled Giraffe,
+excitedly.
+
+"Oh!  mercy! and she may explode at any second now!" cried poor Bumpus;
+after which, in sheer desperation he jumped deliberately overboard,
+clinging to the side of the swaying craft, and in momentary expectation
+of hearing a fearful crash, as the gasoline tank went up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE RESCUE
+
+
+"Tell us what to do, Thad, and count on us to follow you!" called out
+Giraffe, rising manfully to the occasion; though to tell the honest
+truth he looked pretty "white around the gills," as Step Hen remarked
+later on, when they all found time to compare experiences.
+
+"Just stick to your seats, and don't bother!" was the quick reply Thad
+sent back.
+
+"Then there ain't any danger?" demanded Davy, drawing the only decent
+breath he had dared indulge in since that first alarm.
+
+"Not a bit!" called Allan, cheerily.
+
+"And we ain't goin' to have to swim for it then?" Step Hen went on.
+
+"Not unless you feel like taking a bath," replied Thad asked.
+
+"But what happened to our engine?" asked Davy.
+
+"And will we have to pole, or row, the rest of the trip?" proceeded
+Giraffe.  "I see our finish if that comes around so early in the cruise.
+Wow! me to hike through the woods afoot, when it hits a fellow as hard
+as this."
+
+"Me too!" sighed Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! don't get excited, boys," remarked Thad, with a broad smile; "no
+danger of anything like that happening to us just yet.  I was half
+expecting something along these lines to happen; and now that it has,
+we'll fix that part for keeps.  It won't come around again, I promise
+you that."
+
+"Which isn't saying something else won't," grumbled Giraffe.  "The blame
+old tub is just about ready to go to pieces on us, the first chance she
+gets; and that's what I think."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Giraffe," remonstrated Thad.  "This engine has been
+a great one in its day."
+
+"Yes, but that day was about away, back in the time of Stephenson,"
+continued the tall scout, who, once he began to complain, could only be
+shut off with the greatest difficulty.
+
+Everybody seemed to laugh at that, it was so ridiculous; but as Thad was
+already busily engaged in examining the engine their spirits seemed to
+rise a little.
+
+"Hey! ain't anybody agoin' to help me in?" piped up a small voice just
+then, accompanied by a splashing sound.
+
+The boys exchanged looks, and then followed nods, as though like a flash
+they saw the chance to play something of a Joke on the comrade who was
+thus appealing for aid.
+
+"Hello! where's the other fellow?" exclaimed Allan, as though he had
+counted noses, and found one missing.
+
+"That's so, where can he be?" echoed Thad.
+
+"Who's missing?" Thad, went on to say.
+
+"Bob White was only here we'd have him call the toll and find out.
+There used to be six kids the bunch."
+
+"It must be Bumpus!" declared Giraffe, solemnly.
+
+"You're right!" said a spluttering voice from some unseen place.
+
+"The poor old silly thing, he just jumped right over into the water
+without saying Jack Robinson!" Step Hen observed, in such a sad voice
+you would have thought he was having the tears streaming down his
+cheeks, when in truth there was a wide grin settled there.
+
+"Oh! then he must surely be drowned," Davy went on to add, in a voice
+that seemed to be choking with emotion--of some sort.
+
+"I thought I saw the lake rising, and that accounts for it," ventured
+Step Hen.  "When a fellow as big as our poor chum goes down, he
+displaces just an equal part of water.  However will we tell his folks
+the sad news?"
+
+"Ain't you nearly done all that stuff?" demanded an impatient voice, and
+there was a rocking motion to the boat; after which a very red face
+surmounted by a shock of fiery hair, now well plastered down, hove in
+sight.  "Hey! somebody get a move on, and give me a hand.  I'm soaked
+through and through, and I tell you my clothes weigh nigh on three
+tons."
+
+The five boys pretended to be hardly able to believe their eyes.  They
+threw up their hands, and stared hard at the apparition.
+
+"Why, sure, I believe it's our long lost chum, Bumpus!" gasped Giraffe.
+
+"Mebbe it's his ghost come back to haunt us the rest o' out lives.
+Mebbe we better knock him on the head; they say that's the only sure way
+to settle spooks," and as Step Hen said this terrible thing, he started
+to pick up the long-handled boat book.
+
+"No, you don't, Step Hen!" shrilled Bumpus, who was really frightened as
+long as he remained in the water, for he believed it must be a mile deep
+so far out from land.  "You just put that pole down, and get hold of my
+arm here.  I tell you I'm tired of being in soak so long, and I want to
+come aboard so's to get some dry duds on.  Make 'em behave, Thad, can't
+you? I'm getting weak holding on here all this while; and pretty soon
+I'll have to let go.  Then there will be a ghost, sure, to haunt this
+crowd.  Ain't you coming to assist a fellow scout in distress?"
+
+Realizing that the joke had gone far enough the, scout-master himself
+sprang forward to give poor Bumpus the assistance he craved.
+
+There was no lack of help after that, Step Hen even made use of the boat
+hook to take hold of some part of the wet scout's clothes; and with a
+mighty "heave-o!" they dragged him, puffing, and shedding gallons of
+water, on to the deck of the stalled power-boat.  Here he lay for a
+minute or two "to drain," as Giraffe remarked, but soon feeling chilled,
+Bumpus began to hunt for his clothes-bag in order to get something dry
+to put on.
+
+As he did not have a complete outfit for a change, the other fellows
+helped out; but while his soaked khaki suit was drying, hanging here and
+there so the sun could do the business, the fat scout presented a
+laughable appearance, since of course none of the things that had been
+so generously loaned him began to fit his stout figure.
+
+However, since Bumpus was by nature a jolly chap, he quickly saw the
+humor of the thing.  This was after he had become warmed up fairly well,
+when he could sit and watch those who were tinkering with the broken
+engine, and tell what his feelings were as he sprang so hurriedly over
+into the big lake.
+
+It made him shiver, though, to look around at that sea of water, and
+realize what an exceedingly reckless boy he had been.
+
+"Next time anything happens, me to stick to the old boat, even if I go
+up a mile high in the air!" he declared, raising his right hand
+solemnly, as though taking a vow.
+
+"Have your wings ready, Bumpus, and you'll be all right, because you can
+fly," said Giraffe; and that provoked another laugh; because Bumpus,
+once upon a time, being very ambitious to learn how to swim, had
+purchased a pair of those "White Wings," which are simply bags made of
+waterproof cloth that can be inflated, and used after the manner of life
+preservers; so that he had had heaps of fun poked at him on account of
+his "wings."
+
+So a full hour passed.
+
+Some of the boys were growing impatient, and to relieve the monotony,
+Thad managed to call the attention of Giraffe to the fact that it lacked
+only ten minutes of high noon.
+
+That was enough.
+
+"I thought I was feeling pretty weak!" ex-claimed the tall scout,
+rubbing his stomach sympathetically, "and no wonder, with breakfast so
+far back I've even clean forgot what I had.  Come along, boys, let's get
+busy with lunch."
+
+"The rest of you can attend to that," said Thad, satisfied that his plan
+had worked; "and by the time you are ready to call us, we'll have this
+job all done, so we can start her going."
+
+That was cheering news, and the rest immediately set to work with a
+will. There was a little stove aboard that used gasoline for fuel, and
+with this it seemed as though they ought to be able to do all the
+cooking they wanted when away from land.  Of course should they have the
+opportunity, they meant to go ashore many times, and have one of the
+old-fashioned camp-fires, around which they had sat so many times in the
+past, when on their outings.
+
+Before long the smell of cooking that filled the air told that the
+laborers were making a success of the warm lunch business.  Bumpus in
+particular seemed fairly wild for things to get done.
+
+"I tell you, I just can't seem to get any warmth inside me," he
+complained when Step Hen took him to task for showing such unusual
+impatience.  "That water was as cold as Greenland, and went right
+through me. I want my coffee, and I know when I want it."
+
+"Guess your being so badly scared had a heap to do with it," remarked
+Giraffe.
+
+"Perhaps so, Giraffe," replied the fat scout, meekly; "I admit that I
+was frightened out of  a year's growth, because I once dreamed I was
+burned in just such an accident as a boat taking fire.  But how about
+you, Giraffe? The first time my head came up above the coming of the
+deck I saw your face, and say, talk to me about a gravestone being
+white, that wasn't anything alongside your phiz."
+
+"You don't say!" jeered the tall scout, though he looked conscious of
+the fact that his face was now as red as a beet.
+
+"And chances are that you didn't jump the same way I did because you
+were scared so bad you just couldn't move a finger," Bumpus went on,
+seeing his advantage.
+
+"Thad!" called out Giraffe, scorning to pay attention to the thrust.
+
+"All right!" answered the other.
+
+"Lunch ready!" Giraffe went on to say.
+
+"And so is our job done," saying this Thad I gave the crank a quick
+turn, upon which there was a quick response; for the merry popping of
+the engine greeted the anxious ears of the young cruisers.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Bumpus, who was feeling fine, now that he had given
+Giraffe a return jab, after having it rubbed in so hard by the tall
+scout.
+
+The Chippeway Belle was already moving rapidly through the water, rising
+and falling on the waves that came out of the southwest; and as the six
+lads gathered around to do justice to the spread that was to serve as
+their first meal afloat, they once more saw things in a cheery light,
+for all seemed going well with them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE RIVAL FISHERMEN
+
+
+As the afternoon crept on, and the boat continued to keep up a merry
+pace, the boys began to feel their confidence return.  As Thad assured
+them he did not expect to have any further trouble with the engine, they
+no longer kept an anxious eye on the working part of the craft, while at
+the least unusual sound every fellow's heart seemed ready to jump into
+his throat with wild alarm.
+
+It was not the purpose of the cruisers to try and cross the vast body of
+water upon which their little craft was launched, and which is so
+immense that for two whole days they might be out of sight of land.
+Thad knew the danger that lay in such a thing, and had promised the
+folks at home in Cranford that he would be very careful.  Indeed, only
+for the presence of Dr. Hobbs, some of the parents of the scouts might
+have felt like revoking their promise to allow their boys to be of the
+party.
+
+Accordingly their course was now laid in such a quarter that they could
+keep the land in sight upon their port quarter most of the time.
+
+Of course, while the scouts had not been at sea, and really knew very
+little of navigation, they were ambitious to learn.  And as Bumpus had
+before hand written down all sorts of phrases used long ago on board the
+ships that sailed the seas in such white-winged flocks before the advent
+of steam gave them such a backset, he read these all out to his mates;
+and after that, whenever they could think of the nautical name for
+anything they insisted on using it, because, as Giraffe declared, it
+gave such a realistic effect to things.
+
+"But let me tell you there's a rumpus in the navy these days," said Step
+Hen, as Giraffe asked him to "step aft, and hand me that pair of
+binoculars, so I can take an observation."
+
+"What about?" asked Thad.
+
+"Why, they want to abolish some of these old terms that are just a part
+of sea-faring life.  For instance they say that when the man at the
+wheel is told to 'port your helm,' it takes just the fraction of a
+second for it to pass through his mind that that means 'turn your helm
+to the left.'  And so they say in our navy after this the officer will
+callout: 'Turn your helm to the left, Jack!'  Whew! that must rile every
+old jack tar, though.  It's like taking the seasoning out of the mince
+meat."
+
+"Don't you believe it'll ever pass," asserted Bumpus, indignantly; "and
+just after I've made up my mind to learn every one of this list so I can
+rattle it off like I can already box the compass.  No siree, every true
+sailorman will rise up in arms against it.  You can count on my vote in
+favor of sticking to the old way.  Nothing like the old things, say!"
+
+"'Cepting engines," interposed Step Hen, maliciously.
+
+"Oh! well, I draw the line there, that's true," Bumpus admitted, with a
+shrug of his fat shoulders, as his eyes unconsciously dropped, so that
+he looked down into the depths of the lake, "a full mile deep," as he
+always said to himself.
+
+"Oh!  I saw a fish then!" he suddenly shouted, showing new excitement.
+
+"Get your hook and line, Bumpus, and mebbe we'll have fried speckled
+trout or white fish for supper!" remarked Giraffe, with what he meant to
+be satire in his speech.
+
+"Huh!  I ain't that green about fishing, and you know it," remarked the
+other, as he gave the tall scout a look of scorn.  "Anyhow, I can beat
+you a mile fishing any day in the week, Giraffe, and I don't care who
+hears me say it"
+
+"Is that a challenge, Bumpus?" demanded Thad, seeing a chance for some
+fun to enliven their cruise.
+
+"If he chooses to take me up, you can call it that," responded the fat
+boy, with a belligerent look at his rival.
+
+"Oh! I'm ready to meet you half way, Bumpus; anything to oblige,"
+Giraffe went on to say, sturdily.  "I'd just like a good chance to show
+you up for a fish fakir.  We've heard a heap about how you used to haul
+'em in; now's your chance to prove that you're the big gun of this
+trip."
+
+"All right, just as you say, and we'll leave it to Thad to lay down the
+terms of the contest, the loser to treat the crowd to a dinner when we
+get back home," Bumpus went on to say, with the took of one who would
+die sooner than give up.
+
+"No need of that last," Allan asserted, with a shake of his head.  "We
+expect to have a spread anyhow when we arrive back in Cranford, because
+there's plenty of money in the treasury of the Silver Fox Patrol; but
+the loser must do the drudgery that always goes with a dinner, and be
+the waiter for the other seven fellows.  Do you both agree to that?"
+
+"I do!" said Bumpus, holding up his right hand, just as thought he might
+be before Squire Jasper, and about to give his evidence in court.
+
+"Ditto here; I agree, Thad," Giraffe hastened to say, not wishing to
+have it appear that he lagged behind his competitor a particle.
+
+"Now, about the terms; what sort of fish are we to grab?" Bumpus wanted
+to know.
+
+"You don't grab any, Bumpus," Giraffe warned him; "every one must be
+fairly caught with hook and line, and no seines or nets or guns used.
+Ain't that right, judge?"
+
+Thad immediately declared he understood that, it was to be a genuine
+sportsmanlike proceeding, and that no underhand tactics would be
+tolerated.
+
+"First the number will count," he went on to explain; "after that
+variety will stand for a second point.  Then the heaviest fish will be a
+third claim, and we might as well make it interesting, so let's call the
+smallest fish caught a fourth point."
+
+"That's four in all; can't you think up another, so's to have it five;
+and then three points will be a majority, and wins out?" suggested Davy
+Jones.
+
+"A good idea, Davy," Thad assured him; "suppose, then, we also say the
+longest fish when measured by inches; that would make five points, all
+right."
+
+"Yes," interrupted Giraffe, "but ain't that already covered when you say
+the biggest fish?"
+
+"Not necessarily," Thad told him, "though in some cases the two would go
+together, I suppose.  But sometimes you'll catch a bass that measures
+two inches longer than the one the other fellow got, but when you use
+the scales his weighs more by six ounces.  How does that come--well,
+we've got an illustration right here in you and Bumpus; you call
+yourself the larger by nearly a foot, but when it comes--"
+
+Giraffe threw up his hands in token of surrender.
+
+"That's right, Thad," declared Bumpus, "the longest ain't always high
+notch.  They do say the best goods come in the smallest packages.  But
+write the conditions down, Thad, while they're fresh in our minds, and
+read 'em out.  When I come in under the wire first, as I surely will,
+it'd grieve me to hear any squealing from our tall friend here, and have
+any dispute about not understanding the rules of the game."
+
+Giraffe sniffed scornfully, but did not say anything.  However, for a
+long time after that both boys busied themselves sorting out the
+greatest lot of fishing tackle their chums had seen for an age; showing
+that they were in deadly earnest about trying to win the wager.
+
+Bumpus even managed to attach a phantom minnow to the end of a line,
+which he slyly dropped overboard when he thought no one was looking, in
+hopes of being fortunate enough to get first blood in the competition.
+And the others knew that if this thing kept up they were bound to have
+plenty of fun in watching the desperate efforts of the rival fishermen.
+
+Thad was looking up at the sky occasionally.
+
+"Seem to be some clouds gathering?" remarked Allan, noticing this action
+on the part of the pilot of the expedition.
+
+"Yes, but then they may not mean anything; though I've been told that
+storms do come up very suddenly around here.  May be something about
+this big body of fresh water that brings that about, for the sun must
+draw heaps up from Old Superior every hot day."
+
+"I reckon, now, you're aiming to get to that cove you marked on the
+chart, so's to have a snug harbor for the night," Allan went on to say.
+
+"Just what I am," the other admitted; "this lake is a bit too big for us
+to think of anchoring out, and taking chances.  A storm is bad enough in
+daytime when you can see around you; but it must be terrible in the
+pitch darkness."
+
+"Excuse me, if you please," spoke up Step Hen, who had been listening to
+all the others said.  "I hope there are aplenty of them same snug
+harbors; for a boat the size of ours to drop in and stay overnight."
+
+"That's just the trouble about cruising on Superior," said Thad, "and
+especially along the American shore, because there are few rivers that
+empty into the lake.  Up along the Canadian side it's different, because
+there are some fine trout streams that extend from White Fish Bay along
+toward old Fort William."
+
+"I'd like to see that last place," spoke up Davy, "because I've heard
+about it ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  You see, my great
+grandfather used to live in Montreal in the days when the Northwest Fur
+Company was in competition with the Hudson Bay Company, and my ancestor
+was employed each Spring to set out from Montreal with some, big
+batteaus manned by French Canadian voyageurs, who would row and sail all
+the way through most of the Great Lakes to Fort William, where the agent
+had collected heaps of valuable pelts from the trappers and the Injuns
+after the season was done.  These he'd fetch all the way back to
+Montreal again, the flat bottom boats being loaded down with the bales.
+And let me tell you that was taking risks some; but they raised men in
+them days, I reckon, men that never allowed themselves to think of such
+a thing as danger, because they were always facing some sort of perils."
+
+"I guess you're, about right, Davy," admitted Thad; "and I often sit and
+wonder how it'd seem if a fellow lived away back in those days before
+the times of automobiles, motorboats, telephones, talking machines and
+electricity."
+
+"Huh!" grunted Bumpus, "according to my mind, what dangers they faced
+ain't to be mentioned in the same breath as them we have hovering over
+us all the while.  For instance, what if Thad here just crooked his
+hand, wouldn't we be apt to run smack into that other boat that's goin'
+to pass us right now.
+
+"And say, fellows," remarked Giraffe, in a low, mysterious tone, that
+somehow managed to thrill the others, as no doubt he intended it should;
+"just take a peek at the men in that boat, will you?  Somehow I don't
+know just why, but they make me think of pirates, if ever they have such
+critters up here on Old Superior.  And take it from me, boys, right now
+one of the bunch is looking us over through a marine glass.  Like as not
+they're making up their minds who and what we can be, and if it's going
+to pay 'em to board this same craft, to clean it out.  Don't anybody
+make out like we're watching 'em; but try and remember where you put our
+gun, Thad; because who knows but what we might need the same right bad
+before long?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+ON HEAVING WATERS
+
+
+"Gee!  Pirates!  Whew!"
+
+That was only Bumpus talking to himself; as he lay there on the deck,
+and stared across the swelling water toward the black powerboat that was
+heading the other way, so as to cross their course.
+
+There were apparently several men in the strange boat; and as Giraffe
+had just remarked, they seemed to be more or less interested in the
+Chippeway Belle and her young crew, for every one of them was looking
+that way, and one man really had a pair of marine glasses up to his
+eyes.
+
+Thad dived into the interior of what was called the "hunting cabin," and
+quickly reappeared bearing the glasses they had been wise enough to
+fetch along, as well as a compass whereby to steer.
+
+"That's the ticket, Thad!" said Step Hen; "let 'em see they ain't the
+only pebbles on the beach.  We've got a marine glass, too.  Now, tell us
+what you think, are they really lake buccaneers; and will we have to put
+up a desperate fight to keep from being robbed, and sunk, and perhaps
+made slaves?"
+
+Bumpus gasped for breath, at hearing such doleful things; but as, Step
+Hen gave a quick glance toward the fat chum, possibly what he said was
+only meant to cause the other's flesh to quiver with dread.
+
+"Oh! they don't seem to be altering their course in the least," spoke up
+Allan; "and as for them watching us, who wouldn't stare on seeing a
+crowd of boys afloat up here on Superior waters?"
+
+"I was thinking that our uniforms as scouts might make them sit up and
+take notice," said Giraffe.  "P'raps they think we're U. S. soldiers,
+because the dough-boys all wear this same khaki now instead of the old
+army blue. And in case they're real bold smugglers or pirates, that
+would give them cause for a scare.  Do they look like they're ready to
+run away, Thad?"
+
+"Well, not any more than would be the case if they were honest
+cruisers," replied the other, as he handed the glasses to Allan, who in
+turn would pass them around.  "Seems to me one of them wears some kind
+of a blue cap, as though he might be an officer of some sort."
+
+"Oh! don't count on that," spoke up Bumpus, "anybody can buy one like
+that. Ain't I got one right here in my duffel bag; but I hadn't found a
+chance to spring it on the rest of the bunch.  They, may be a tough lot,
+even if one does wear an officer's cap."
+
+"Well, they're going right along about their own business, and don't
+seem to be changing their course a little bit," Allan said as he passed
+the glasses to Giraffe.
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," Bumpus admitted, breathing freely again.
+"Because, as you all know, I'm very much opposed to violence at any
+time; though," he continued, "I'd fight if I was hard pushed, and fight
+real fierce, too."
+
+"We all know that, Bumpus, so there's no need of you apologizing," Thad
+assured him, with a smile and a nod, for he was very fond of the stout
+chum.
+
+"But when you said smugglers, what did you mean, Giraffe?" questioned
+Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! Don't you know that they have heaps of trouble with such law-
+breakers all along the Canadian border?" demanded the tall boy.  "You
+see, there's a heavy duty on a lot of things that can come into Canada
+free, or with only a small sum to pay; and whenever men can make money
+taking chances, they're just bound to try it.  Why, I understand that
+millions of dollars are lost to the Government every year just in the
+goods smuggled across the border all the way from Maine to the Pacific
+ocean."
+
+"Whew! and yonder craft might be one of the tricky boats engaged in that
+business; is that what you mean, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus, again staring
+hard after the strange black powerboat which was larger than the
+Chippeway Belle, and apparently much better able to meet the heavy seas
+that must sweep across the lake when the wind reached a certain
+strength.
+
+"Oh!  I don't say that, remember," quickly replied the other; "because
+it's only a guess on my part, and I haven't anything to show for proof.
+I was just giving you the benefit of a bright thought that came into my
+brain, that's all.  There may be something in it, and again, p'raps them
+fellows are just a pleasure party; or some sportsmen heading, for a
+favorite fishing place."
+
+"Then if we followed 'em, we'd stand a show to find where the fish lie,"
+suggested Bumpus; showing that at least he had not forgotten about his
+recent wager, even in the midst of all this excitement.
+
+"Better mind your own business, I think," remarked Allan.
+
+"Yes," added Giraffe, "if so be they turned out to be a bad lot, they'd
+think we kept poking our noses in just to arrest them; and in that case
+chances are we'd get our fingers burned."
+
+"But what do you think they might be, Thad?" persisted Step Hen,
+noticing that the pilot of the expedition had as yet not given any
+opinion on the matter.
+
+"Oh! any one of the explanations you fellows have put up might cover the
+bill," Thad, went on to say.  "The idea came into my mind that perhaps
+now those men might be game-fish wardens."
+
+"W-what!" gasped Bumpus; "d'ye mean to tell me they have such things on
+a big lake like this?  Why, I thought they were only needed ashore,
+where ponds and rivers require looking after."
+
+"That's where you make a big mistake," Thad informed him.  "Right up
+among the Great Lakes there are millions of dollars taken out in fish
+every year; and if the Government didn't watch sharp plenty of
+unscrupulous fishermen would use all kinds of illegal devices for
+getting big hauls.  They are limited to certain kinds of nets or seines;
+and so the precious sturgeon, and the delicious white fish that are in
+these lakes will be kept from being exterminated."
+
+"Thank you for telling us that, Thad; it's all news to me," said Step
+Hen. "But what about the trout; I've heard there are awful big speckled
+trout in Superior?"
+
+"So there are, as high as eight pounds; and the Government hatchery at
+the Soo has hundreds that large in their ponds, for breeding purposes,
+I've read," Thad continued, for the topic was a favorite one with him,
+and he was a very accommodating boy at that; "that in Michigan, for
+instance, the law doesn't allow trout to be offered for sale or shipped;
+so while they catch some whoppers in the acts they use for white fish,
+they have to put most of them back."
+
+"And then you think that p'raps those men are wardens, looking for
+poachers that are breaking the law some way or other?" Giraffe asked.
+
+"I only said that might be who they are," Thad insisted.  "You notice
+they have a high-powered boat that could make circles all around, ours,
+if they wanted to let her engine out.  And it's painted black, perhaps
+so they can sneak up on a dark night without being seen.  But as they're
+two miles away from us by now, suppose we cut out talking any more about
+them."
+
+From the way Thad turned his eyes upward, and looked at the gathering
+clouds it was evident that he felt he had better pay attention to other
+matters which threatened to cause them more or less annoyance before
+long.
+
+The wind was certainly freshening very fast.  And of necessity the waves
+began to take on a size that made poor Bumpus stare, and look serious,
+as he contemplated the possibility of a wreck.
+
+"Sure you are heading right to make that cove?" Giraffe asked the
+skipper who had the wheel in his charge.
+
+The engine was plodding away steadily, though some of the boys were
+worried at the quick whirr that followed the passing of each big wave,
+when, perhaps the propeller would be partly exposed, and the resistance
+so much less that it spun around, much faster than usual.
+
+"Yes, no doubt about it at all, and if everything goes along right we
+stand to make our harbor before dark comes along," the other answered.
+
+"Oh! I wish we were there already," groaned Bumpus; and when Thad looked
+at the fat scout he noticed how white he was.
+
+But then that was nothing singular, for it was certainly getting pretty
+rough out there on that great expanse of water, and some of the scouts
+were sure to display signs of seasickness sooner or later, he knew.
+Perhaps poor Bumpus was fated to be the first victim.
+
+"Well," remarked Giraffe, trying hard to appear indifferent, though he
+could not wholly hide his concern every time a wave larger than ordinary
+would slap against the side of the boat, and sweep along toward the
+stern, causing a quiver to run all through the little craft that seemed
+just like a chip on that inland sea; "I reckon now, it would be pretty
+tough if we missed connections somehow, and had to keep marking time all
+night long out on this old bathtub."
+
+"Oh! Murder!  I hope we don't!" muttered Bumpus, shivering.
+
+"Stop that kind of talk, Giraffe," ordered Thad, who would rather look
+on the bright side of things; "don't you see you're only bothering
+Bumpus?"
+
+"There's no need of feeling that we're going to have trouble; because
+the engine is working as fine as silk right now, and I feel sure I can
+see where that same jolly little cove lies, away ahead there."
+
+"You mean where that small point juts out, don't you, Thad?" asked
+Allan, who hovered constantly near his best churn, ready to take a hand
+at a second's notice, should there ever arise an occasion calling for
+assistance.
+
+"Yes, that shows on the Government chart I've marked, and the cove lies
+just in the shelter of it.  I think a little river makes into the lake
+there, and if so we might pick up some fish before starting out again."
+
+He spoke this loud enough for Bumpus to hear; but apparently that sad
+individual had lost all interest in the wager he had so recently made
+with Giraffe, for he did not take any notice of what Thad said, only
+continued to look far away, and press his hand up and down in the pit of
+his stomach; and when a boy begins to realize that he has such an organ
+at all, he must be in a pretty bad way.
+
+Still the wind kept on increasing until it was blowing a small gale.
+Even the confident Thad felt a little nervous as he wondered what would
+happen should their engine suddenly give a groan and cease to labor.
+The situation must be anything but pleasant, left at the mercy of the
+coming storm, out there a couple of miles from the southern shore, and
+further than that away from the lovely little cove where they had hoped
+to pass the night in peace and safety.
+
+The next half hour was apt to settle that matter, one way or the other;
+and of course Thad found no reason to despair, as yet, for the motor
+kept buzzing away cheerily, and the boat pushed through the rising and
+falling, billows quite sturdily, as the pilot kept her pointed toward
+that headland far beyond.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+NO END OF TROUBLES
+
+
+"What's that queer sound?" asked Step Hen, looking up suddenly.
+
+"Oh, never mind, it's only me," came from the side of the boat, where
+Bumpus was lying flat on his stomach, and leaning over.
+
+The boys looked at each other; perhaps Thad and Allan smiled somewhat,
+but for a wonder none of the others had any kind of joke to spring just
+then; for truth to tell Giraffe, Davy and even Step Hen himself were
+feeling as though if this sort of swaying motion had to keep up much
+longer they could not resist the temptation to copy after the boy who
+was so terribly seasick.
+
+"Thought I felt a drop of rain just then," remarked Giraffe, more to
+have something to talk about, and so forget his other troubles, than
+that he really believed it.
+
+"No, it must only have been the spray," said Thad.  "You notice that
+sometimes after a big wave slaps up against our larboard quarter, the
+wind carries drops of water flying past.  It's a lively little blow all
+right, though I suppose the people up here, who are used to much worse
+things, wouldn't think this anything."
+
+"P'raps they might if they were out so far from land, in such a little
+pumpkinseed of a boat," complained Step Hen.
+
+"And with an old rattletrap of a motor that's threatening to wheeze its
+last any minute, at that," added Giraffe, fiercely.
+
+"Let up on that kind of talk, Giraffe," said Davy; "we've sure all got
+troubles of our own as it is, without that silly calling of names.  For
+my part I think the engine is doing its prettiest, and I take off my hat
+to it.  Don't, you go to calling it hard names, or it might get even by
+kicking over the traces, and quitting on us.  Then we would be in a fine
+pickle.  But I think it's better to keep lying down, all you can, when
+it blows like this.  Make room there, Bumpus, can't you?"
+
+Then there were two of them; and talk about your rivalry, it did seem as
+though both of those fellows would tear themselves to pieces, as the
+boat continued to swing up and down with that perpetual sickening,
+nauseating movement.
+
+Presently Step Hen found a place too, and tried to outdo his comrades;
+seeing which Giraffe apparently thought he might as well make it
+unanimous then there were four, leaving only the skipper and his first
+assistant on deck to manage the boat.
+
+"Anyhow, the cargo will be lighter after all this," Giraffe spoke up,
+after a while, showing that even seasickness could not quite extinguish
+his love of joking.
+
+By now they had covered considerable distance, so that the little
+headland loomed not a great away beyond.
+
+Thad, too, had changed their course somewhat, so that they were now much
+closer shore than before; and unless some accident happened he believed
+that before another twenty minutes passed they would be able to get the
+shelter of that projecting tongue of land, after which their present
+troubles would fade away.
+
+It was time, too, for already the first dim signs of coming darkness
+could be seen around them; no doubt the fact that clouds covered the
+face of the sky had more or less to do with this early closing in of the
+night, as is always the case.
+
+Bumpus was sitting up, though looking very white indeed.  Every now and
+then he would shake his round head in a doleful way, and heave a
+tremendous sigh, as though he might be wondering if his whole past would
+be appearing before him, since, as he complainingly told the
+sympathizing Thad, "everything seemed to be coming up nowadays."
+
+"Only a little while ago I was worrying my poor old head off for fear
+the boat would sink with me," he went on to say, with a dismal smile;
+"and now it's just the other way, and I'm feelin' bad because she won't
+sink."
+
+"Oh! don't let yourself down like that, Bumpus," said Allan; "we're
+going in behind that headland right away, and you'll be surprised to see
+how quick you get over feeling bad.  There, the water isn't near so
+rough as it was, right now; and soon it'll seem like a mill pond."
+
+"Do you think so; wish I could believe it?" called out Step Hen, without
+turning his head, for he was very busy; "but seems to me the old boat is
+jumping as bad as any cayuse I ever saw, when we were out in the Wild
+West. Oh!"
+
+All the same Allan was right, for they were passing in behind the
+projecting tongue of land, and already the worst was over, for the seas
+were not near so heavy, though of course the change was hardly
+noticeable to those who were feeling so badly.
+
+And so it came about that presently Thad had to lessen their speed, for
+he did not want to run aground, or have any other accident occur that
+would cripple the boat, and shorten their cruise.
+
+"We're all right, now, fellows," sang out Giraffe, being the first to
+recover, simply because he had more grit and determination than any of
+the other three who had been knocked out by the motion of the craft in
+the big seas.
+
+"Yes, and our next job is to prowl around here some, before dark gets
+us, so as to find the best anchorage," Thad remarked, as the boat crept
+slowly along back of the point.
+
+"Why, I should think any place here would answer," said Giraffe;
+"because that wind from the southwest ain't going to get a whack at us
+any longer."
+
+"But who'll guarantee that the wind doesn't shift into the north during
+the night, and have a full sweep at us here?" asked Thad.  "No, we ought
+to find out if there really is a little stream flowing into the lake
+here; and if so the mouth of that same will afford us the safest place
+to anchor, or tie up."
+
+"I agree with you there, Thad," said Bumpus, weakly; but then the fact
+that he took any sort of interest in what was going on announced plainly
+enough that he must be recovering.
+
+And the others had by this time reached their limit, for they
+contributed no more to the fishes of Superior, but began to sit up, and
+take notice of things.  The recovery from seasickness is usually as
+rapid as the coming of the trouble; given a firm foundation to stand
+upon, and the sufferer soon forgets his agony, so that he can even
+remember that food tastes good.
+
+Pushing their way carefully in the scouts presently discovered that
+there was a stream of some kind emptying into the lake at this place;
+and that around several bends there was a splendid anchorage for a small
+boat such as theirs, though a larger craft might find some difficulty
+about getting in, on account of shallow water.
+
+And when they dropped their anchor over at last, all of them were
+pleased to feel that they had left that riotous sea behind them.
+
+"This is something like," declared Giraffe, now fully recovered, and of
+course sharp set to get supper started; indeed all of them felt as
+though they could do ample justice to a good meal.
+
+So the gasoline stove was put into service again, and everyone helped
+get the things ready that their menu for that night called for.  Giraffe
+started a pot of rice cooking, for he was very fond of that dish, and
+could "make a meal off it," he often declared; though his chums noticed
+that even when he had plenty of the same beside him, he dipped into
+every other dish just as usual.
+
+Besides this one of the boys opened a large tin of corned beef that was
+emptied into a kettle, together with a can of corn, and another of lima
+beans, the whole making what is known as a "canoeist's stew," and is not
+only tasty to the hungry voyager, but exceedingly filling as well.
+
+These, with crackers, cheese, some cakes done up in air-proof packages,
+and tea constituted the supper that was finally placed before them.
+
+It really seemed to some of those hungry boys as though that was the
+finest feast they had ever sat down to.  Of course that often came to
+their minds, because what they were just then eating tasted so very
+good.  But with such enormous appetites as a sauce, there could never be
+any chance for a complaint coming.  And the chief cook received so many
+compliments that it was no wonder his cheeks and ears burned like the
+fire he had been standing over so long.
+
+By the time the meal was through it was very dark all around them.  They
+could still hear the wind blowing out beyond the point; and the wash of
+the big waves told that the sea was probably higher than before; so that
+every fellow expressed himself as glad that they had managed to get into
+such a splendid harbor, where they need not bother their minds what sort
+of weather held outside,
+
+The night was warm, and it seemed comfortable enough for them to lie
+around on the deck, exchanging comments.  Later on they would arrange
+just how they were to pile into that small cabin, and manage to sleep;
+for six boys can take up considerable room; and there would have been
+even seven to fill the space had not the scout-master, Dr. Hobbs, been
+recalled home at the last moment.
+
+Of course Bumpus had entirely recovered from his indisposition.  He only
+hoped he would now be proof against a second attack.
+
+In fact, he had even begun to remember the terms of the wager, and was
+trying to get a line out on the sly, baited with a piece of meat he had
+fastened to the hook, in hopes of some gullible fish taking hold, so
+that he could wildly haul his captive in, and have the laugh on his
+competitor.
+
+When morning came he was determined to go ashore, and see if he could
+not find some angle worms; for without bait it was folly to think of
+catching fish on hooks; and all sorts of other contraptions were barred
+from the contest.
+
+Giraffe, however, was not asleep, and he saw what his rival was up to;
+but although Bumpus was not aware of the fact, the tall scout had had
+his line over the side for half an hour now, also baited, and with the
+hope of a bite.
+
+From now on the race promised to become pretty warm between them, once
+they got fully started in the game.
+
+They had talked over about every subject that could be imagined,
+including the matter of the mysterious powerboat that had passed them
+that afternoon, apparently heading in another direction; though Thad
+knew that long afterwards those in the black craft had altered their
+course, and were really following them.
+
+It was getting along near time when they ought to be thinking about
+retiring so as to get some rest, when another subject came up suddenly.
+
+Giraffe, who had been stretching that long neck of his for some little
+time, observed that he was trying to make out what a certain queer light
+might stand for.
+
+"It's away up the shore yonder, fellows, and seems to be a lantern, as
+near as I can make out," he went on to say; "every now and then it bobs
+up, and down; and if you asked me I'd say it was, meant for some sort of
+signal!"
+
+"A signal!" echoed Bumpus, in almost an awed tone; "that sounds like
+there might be smugglers, or something, like that around here; and
+perhaps they take us for revenue officers trying to nip them at their
+work.  Whew! spells more trouble for us, I'm afraid.  First the storm;
+then that awful spell of gone feeling; and now it's smugglers.  Whew! I
+say!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+"BE PREPARED!"
+
+
+Bumpus was not the only fellow who felt his heart beating much faster
+than its wont just then, though none of the others betrayed the fact;
+for Giraffe and Step Hen were too crafty to show that they were worried.
+
+They seemed to be in a trap, for the heavy seas would not allow them to
+think of leaving their anchorage until morning came along, at least; and
+to remain might be exposing themselves to some unknown peril.
+
+But then these lads had done through so many things, especially since
+they joined the Cranford Troop of Boy Scouts, and learned what it meant
+to think for themselves, that none of them really displayed the white
+feather, no matter if Bumpus, who loved peace so much that he sometimes
+fought to secure it, did manifest some uneasiness.
+
+They had along with them a double-barreled shotgun that had always given
+a good account, of itself in times past; and would again if called to
+show its sterling qualities.  And with this in the hands of Thad
+Brewster, who was a perfectly fearless chap, according to his churns,
+who did not know that his boy heart could hammer in his breast like a
+runaway steam engine, why, they surely ought to be able to stave off any
+ordinary attack.
+
+Giraffe felt better when he had picked up the camp hatchet, and waved it
+several times in the air, making vicious stabs at an imaginary enemy.
+
+"Get ready for boarders, fellows!" remarked Step Hen, who had reached in
+and secured the long bread-knife, which would make a most formidable
+weapon, if only he had the nerve to wield the same.
+
+"Not on your life!" snapped Giraffe; "we've got enough mouths to feed as
+it is, without taking, on any more.  Boarders nothing.  You've got
+another think coming, Step Hen, don't you see?"
+
+"But after all, fellows," Thad told his followers, "this may be a false
+alarm.  That light has gone now.  It may only have been some farmer or
+miner letting his wife know he was on the way home.  How do we know any
+different?  And what interest would any rascals have in trying to come
+aboard this boat?"
+
+"That sounds all very fine, Thad," remarked Davy; "but I hope we ain't
+thinkin' of all going to sleep at once to-night!"
+
+"We ought to have a sentry on duty all the time," suggested Giraffe.
+
+"I appoint you for that onerous duty, then, Giraffe; consider that
+settled," the scout-master said, like a flash; whereupon the tall chap
+began to hedge, and explain more fully his views.
+
+"Oh! course I didn't mean that one scout should sit up all night," he
+went on to remark; "but by taking turns we'd feel that the boat wasn't
+agoing to be carried off while we slept.  Sure I'm willing to stand my
+turn, which might be any two hours you set; and then I'll wake up the
+next man.  You know we've done that same many a time when we were up in
+Maine, down along the Blue Ridge, and out among the Rockies hunting big
+game."
+
+"Of course I understood what you meant, Giraffe," the scout-master went
+on to remark; "and as you say, some of us will spell you, a new man
+going on duty every two hours.  But I hope now nobody really believes
+that we're going to be attacked, by lake pirates, or smugglers, or
+anything like that. Those who lie down to sleep, just forget everything.
+We're safe here in a splendid harbor and nothing will happen to bother
+us."
+
+"But if it should, Thad, you'll wake us all up, I hope," urged Bumpus.
+
+"I promise you that, Bumpus," returned Thad; "because I know just how
+you feel about it.  No fellow likes to be kicked while he's asleep; with
+his eyes open he's in a way to take care of himself.  Oh! Yes, we'll see
+that every one is waked up if there's going to be a row; because we'll
+have need of your fighting face then, Bumpus, remember."
+
+It was hard to get the fat boy fully aroused, such was his customary
+good nature; but when he did get beyond the limit, he used to assume
+what he considered a terrible look, that was supposed to strike fear to
+the heart of his adversary.
+
+Somehow no one admitted to feeling at all sleepy now.  Even Bumpus, who
+as a rule could be depended on to fall asleep right after he had had his
+supper, was apparently as wide-awake as a hawk; and joined in all the
+conversation as they sat around on the deck and waited for, they hardly
+knew what, to happen.
+
+"Anyhow, we didn't tie up to the shore, as Bumpus wanted when he said
+he'd feel so much better if he could walk on firm ground again,"
+remarked Step Hen.
+
+"And I'm glad now that twenty feet or more of water lies between us and
+shore," the party mentioned hastened to add.
+
+"How deep do you think it is in here, Thad?" questioned Davy.
+
+"All of twenty feet in the place our anchor went down," replied the
+skipper, promptly, "it's a regular hole, such as the trout like to lie
+in during the hot dog days of late summer."
+
+"Glad to hear you say that," observed Bumpus; but he did not explain
+whether his pleasure lay in the fact that any would-be boarders might
+find it difficult to cross over from the rocks to the boat; or that
+there were likely to be fish in the pool, affording a chance for a
+nibble at the tempting bait he had dropped overboard, attached to the
+concealed hook at the end of his line.
+
+"If anybody came along here just on purpose to take a good look at us,
+whereabouts d'ye think they'd be likely to show up, first of all, Thad?"
+Step Hen wanted to know.
+
+"I was thinking about that a minute ago, Step Hen," replied the scout-
+master; "and sort of made up my mind they'd be apt to climb that pile of
+rocks yonder.  You see, it overlooks this pool, and a man might lie
+there near the top and watch us all he wanted, provided the moon came
+out, and gave him the light he'd need."
+
+Everybody thereupon cast an eye aloft.
+
+"I'm afraid that moon business is just what's going to happen right
+soon," observed Giraffe.
+
+"Yes, there isn't going to be a storm after all," remarked the skipper;
+"clouds are breaking night now, and it was a false alarm, you see."
+
+"Well, hardly, with me," ventured Bumpus; whereupon everybody tittered,
+because they knew what the fat scout meant; and there were three others,
+who, if they were as candid as Bumpus, might have added:
+
+"Me too!"
+
+Half an hour passed by, and they were really getting tired, for it was
+now in the neighborhood of half-past ten o'clock, as Thad told them the
+last time he consulted his little dollar watch that gave him so much
+satisfaction in all his outings.
+
+Still, none of them wanted to be the fellow to first crawl under his
+blanket, it being only a matter of pride that kept Bumpus at least on
+deck, blinking like an owl in the daytime, as he tried to keep his eyes
+open.
+
+Jim, by the way, had been fastened to a cleat, and was perched on the
+edge of the cabin roof, no one as yet daring to touch him; though he had
+eaten some meat they placed within his reach, which proved that the owl
+did not mean to starve himself to death, yet awhile at least.
+
+All at once Bumpus felt a galvanic shock.
+
+"Oh!" he shouted in excitement, "it's come at last!"
+
+All the others started up in great alarm.
+
+"What ails the fellow?" cried Step Hen.
+
+"Got a fit, I reckon!" echoed Giraffe.
+
+"Fit nothing!" mocked the fat scout, who was bending over, and seemed to
+be clawing wildly at the air, so that it was no wonder in the darkness
+they thought he must be having a return engagement with that sea
+sickness; "I've got a fish, and that's more'n you can claim, Giraffe,
+with all your smartness!"
+
+"Bah! never count your chicken's till they're hatched!" scoffed the
+other, as he saw the fat scout suddenly pause, as though there had come
+a sickening slackening of the line.  "Imagination is a great thing,
+mebbe; but next time be sure of your game before you whoop it up so."
+
+"But he's there yet, I tell you!" ejaculated Bumpus, again becoming
+active. "Hi! somebody lend me a hand here, so I won't lose him.  We need
+this trout in our business, because we got to have breakfast in the
+morning."
+
+"Hold on!" said Giraffe, with emphasis; "don't forget that the terms of
+our wager state distinctly that no one must offer the slightest
+assistance in landing a fish.  If you're after that fish solely for
+breakfast, why, any of us'll be glad to lend you a hand; but then it
+don't count.  How about that, Thad?"
+
+"You're correct, Giraffe," replied the other; "but I hope Bumpus lands
+his prize, all right, because fresh fish would taste fine to-morrow
+morn."
+
+It was a little struggle in the mind of Giraffe as to whether the
+sportsman spirit, or the love of good feeding would prevail; but at last
+he also cried out: "I hope he gets it, too, sure I do!  Good for you,
+Giraffe!" exclaimed Thad, perhaps purposely mistaking this for a spirit
+of fairness that would do the tall scout credit as a true sportsman.
+
+Meanwhile all of them watched Bumpus tugging at his line.  The fish was
+full of fight, and evidently objected to furnishing a breakfast for a
+party of Boy Scouts off on a vacation cruise; but by sheer strength, and
+not a little good luck in the bargain rather than fisherman's skill,
+Bumpus finally man aged to haul his struggling prize aboard.
+
+"It's a trout, as sure as pop!" exclaimed Step Hen, as they all bent
+over the wiggling and flapping captive, and Giraffe struck a match, the
+better to see its nature.
+
+"Whee! let me tell you he pulled to beat the band too!" the proud angler
+vowed, as he rubbed his arms; and then bent lower to admire the spotted
+sides of the big trout, that probably looked prettier to Bumpus than
+anything he had ever before seen.
+
+"He's a jim dandy, and that's a fact, Bumpus!" said Giraffe, swallowing
+his bitter chagrin because fortune had cheated him out of being the
+first in the contest to bring in such a prize; at the same time he was
+no doubt thinking what a tasty morsel that splendid fish would afford
+the lot for breakfast and wondering if there were not several of them
+who had confessed that they did not care for fish which would allow a
+larger portion to those who did.
+
+However, all thoughts of this nature were doomed to be forgotten,
+because just then Davy had to go and throw a bombshell into the camp by
+remarking in a low and trembling voice:
+
+"Thad, oh Thad!  I saw a fellow poke his head up above that pile of
+rocks just then, give you my word of honor I did!"
+
+"Be prepared!" said the skipper, quickly; and every scout reached out
+for the weapon he had decided to rely upon in case of dire necessity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE QUEER WAYS OF BUMPUS
+
+
+"There ain't a thing moving up there, Davy; and I reckon, now, you're
+only just afooling us," complained Step Hen, after they had stared as
+hard as anything at the crown of the rocks, which was sharply outlined
+against the dark heavens.
+
+As the others had met with like poor success in trying to locate the
+object the scout in question claimed to have seen, they naturally turned
+on Davy, to demand further explanations.
+
+It could easily be seen, however, from his excited condition, that the
+boy actually believed what he said.
+
+When Giraffe and Bumpus, and even Allan, urged him to repeat his
+assertion, he not only did so, but added still more to what he had said
+before.
+
+"Guess I ought to know what a man's head looks like, hadn't I?" Davy
+went on to remark, indignantly; "cause I've seen a few in my day.  It
+was there as plain as--as, well, the nose on my face, and you'll say
+that's right smart in evidence, I know you will, Giraffe.  Looky up
+yonder--see the little peak that seems to stick up above all the rest of
+the old rock pile? Well, it was alongside that it showed up; and right
+while I was asaying it, the thing disappeared like smoke.  But you
+believe me, I saw something, and it was a man's head too, no matter if
+there was a bear or a panther at the other end of the same."
+
+Strange to say no one chuckled at these queer remarks of Davy.  They saw
+that he was in deadly earnest; and the, possibility of a strange man
+spying on them seemed too serious a matter to arouse a laugh.
+
+"Well," said Step Hen, presently, when they had strained their eyes to
+the utmost without any result whatever, "seems like he saw you at the
+same time, and lit out in a big hurry."
+
+Giraffe began to recover from the first shock caused by the alarm; and
+when he was feeling himself the tall scout could nearly always think of
+something quaint to say.
+
+"That reminds me of the old baby book rhyme we all used to say; p'raps
+you'll remember, fellows.  It's been a long time since I repeated it,
+but I think it runs about like this: 'I Saw Esau kissing Kate; and the
+fact is, we all three saw.  I saw Esau, he saw me; and Kate saw I saw
+Esau.'  How's that?"
+
+No one answered, and for a pretty good reason; for hardly had Giraffe
+uttered his question when, without the slightest warning, a dazzling ray
+of white light suddenly fell upon the group of scouts crouching there on
+the after-deck of the little hunting cabin cruiser, causing every one to
+gasp, and fall to quivering almost as much as though a flash of
+lightning had darted toward them.
+
+"Oh!" cried some one; and while the tones of the voice could hardly be
+distinguished on account of the vibration caused by the speaker's alarm,
+no one had the least doubt but that it was Bumpus who thus betrayed his
+agitated feelings.
+
+Thad and Allan, and perhaps several of the other scouts, knew instantly
+that the strong glow was caused by one of those handy little electric
+torches, for they happened to have just such an alliance along with
+them, and had made great use of it on numberless occasions.
+
+This told them that after all Davy had spoken truly when he declared so
+vehemently that he had seen a man's head up there on the rocks.
+
+Nobody moved, only crouched there, staring at that dazzling light, and
+mentally figuring what was going to happen next.
+
+Doubtless all sorts of alarming theories flitted through their minds,
+for after their recent talk about smugglers and those sorts of law-
+breakers the boys were in a good state to imagine things.
+
+They were given very little time, however, to collect their wits; for a
+gruff voice (strange how voices are always gruff under similar condition
+but this one was very hoarse without any question) called out:
+
+"Ahoy there, aboard the launch!"
+
+Had it depended on Bumpus, and perhaps Step Hen also, the reply must
+have been a long time coming, for they hardly dared trust their voices;
+but then Thad was able to hold his own, and he immediately called back:
+
+"Hello! yourself; what d'ye want?"
+
+"Bring that boat ashore, and be quick about it!" the deep grumble
+proceeded to tell them; and somehow poor Bumpus was forcibly reminded of
+the growl of a lion he had once heard in a menagerie, as well as several
+other things along the same "away down in the cellar" line.
+
+"I suppose we might as well do it, fellows?" Thad remarked to his chums,
+in somewhat of a low tone; as though he meant to be influenced more or
+less by what decision the other scouts reached.
+
+"Oh! can't we skip out before they get their hands on us, Thad?" Bumpus
+wanted to know.  "We're full twenty feet and more away from the shore,
+and it'd take a champion sprinter and jumper to cover that distance."
+
+"Yes, but how about running out into that storm again, eh, Bumpus?  Feel
+like going through another experience like that?" demanded Giraffe.
+
+"Not any for me, thank you.  Thad, I say, do what he tells us.  He can't
+eat us, I reckon; and we ain't got any reason to be afraid because of
+anything we've done."
+
+"Same here, Thad," remarked Davy, quickly: he had been feeling very much
+like backing up Bumpus in his request, but what Giraffe said caused him
+to "take water" instantly, and Davy was as quick to make a revolution in
+his mind as his body could revolve in several handsprings over the
+ground, when he was feeling good.
+
+"Allan, how about you?" asked Thad, feeling that much depended on what
+the one addressed thought.
+
+"No help for it, Thad; we've got to throw up our hands that far, anyway;
+because, like as not they've got us covered right now with their guns,
+and while they can see us fairly well, everything all dark to us up
+there."
+
+"Oh! my stars!" Bumpus was heard to whisper to himself, in a horrified
+tone, as he learned about those terrible firearms that must be held with
+their muzzles projecting in the direction of the floating home of the
+scouts; but all the same Bumpus, "though good and scared," as he
+afterwards candidly confessed, did not attempt to lie down, and shield
+his round body behind any of his comrades; if they could take the
+consequences surely he ought to be ready to face the music; and so be
+only knelt there and quivered and looked, momentarily to see a flash,
+and hear a deafening report that would stagger them all.
+
+"Well are you going to do what I told you?" the heavy bass voice
+demanded, more or less, impatiently.
+
+"Don't be so foolish as to think, you can slip away," a second unseen
+man told them, "because we've got you covered, and if you start up that
+engine we'll give you a volley that'll make you wish you hadn't.  Come
+ashore with that boat, you hear?  We know you, Cranston!  The game is
+up!"
+
+Thad breathed easier, somehow.  What had been said seemed to tell him it
+might after all only be a case of mistaken identity; and that if they
+obeyed the rough summons they would in all probability not be apt to
+suffer on account of yielding.
+
+"Get a push pole, somebody, and help me shove ashore!" Thad remarked;
+and then raising his voice so that the unseen enemies might hear, he
+continued: "you needn't bother wasting any of your ammunition on us,
+mister, because, we're willing to do what you, ask, and come to land.
+So hold up, and give us a chance, for we've got to raise our anchor
+first; and the water's some deep here to use the poles in."
+
+He heard a low laugh near by, but there was no further comment from
+those who had the situation well in hand.  Every scout understood,
+however, that a number of heavily armed men must be scrutinizing their
+actions from the roll; for that strong white glow was kept closely
+focused on the boat all the time they proceeded to drag in the anchor,
+and start working the push poles, with which the little hunting cabin
+launch was well provided.
+
+The water in the harbor they had found was of considerable depth, but
+fortunately the poles were long as well as stout, and presently the boat
+began to move slowly in response to the energetic efforts which Thad and
+Giraffe put forth.
+
+Bumpus had assisted to pull in the anchor, and was now squatted like a
+big frog near the bow.  He knew full well that his position was very
+much exposed, and that in case the unseen enemy chose to actually open
+fire upon the boat, he would likely be the first to suffer; but in spite
+of this Bumpus refused to budge.  He had gotten over his first qualms of
+fear, and feeling ashamed of allowing himself to give way to such a
+sensation, and he a scout in the bargain, the boy was now going to the
+other extreme, and growing actually reckless.
+
+It made him think of the time some of his mates had declared they had
+seen a real boni-fide ghost in the town graveyard, and dared Bumpus to
+lead the way in there, late at night, when they were passing.  He had
+felt his teeth rattle together, just as they had been doing now; but
+summoning all his courage to the fore he had grimly said: "who's
+afraid?" and trembling like a leaf shaken in the wind, he had stalked
+into the cemetery, much to the admiration of his chums, who had expected
+the fat boy to back down abjectly.
+
+The boat approached the shore slowly.
+
+Thad could not exactly see the forms of those who were waiting for them
+to come in, but since the focus of light changed from spot to spot he
+concluded that they were also drawing closer to the shore line, so as to
+be ready to receive those whom they already counted on as their
+prisoners.
+
+And, Thad waited, in momentary expectation of hearing some sort of
+explosion, when the parties realized their mistake.  In fact, he was so
+sure of this that he would not make the slightest effort to draw that
+shotgun closer to him, though that might have seemed good policy.
+
+Finally the nose of the cruiser came smack up against the rocks with
+quite a little bump; and Giraffe, having failed to fend off in time, was
+almost toppled over, but he managed to clutch hold of Bumpus to steady
+himself, and that was like seizing upon the Rock of Gibraltar, because
+it would take a derrick to move the stout scout, once he settled down.
+
+So, when for the second time the boat came in contact with the shore,
+Giraffe was able to give a little leap, painter in hand, and reach land.
+
+Just as he did so, that deep bus voice sprang up again; and this time,
+as Thad had expected, it told of considerable chagrin and
+disappointment.
+
+"Well, what's this?  Only a bunch of kids, after all, instead of
+Cranston and his gang of smugglers.  The joke's on us, men; it is to
+laugh!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE FAME OF THE SILVER FOX PATROL
+
+
+"I thought so!" Thad now remarked, showing what confidence he had felt
+in the decision that their best policy had been to obey orders, and come
+to the shore.
+
+Several moving figures were now seen, and coming down the rocks toward
+them.  In another minute's time these had resolved themselves into three
+men.  They did not seem to be roughly dressed at all, but might be taken
+for gentlemen out to have a good time fishing or cruising.
+
+And the boys noticed, as soon as they could see anything at all, when
+Thad lighted their camp lantern, that the largest of the trio wore a
+blue cap such as they had seen on the head of the man who watched their
+boat through his field-glasses late that afternoon.
+
+Undoubtedly the black boat had turned back as evening set in, and it
+must have been some one connected with the party, whom they had seen
+waving that light from the shore.
+
+"Good evening!" said Allan, pleasantly, as the three men ranged up close
+by and evidently looked them over; "we've surrendered, you remember.
+Now, what are you going to do with six Boy Scouts off for a vacation
+trip on the lake?"
+
+At that the big man turned to his companions, and laughed.  No doubt
+they felt considerably disappointed, because they had somehow had high
+hopes of making an important capture; but after the first keen chagrin
+had passed they could enjoy a joke at their own expense.
+
+"You'll have to excuse our bothering you, boys," said he of the bass
+voice; "but you see we made a mistake.  We're revenue officers, looking
+for a notorious smuggler named Cranston, who operates around this
+section.  We had positive information that he meant to cross over from
+Canada in a boat that answered the description of yours to a fraction;
+and as it's the habit of these smugglers to adopt all sorts of
+disguises, from honest, hard-working fishermen, to anything else that
+suits their fancy, we guessed they'd taken to wearing khaki to make us
+believe they were a party of the militia out for a cruise."
+
+"And so we turned back, and planned this nice little surprise, when we
+saw that you had come in here," remarked a second man, still chuckling.
+
+"Who are you, anyway, boys?" asked the third, who seemed to have more
+curiosity than his comrades, though his next words explained the reason
+for this; "because I've got two sturdy scouts, in my house, and they've
+become so much brighter lads since they joined the patrol that I want to
+tell you I'm interested in the movement wherever I run across it.  And
+when I tell them about this blunder of ours I'd like to mention names,
+you know."
+
+"Why, we belong to the Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford Troop of Boys
+Scouts," remarked Allan, promptly; "this is our assistant scout-master,
+Thad Brewster, who happens to be the pilot of the trip because Dr.
+Philander Hobbs, our real leader, had to hurry back home on business;
+but we didn't worry a bit when that happened, because, you see, Thad is
+capable of turning the trick; he knows more in a minute about everything
+in the woods than Dr. Hobbs could learn in ten years."
+
+"Well, well, tell me about that, will you?" exclaimed the man, with some
+little excitement; "and which of you might be Allan Hollister--I reckon
+you're that party right now, youngster; and this stout scout here,
+surely he must be the Bumpus who got into so many bad holes, and yet
+always managed to crawl out again?  Yes, I'm right about that; and let's
+see, which one might be Giraffe--no need to ask that, when I look around
+me. Then there was, another they called Step Hen, didn't they, not to
+mention Davy Jones, Bob White and Smithy?  Oh, I know you all, and I
+want to shake hands with each and every one of you.  Say, won't my kids
+go crazy when they hear that I've actually met up with that lively bunch
+of scouts."
+
+"W-w-what's all this mean, mister?" asked Bumpus, actually trembling,
+not with fear any longer, but actual delight to hear himself mentioned
+in this familiar way by a stranger.
+
+"Well, I'll have to confess that I've taken such a deep interest in what
+my boys are doing," continued the revenue officer, "that I even read
+every book they brought into the house; and that's how I came to know
+about the doings of the Silver Fox Patrol, and who the eight lads were
+constituting that branch of the scouts.  Give me your hand, Mr. Scout-
+master; I'm proud to know you, sure I am; and I hope you'll send a
+written word back home to the two ten-year old twins, who know all about
+what you fellows have been doing in the Blue Ridge, up in Maine, and
+even as far away as the Rocky Mountains."
+
+The boys were almost stunned by this remarkable information; but they
+hastened to accept the hand offered them, and received a hearty squeeze
+in return.
+
+"My name is Stebbens, and the boys are Daniel and Luther," continued the
+officer who seemed not quite mind the disappointment of failing to
+effect an important capture, when the little adventure had give him a
+story to carry back home to those twins he thought so much of.
+
+"Well all this is mighty interesting, John," said the man with the gruff
+voice, and who seemed to be the leader of the revenue men; "but we
+mustn't lose any more time here.  The sea is nasty, but our boat can
+stand it, and we know where tricky Cranston is apt to turn up before
+morning, not ten miles away; so perhaps we'd better be saying good-night
+to these lads, and starting out again."
+
+He, as well as the third man, insisted on also shaking hands all around
+before departing, and with such good will that Bumpus was rubbing his
+fingers for quite some time afterwards, to get the numb feeling out of
+the same.
+
+But then no one found any fault; in fact they were thrilled by the
+knowledge that their exploits had been read by other scouts, who
+cherished a sort of friendly feeling for the members of the Silver Fox
+Patrol, just from learning about their adventures in a book or so.
+
+They did not feel at all sleepy after the three revenue men had said
+good-bye, and vanished in the dark night.
+
+"What's the use pushing out there again, and dropping the mud-hook
+overboard, when we can tie up so nicely right here?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Sure," echoed Giraffe, "and then, in the morning I'll show you I
+haven't forgotten how to make the finest fire you ever heard tell about.
+Oh I some pumpkins about that same game, ain't I, Bumpus?  You ought to
+know, because you saw me make one when we was nigh about froze to death
+up there in Maine, and didn't have a single match along with us."
+
+"Well, anyhow, wait till morning," said Thad, knowing that once the tall
+scout got started on his favorite hobby, there was no way of stopping
+him until he had the fever satisfied.
+
+Giraffe had once made up his mind that he could make a fire in the
+primitive fashion by using a little bow, and a revolving stick.  Once
+this trick is learned and it can usually be accomplished in a minute or
+two; but most boys find themselves unable to master the feat, and give
+up in despair after long trying.
+
+The tall scout had persisted even when he met with all manner of
+discouragements.  Sometimes, just when he seemed on the point of
+success, Bumpus would stumble over him, and end the attempt; then an
+alarm would be sounded when he had gotten his tinder to smoking; and
+again he lose out. But in the end he had mastered the secret, and ever
+afterwards it was one of his proudest accomplishments; so that Giraffe
+always carried that little bow, and some dry tinder along, whenever he
+left camp, even though it would have been muck easier to put some
+matches in his pocket.
+
+Of course, as they sat there for a while longer, after the boat had been
+securely tied up to the shore, the talk was mostly about smugglers.
+
+Each of the boys told all they had ever heard about, such slippery
+customers; and it added to the interest of the occasion to know that
+they had just been mistaken for a notorious character, for whom the
+Government revenue men were on the watch.
+
+"All the same," remarked Bumpus, complacently, "I ain't sorry it
+happened, because you see, only for their mistake we never'd aheard
+about them twins, Daniel and Luther Stebbens.  I'm glad you wrote out
+that message for 'em, Thad; and after we get back in Cranford I'm
+meaning to send 'em my picture. Their daddy said they'd like it the
+worst kind; and come to think of it, I've got a few showing me astanding
+with my gun acovering them two bad men as had captured me out in the Big
+Timber, Davy having snapped the picture off on the spot.  Mebbe they'll
+like that!"
+
+He fell to musing over the lively scenes that had accompanied the
+adventure covered by this episode; and paid no further attention to the
+rest of the boys, as they continued to exhaust the subject of the
+smuggler fraternity.
+
+Finally, all of them admitted that they felt sleepy; and since they no
+longer had reason to experience anything boarding on alarm, it was
+decided on the whole not to bother keeping watch.
+
+Already the hour must be near midnight, and they needed sleep, so as to
+be ready to take up duties of another day when morning broke.
+
+Accordingly, each of them was apportioned a place where he could wedge
+in and in some way manage to obtain the rest of which he was in such
+need. Bumpus, being so round, and requiring much more space than any one
+of the six, was given a chance to roll over in the wider territory close
+to the doors of the hunting cabin, which were not to be closed, as the
+boys felt they would need air.
+
+He could sit up, and look around, at any time he happened to be awake;
+but as Bumpus was usually a sound sleeper, none of them expected that he
+would avail himself of this privilege until they scrambled over his
+bundled-up figure at daylight.
+
+In that cove at the mouth of the little creek it was as quiet and
+peaceful as any heart could wish.  Let the wind and the waves hold high
+carnival outside, nothing gave promise of disturbing the slumber of the
+tired cruisers.
+
+An hour, two of them and more, crept by, and everything remained as calm
+as when the scouts folded their blankets about them like Indian
+warriors, and squeezed in where they had been apportioned.
+
+The clouds had broken, and the moon was shining brightly in the sky
+overhead when Bumpus, being awakened by some sort of dream, suddenly sat
+upright, digging his knuckles into his eyes, as if hardly able to
+believe that he was not safe and sound in his own bed at home.
+
+A nasty snarl struck his ear, and gave him a shock, so that he instantly
+found himself wide-awake, and looking around to see what had caused the
+sound.
+
+What he saw must have aroused the fat scout not a little, for
+immediately his voice was heard in the land, arousing the balance of the
+sleepers, and doubtless thrilling them through and through.
+
+"Stop thief!  Here, let that alone, I tell you!  Wake up everybody, and
+do something, can't you?  He's getting away with my lovely trout, I tell
+you. Hey!  Giraffe, ain't you agoing to save your breakfast?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A CALL TO BREAKFAST
+
+
+Every one came tumbling out in a great hurry.  The moon was so situated
+that the forepart of the boat was somewhat in the shadow; and on this
+account they could not see plainly, save that there was some sort of an
+animal crouching there.  As Bumpus had so loudly wailed that it was
+trying to carry off his prize trout, which had been left hanging in the
+air until needed at breakfast time, the rest of the boys understood the
+situation pretty well.  Immediately they started to shout, and wave
+their arms, as well as hurl every sort of thing they could lay hands on.
+
+Naturally enough this proved too much for even the bravest wild beast;
+and giving a savage snarl the thing suddenly bounded ashore, and was
+lost to view.  They had just a last glimpse of a shadowy figure skulking
+off along the sandy beach near by.
+
+"Oh! tell me, did he get away with it?" cried Bumpus; and to hear the
+pain which he threw into these words one would have though a priceless
+treasure was involved; and so it was, the biggest speckled trout he had
+ever caught in all his life.
+
+Giraffe scrambled forward, waving his arms in order to discourage any
+beast that might think to attack him, and "shooing" at a vigorous rate.
+
+"Brace up, Bumpus!" he called out.
+
+"Is it safe?" demanded the fat scout, joyously.
+
+"Yes, he didn't dare carry it off when we got to shouting so lively; and
+here's your trout, but I reckon we had better take care to make it
+secure next time.  These cats can climb some, and that's right."
+
+"Was it really a wildcat?" asked Step Hen, curiously; just as though the
+beast had seemed so large to his excited fancy that he would have felt
+safe in calling it a panther.
+
+"Looked mighty much that way," admitted Allan, who ought to know the
+breed, as considerable of his younger life had been spent up in the
+Adirondacks, and in Maine, where he must have seen many a specimen of
+the feline tribe.
+
+"I thought at first it was a tiger," Bumpus admitted, faintly; at which
+there was a little laugh all around, for they could easily understand
+how a fellow's fears might magnify things, when suddenly aroused, and
+with only that deceptive moonlight to see by.
+
+"Whatever it was, and we'll try and make sure in the morning," remarked
+Thad, "it's gone now."
+
+"But it may come back, after smelting of my fine trout," Bumpus
+observed, seriously; "and rather than run any chance, I think I'll have
+to sit up, and play sentry the balance of the night."
+
+"Joke!" chuckled Giraffe, chuckling again.
+
+"Huh! mebbe, now, you think I couldn't do that same?" remonstrated
+Bumpus. "I know I'm a good sound sleeper, which fact I can't deny;
+but then there's such a thing as rising to an occasion, you see."
+
+"Yes," scoffed the tall scout, "if we depended on you staying awake,
+chances are we'd have no trout for breakfast to-morrow morning."
+
+"No need of anything like that," remarked the scout-master; "because we
+can fix it so that no wildcat could get that fish, let him try as hard
+as he wants.  Just you leave it with me, Bumpus, and I'll guarantee that
+we have fish for breakfast, and without anybody having to stay up
+either, or lose another minute's sleep."
+
+He tied a cord to the dangling trout, once more placed where it had been
+before, and then announced that he meant to fasten the other end to his
+arm.  If anything pulled at the fish it would telegraph the fact down to
+him; and as Thad took the double-barreled shotgun to bed with him, and
+occupied the place Rumpus had vacated, they understood what the answer
+was going to be should he be aroused.
+
+But evidently the beast thought discretion the better part of valor, for
+he did not come aboard again that night.  Possibly the shouts, and the
+whooping of the boys had given him all the excitement he could stand.
+He liked fish very much; as do all of the cat species, but if he must
+have a feast of trout it looked as though he would have to procure the
+same in some other way than stealing it from those on board the
+Chippeway Belle.
+
+Strange to say Bumpus was the first to crawl out; and his labored
+progress over his comrades evoked a continual series of grunts and
+complaints.
+
+"Hurrah! it's still there, and we ain't going to be cheated out of our
+treat after all!" he was heard to cry, as he gained the open air.
+
+"Well, here's the first case on record of that fellow ever getting awake
+ahead of the rest of the bunch," said Step Hen.
+
+"Yes, and he mighty near flattened me into a pancake when he crawled on
+top of me to get to the doors," grunted Giraffe.
+
+"Say, where's my other shoe?  Anybody seen my leather around?  I bet you
+now some fellow just grabbed it up, and tossed the same to that pesky
+old cat last night; and if so, how'm I ever to limp around with only one
+shoe for my both feet; because some of the things went into the water,
+for I heard the splash?"
+
+"If anybody threw it, you did yourself, Step Hen," asserted Giraffe, not
+liking this thing of being accused of things promiscuously; "because I
+saw something that looked mighty much like a shoe, in your hand when you
+crawled out."
+
+"Then why didn't, you tell me about it, Giraffe?" complained the other,
+with a doleful groan. "I think you're about as mean as you can be, to
+let a poor fellow in his excitement do such a thing."
+
+"Why, however was I to know?" said the tall scout, chuckling as though
+it struck him as a joke that Step Hen, in his sudden anxiety to scare
+the prowler away, should have thrown his own shoe at the cat.  "Besides,
+I had troubles of my own, just about that time, let me tell you.  But
+mebbe you can find your old shoe again; because the water ain't so very
+deep up ahead there."
+
+"No need to bother," sang out Bumpus, who was taking his trout down
+tenderly, and examining it to see how much damage the claws of the
+intruder had done, if any, "because there the shoe is right now, on
+shore, and all right."
+
+That gave Step Hen reason to say he knew he could never have been silly
+enough to cast his shoe in such a way as to hurl it overboard; but all
+the same he was pleased to be able to recover it in a dry condition,
+after all.
+
+"Who'll clean it while I get a fire started ashore?" asked Giraffe,
+presently, when they had finished their dressing.
+
+"No hurry," remarked Thad; "for while the sun's getting ready to come
+up, and the storm petered out after all, I guess the lake's a bit too
+rough for us to go out for some time yet.  Such a big body of water can
+kick up some sea when it gets in the humor; and some of the party don't
+seem to hanker after that rising and falling motion."
+
+Bumpus himself decided to do the last honors to his "noble capture," and
+taking the fish ashore, with a hunting knife that had a keen edge, he
+looked for a good place to sit down, on a rock bordering the little
+beach. Here he kept industriously at work for quite some time.
+
+Meanwhile the fire was a big success, for Giraffe certainly was a marvel
+when it came to knowing all there was about making them.  He had found
+just the finest hole to serve as the bed of his cooking fire, where a
+body of red embers would after a little while invite them to place their
+frying-pan and coffee-pot on the iron grating they carried for the
+purpose, and which was really the gridiron-like contrivance belonging to
+a cast-off stove's oven.
+
+"I say, Thad!" Bumpus was heard calling, after he had had plenty of time
+to finish his job with the trout.
+
+"What do you want now, Bumpus?" replied the scout-master, cheerily.
+
+"Come down here, won't you, and settle something for me."
+
+So Thad hastened to accommodate him; and several of the other fellows
+followed at his heels, being consumed by curiosity, perhaps; or it might
+be they suspected something of the truth, and wished to hear Thad's
+decision in the matter.
+
+"Now what?" asked the scout-master, as he reached the spot.
+
+"I wish you'd tell me what sort of a critter that was last night,"
+Bumpus remarked, as he pointed down near his feet; "because he ran along
+here when he skedaddled off; and you can see the prints as plain as
+anything."
+
+"I should say it was a wildcat; but let's ask Allan, to make sure,"
+replied the patrol leader, and upon reaching the spot, Allan instantly
+declared the same thing.
+
+At that Bumpus appeared to be satisfied; and as the trout was now ready
+for the pan they adjourned to where the fire was waiting, with a hungry
+looking cook in readiness to get things going.
+
+Just as they anticipated, that trout was elegant--no other word Bumpus
+could conjure up would begin to do justice to the feast they had that
+morning.  And the proud captor of the prize cast many a look in the
+direction of his rival, which of course the envious Giraffe construed to
+mean; "see what I can do when I set my mind on a job; and get busy
+yourself."
+
+But then Giraffe had just had a pretty generous second portion of the
+salmon-colored fish steak, and was in no humor to get huffy.
+
+He did start in right after breakfast to get several lines out, and
+attended to the same assiduously all morning.  Between the busy workers
+they managed to pull in five fish, of which Bumpus took two.  So that
+thus far the score was even, as regards numbers, though the fat scout
+was still "high notch" when the question of size was concerned.
+
+"I see that before we get back home we'll all have swelled heads," Thad
+remarked, with a broad, smile; and upon the others demanding to know
+what he meant, he went on to say: "why, don't you know, scientists unite
+in declaring that fish is the greatest brain food going; so if these
+fellows keep on loading us down with trout and white fish and every
+other kind that lives in this big lake, why, our hats will soon be too
+small for our enlarged craniums."
+
+"Oh! we can afford to take the chances of that!" laughed Allan.
+
+As the wind had gone down, and the waves with it to a considerable
+extent, it was decided that they might make a start after an early
+lunch.  Thad consulted his Government Survey charts, and marked a place
+that he believed would make them a good harbor, and which they ought to
+reach with any reasonable luck.
+
+This being settled they got underway about half-past eleven; and when
+the little cruiser left the shelter of the cove, and once more breasted
+the rising and falling waves, Bumpus shook his head dismally, and loudly
+hoped he would not once more have to spend all his time feeding the
+fishes.  But his fears proved groundless, for they had apparently become
+used to the motion of the waves, and not one of them became seasick
+again that day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+UP AGAINST IT AGAIN
+
+
+"Everything is lovely, and the goose hangs high!  This makes the fifth
+day since we started out; and things seem to be going along right
+smoothly at the old stand, don't they, fellows?"
+
+Giraffe asked this question.  He was lying on his back on top of the
+hunting-cabin of the little cruiser, taking what he termed a "sun bath;"
+but which some of his chums always called "being too lazy too move."
+
+"And so far none of us have felt the least bit seasick again," remarked
+Step Hen, with what sounded like a fervent note of thanksgiving in his
+voice, as though of all the mean things he could imagine, that of
+feeling a sinking sensation at the pit of the stomach excelled.
+
+"And I'm still leading Giraffe by three fish," declared Bumpus; "besides
+having caught the biggest fish and the longest one in the bargain.
+Better wake up, and get a move on you, Giraffe, or be counting on doing
+all the drudgery when we have that blow-out supper on our return home."
+
+"I ain't worrying any, Bumpus," lazily returned the other; "fact is, it
+tickles me just to see you hustle around in your great fishing stunt.
+Sure you're getting peaked, and as thin as anything, after such unusual
+exertions.  I wouldn't be surprised if some show offered you a job as
+the Living Skeleton, if this thing keeps up much longer, because you're
+fading away right along."
+
+Bumpus looked himself all over, and if there was a shade of anxiety on
+his rosy face it did not stay there long.
+
+"I only wished what you said was half-way true, Giraffe," he sighed;
+"but seems like nothing is ever agoing to take off two pounds from my
+weight.  I can't honestly see where there's a mite of a change; and I
+know you can't neither.  Stop your kidding, and get your lines out
+again.  I had a sure-enough nibble right then, and if you don't look
+out, I'll be pulling in a dandy fish."
+
+"Wake me up when you do, and I'll start in.  You get 'em worked-up like,
+and then I'll show you how to do the trick.  Up to now I've just been
+playing possum, you know, but look out whenever I do get going."
+
+"Bah! who's afraid?" scoffed the fat scout, finding a use for his
+favorite expression, to show his contempt for the threat of Giraffe.
+
+"But we've gone over a heap of ground during the five days we've been
+afloat on this inland sea, haven't we, boys?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"I'd like to, know why you call it ground, when, we've been moving over
+water all the time?" observed Davy, who was not as happy as most of his
+chums, because this way of living offered him no chance to climb trees,
+and hang from limbs, as was his favorite habit; and therefore time hung
+heavy on his hands, so that he grew restless.
+
+"Oh! well, it doesn't make any difference that I can see," replied Step
+Hen; "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, they say.  But we
+have covered a heap of distance, you'll admit, Davy."
+
+"Yes, and had lots of fun in the bargain," Allan put in.
+
+"Thanks to the weather man for keeping things nice for us, and not
+allowing any storm along," suggested Bumpus.
+
+"Well, you may have reason to change your tune soon, old fellow," warned
+Giraffe with an ominous shake of his head.
+
+"Now, what makes you go and say that, Giraffe?  Do you know anything, or
+are you just trying to bother me on general principles?" demanded the
+stout boy, aggressively.
+
+"Well, perhaps you didn't know it," remarked the other, carelessly, "but
+latterly I've taken a notion to study to become a weather prophet.  On
+the sly I've been getting all the information about goose bones, and all
+sorts of signs, wherever I could strike the same.  Then I've studied up
+how the fellows down at Washington make their guesses, and I'm getting
+there right smart.  Why, every morning now, for the last three days I've
+told myself it was agoing to be fair, and she was, sure pop.  Understand
+that, Bumpus?"
+
+"I thought something was bothering you, and keeping you from getting as
+many fish as I did; but what about this morning, Giraffe, did it look
+any different to you; and is the good weather acoming to an end?" asked
+Bumpus.
+
+"The signs all pointed to a change this morning," replied the other.
+"Now, don't expect me to go into particulars, because there ain't any
+need of more'n one weather sharp in our crowd.  And say, just cast your
+eye over there to the southwest; don't you see that low bank of clouds
+along the horizon?  Well, when they get to moving up on us, we're bound
+to have, high winds, and p'raps a regular howler of a storm."
+
+Bumpus' face assumed a serious look as he turned quickly to the scout-
+master.
+
+"What do you say, Thad?" he queried, for it was never possible to know
+whether Giraffe were working off one of his little practical jokes or
+not, he had such a way of looking very solemn, even while chuckling
+inwardly.
+
+"I don't count much on his knowledge of telling in the morning what sort
+of a day it's going to be," replied the other, with a shake of the head;
+"but what he says about those clouds is as near facts as Giraffe ever
+gets."
+
+"Then there is a storm bound to swoop down on us?" demanded Bumpus, as
+he cast a nervous glance around at the watery expanse; for they were far
+out on the lake.
+
+"I'm afraid we'll have a rough night of it," Thad confessed; "but if
+we're only safe in a harbor by evening, we won't need to bother our
+heads any about that."
+
+"Then we won't have any trouble about making that safe harbor, will we?"
+continued Bumpus, who could be very positive and persistent whenever he
+wanted to know anything, so that it was a difficult thing to shunt him
+aside.
+
+"If the engine holds out we ought to be there by five, I expect," Thad
+answered.
+
+Bumpus transferred his attention to the working motor; and his look of
+anxiety increased.
+
+"Seems to me you've been pottering more'n a little with that thing today,
+Thad," he went on to say.
+
+"Yes, and right now it don't work decent," observed Step Hen.  "It
+misses an explosion every third one, and acts like it might go out of
+business any minute on us, that's right, fellows."
+
+Some of the rest began to look sober at this.  Giraffe, who had thought
+to have a joke at the expense of his plump rival, no longer lay there,
+sprawled upon the roof of the hunting cabin of the launch; but sat up to
+observe the singular actions of the engine for himself.  Nor did he,
+appear to get much consolation from what he discovered.
+
+"I declare now if it ain't a fact, boys," he said, seriously.  "She acts
+mighty like she wanted to throw up the sponge, and let us hustle to get
+ashore the best way we could.  Of all the contrary things commend me to
+a balky engine on a cruiser.  And Dr. Hobbs was thinkin' his friend was
+doing us the greatest favor going to loan him this old trap, that like's
+not he keeps heavily insured, in the hopes that some fine day she'll go
+down, when he can buy a newer and better, model with the money he
+collects."
+
+"Oh! I wouldn't say that, if I were you, Giraffe,"' remarked Thad.
+"From the way the gentleman wrote to Dr. Hobbs I'm sure he thought he
+was doing us a favor; and you know it's bad manners to look a gift horse
+in the mouth.  If he was charging us a round sum for the use of the boat
+we, might say something; but outside of the gasoline we consume we don't
+have to put out a cent."
+
+"But do you really expect the rickety old engine'll go back on us before
+we get to that harbor you're heading for?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+"How can I tell?" Thad replied.  "I'm doing everything I know of to coax
+it to be good.  If anybody has a scheme for helping along, the rest of
+us would be glad to listen to the same, and take it up too, if there was
+a ghost of a show that we could profit by doing that."
+
+Apparently nobody did have any idea of bettering conditions as they now
+prevailed; for not a word came in reply, to Thad's request for several
+minutes.  During this time the boys sat there and watched the queer
+actions of the engine that Thad was bending over, now doing this and
+again that in order to see whether he could not obtain more profitable
+results from the laboring motor.
+
+"I s'pose now," Bumpus finally did muster up courage enough to say, "if
+it came to the worst, and you saw we couldn't make that harbor, why, you
+might head her on to the beach, so that we could get ashore, no matter
+what, happened to the old ship?"
+
+"Yes, how about that, Thad?" questioned Step Hen, as though somehow a
+thought along the same lines might have been passing through his mind
+just then.
+
+Thad shook his head in the negative.
+
+"That would be a risky proceeding, at any time," he observed, "when you
+consider that the shore along here is composed of sharp-pointed rocks,
+and that if there was any sea on at all we'd probably be wrecked long
+before we could land.  That must mean we'd all be thrown into the surf,
+and perhaps lose our lives trying to swim ashore among the rocks.  No
+we'll have to try some other plan than that, or else stick to the boat,
+and hope the storm won't be so very bad after all."
+
+"Well, one thing sure," said Davy Jones, who had not taken any part in
+this conversation thus far, "the clouds are coming along right speedy.
+Since I first took note they've crept up till they look twice as big
+now."
+
+This news was not pleasant for them to hear, though every one realized
+that the speaker was not "drawing the long bow" when he made the
+assertion. Yes, they could almost note the rising of the dark mass.  If
+it kept on as it was doing, inside of half an hour the heavens would be
+obscured above, and perhaps the forerunner of the gale be upon them.
+
+Bumpus quickly started to pulling in the various fish lines he had been
+trailing along after the boat, in hopes of meeting up with a hungry fish
+that might be taken aboard, and not only afford a meal for the crowd,
+but give him a good chance to crow over his rival fisherman once more,
+"rub it in," as he called it.
+
+Thad got out his charts, and the whole lot bent over, while he pointed
+out where they were just then, and the distant harbor he had hoped to
+reach.
+
+"If it comes to the worst," ventured Allan, "there's that lone island
+ahead of us, Sturgeon Island it's called on the chart, and we might get
+in the lee of that."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE SQUALL
+
+
+"Sturgeon Island, did you say, Allan?" remarked Step Hen.  "Sounds like
+it might be a good fishing place.  If we happened to land there, perhaps
+Bumpus and Giraffe might manage to do some big stunts, pulling in
+sturgeon. Can anybody tell me what sort of a fish that is, anyway?  I
+never saw one, or a fellow that caught one, either."
+
+"Oh! they grow to big size, and are caught in the Great Lakes in this
+country.  They take sturgeon eggs I believe to make this high-priced
+stuff they use in the tony clubs and call caviar, or something like
+that," observed Bumpus, who really did know considerable about fish and
+fishing, though of course he did not claim to be a fly fisherman,
+capable of casting seventy feet or more,
+
+But the subject did not interest any of them just then.  The way that
+bank of ominous clouds kept advancing higher and higher soon kept their
+attention riveted in that quarter.
+
+"About how far away from our harbor are we, Thad?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"Something like fifteen miles, I should say," came the reply.
+
+Giraffe looked at the balky engine, and shook his head.
+
+"Then we'd better make up our minds right here and now that we'll never
+get to that place this day," he said, positively; and there was no one
+bold enough to accept of the plain challenge his tones conveyed.
+
+"That means our only hope lies in Sturgeon Island, don't it?" Bumpus
+asked.
+
+"Looks that way," Thad told him.
+
+"But that don't seem so far on the map; you, just put your finger on the
+same, Thad; and if she's close enough to do that, hadn't we ought to see
+that island, ahead somewhere?"
+
+"Suppose you take the glasses and look," suggested the pilot, who was
+busy with the engine that had stopped short again, and needed coaxing to
+take up its burden once more, "It's rather hazy, you'll notice, so that
+you couldn't be sure of anything more than three miles away, I reckon;
+but tell us what lies de ahead, will you, Bumpus?"
+
+A minute later, and the fat scout cried out in considerable excitement:
+
+"I can see land ahead, sure I can, fellows!"
+
+"That must be the island, then," rejoined Thad, busily engaged.
+
+"Our only hope, so we had ought to call it our island," Davy went on to
+say, as he deliberately took the glasses from Bumpus, and glued the
+smaller end of the same to his own eyes.
+
+Then in turn everybody but Thad had to have a chance to look; and in the
+end it was the consensus of opinion that Bumpus had spoken only the
+truth when he said there were positive evidences of some sort of land
+ahead.
+
+"Oh! if you could only get that old junk-shop engine to working for half
+an hour, Thad, we'd have plenty of time to circle around to the leeward
+side of that island, and then we could get ashore, no matter what
+happened to the Belle," Bumpus faltered, as he watched the skipper still
+working as rapidly as he could.
+
+All at once the machinery started up again, when Thad gave the crank a
+whirl.
+
+"Bully for you, Thad!" cried Davy, slapping the other heartily on the
+back; and then turning to look at the black clouds following after them,
+as though he would give fair warning that they meant to make a stiff
+fight for the opportunity of finding safety.
+
+"Go slow!" warned the other; "don't be too sure, because she's limping
+already, and I'd hate to risk my reputation in saying that we could
+depend on that thing five minutes at a stretch," and from the way Thad
+said this it was evident that he had by now almost lost all faith in the
+motor.
+
+"Looks like it might be a race between the storm, and our getting behind
+Sturgeon Island," said Giraffe, as he turned alternately from stem to
+stern of the boat, evidently trying to figure out what sort of chance
+they might have for winning out in the end.
+
+But they knew that it all depended on the engine; if it worked as well
+as it was doing right now they could surely pass over the few miles that
+separated them from the island; and once in its lee it would not be so
+difficult to gain the shore.  Neither the wild wind, nor the gathering
+waves could disturb them, so long as the storm continued to come out of
+the south-west, for they were now cruising along the northern shore of
+the great lake, where the Dominion of Canada held sway, and not Uncle
+Sam.
+
+So they watched it anxiously, and every time it missed an explosion
+Bumpus would utter a grunt or a groan; only to catch new inspiration and
+hope when he found that it was a false alarm, and that they were still
+going right along.
+
+Thad was doing everything he knew how to encourage the engine to keep up
+the good work; but he had already made up his mind to be surprised at
+nothing.  There was a possibility that it might keep working fairly well
+as long as they wanted, in order to find safety in the shelter of the
+island; and then again it was apt to let down at any minute.
+
+Thad, however, was not the one to show the white feather.  He knew that
+there were several of his chums who might not be constituted just the
+same as he and Allan, and Giraffe--Bumpus and Davy and Step Hen; and his
+seeming cheerfulness was partly assumed in order to buoy their drooping
+spirits up; as scout-master Thad felt that he had many duties to
+perform, and one of these was to instill a feeling of confidence in the
+breasts of his comrades.
+
+"I can see a white streak on the water away back there!" announced
+Giraffe, presently.
+
+"That's where you've got the advantage of the rest of us, with your long
+neck, and that way of stretching the same," complained Step Hen; and
+determined to meet the other on his own grounds he clambered to the top
+of the cabin, where he could use the glasses he had taken from the hand
+of Giraffe.
+
+"It's the first blow of the squall, as sure as anything," he immediately
+reported; which news made Bumpus turn pale; for he had not forgotten
+what he experienced on that other occasion.
+
+"Coming racing after us, like hot cakes!" added Giraffe.  "Hadn't we
+better get them life preservers out, and fastened on under our arms,
+Thad?  Then, if so be the old tub did take a notion to turn turtle, we'd
+have some show for our money."
+
+"Make him stop talking that way, Thad, won't you?" urged Bumpus; "he
+just does it to make me have a bad feeling down here," and he rubbed his
+projecting stomach mournfully as he spoke.
+
+"No, I'm sorry to tell you he isn't saying anything too strong, Bumpus,"
+the skipper of the Chippeway Belle assured him; and after that poor
+Bumpus had nothing more to say; only he clutched the cork and canvas
+life preserver which was handed out to him, and with trembling hands
+proceeded to adjust the same under his arms; though it was a very snug
+fit, even if Giraffe had given him the largest in the lot under the
+seats.
+
+"If anything happens, remember," said Thad, in all seriousness, as he
+watched the rapid way in which that ominous white line on the water was
+racing after them; "all of you try your best to land on the island.
+We're getting closer all the while to the same, and there seems to be
+some shore for us to crawl up, because, with the rocks I can see little
+patches of gravelly beach.  Keep your eyes fixed on that, and do
+everything you can to get there in case of a wreck."
+
+"Wreck!" muttered Bumpus, as though talking to himself, as he often did
+when in trouble.  "Didn't I dream I was on a ship that went to pieces in
+storm; and first thing I knew I had to swim for it, and me knowing so
+little about doing that.  Oh! I hope nothing happens, and that we ran
+swing around back of that bully old island soon!"
+
+"So say we all of us, Bumpus," Giraffe echoed; and he did not mean to
+draw the attention of the others to the shaky condition of the fat
+scout, because, if the truth were told, every one of the six boys would
+be found to be quivering with the dreadful suspense, while waiting for
+that forerunner of the squall to strike them.
+
+The engine still continued to keep them moving, although to the excited
+imagination of some of the boys they seemed to be almost standing still.
+
+"What do you think of it now, Thad?" asked Step Hen, with the manner of
+one who hoped for good tidings, yet feared the worst.
+
+"I don't just like the looks of that first rush of wind," replied the
+pilot; "of course if we pull through that we may be able to hold out,
+and gradually force a way around the island.  I'm trying to head as near
+as I dare, because if once we're forced past, there's nothing left for
+us, you understand?"
+
+Yes, they could grasp that point well enough, and Step Hen even besought
+the one at the wheel to work in a little closer.
+
+"Better take the chances of being thrown on the island than to be
+carried past by a fluke of the wind!" he declared, and Thad believed so
+much the same way that he did change their course slightly.
+
+The boys had brought out what most they wanted to save in case of a
+wreck. One carried his clothes bag, with the blanket fastened to the
+same; another had the double-barreled shotgun; while Giraffe made sure
+to see that his fishing tackle was safely tucked in with his belongings,
+which he had made up into as small a compass as possible.
+
+As for Bumpus, he had gathered everything he owned, and looked as though
+he might be a walking peddler trying to dispose of his wares to the
+country people.  On the other hand there was Step Hen who did not appear
+to care an atom about his clothes and his blanket; but he had managed to
+wrap something around the owl, and was all the while gripping the bird
+tightly; though Bumpus said he was silly to risk his own life, when all
+he had to do was to cut the cord he had put around the cloth, unfasten
+the chain that gripped the bird's leg, and give him a toss into the air,
+when Jim would look out for himself.
+
+"Wish I could fly away as easy as he can," Bumpus wound up with; but in
+spite of all these suggestions the obstinate Step Hen still persisted in
+holding on to his prisoner, as though he meant to accept every chance
+rather than let him go.
+
+"Hold fast, everybody, for here she comes!" called Allan, presently.
+
+The puttering of the escape connection with the engine could no longer
+be heard, because of the roar made by the rushing wind, and the splash
+of the curling water, as the squall leaped forward and rapidly overtook
+them.
+
+"Oh; my stars!" Bumpus was heard to call out, as he clung to something
+with all his might and main; for the little cruiser seemed to be lifted
+high in the air, and carried forward on the top of a giant billow, only
+to sink down in the trough of the sea with a heavy motion; but still
+keeping head on.
+
+But in that moment of time Thad Brewster knew that the fate of the boat
+was effectually sealed; because the engine had given its last throb and
+they were now a helpless, drifting object in the midst of those angry
+waters!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+CLEVER WORK
+
+
+Imagine the horror of the six scouts when they realized that they were
+now completely at the mercy of the storm, since the last barrier seemed
+to have given way when the treacherous engine broke down.
+
+Even brave-hearted Thad Brewster felt that their case was desperate: and
+he knew in his secret heart that if they managed to escape a serious
+situation it must be through a narrow gap.
+
+At the same time Thad always made it a point to put on a good face when
+up against trouble.  This was of course partly done because of his
+comrades, since, as the scout-master he felt more responsibility than
+fell to the share of the rest.
+
+Bumpus had been hanging on like a good fellow.  He greatly feared lest
+some sudden violent lurch of the boat toss him headlong into that yeasty
+sea; which he was gazing upon with terror.
+
+At the same time Bumpus had been closely observing the actions of the
+eccentric motor, and was one of the first to discover that it had
+petered out, giving up the ghost completely, as Giraffe would have said.
+
+"Oh! what can we do now, Thad?" shouted the stout scout, as usual
+turning to the quick-witted one in an emergency; but for once even Thad
+was at his wit's ends to know what to attempt, the situation was that
+desperate.
+
+"Everybody hold on!" was all Thad called back.
+
+There was hardly any need of this injunction, for each fellow had
+managed to brace himself, so that unless the boat actually "turned
+turtle," or at least was thrown on her beam ends, they could not be
+dislodged.
+
+Thad was straining his eyesight as best he could, endeavoring to see
+ahead. The furious wind of course made this a difficult task, because it
+not only sent the waves high, but as these broke into foam along their
+crests, this was actually cut off as with an invisible knife, and blown
+away in the shape of flying spud; so that the very air was surcharged
+with a fine mist, rendering it hard to distinguish anything fifty feet
+off.
+
+Of course it was the island that the young leader was striving to see
+all this while.  He knew as well as anything that the one slim hope
+remaining to them must rest upon their chance of finding some sort of
+shelter behind this oasis in the watery waste.
+
+At one time it had been Thad's hope that if the worst came they might
+find themselves thrown on the windward side of Sturgeon Island.  Now he
+knew that this had been rendered an utter impossibility; because the
+storm had swept down upon them so rapidly after their course was changed
+that there had been no time for the cruiser to reach a position that
+would bring about any such result.
+
+And then besides, the surf must be dashing high over that exposed end of
+the rocky island, so that even though they struck, it might be on an
+outer reef.  In such a case who could say whether any of the boys would
+manage to overcome the terrible difficulties lying in wait, and be
+thrown up on a sandy beach, rather than dashed ruthlessly against the
+cruel rocks?
+
+So Thad crouched there near the bow, holding on desperately, and hoping
+for he hardly knew what, save that he seemed to have an inspiration
+there presently would come a slender chance for them to survive the
+blow.
+
+"There's the island!" yelled Giraffe, pointing to the right.
+
+Thad had seen it before the other thus called attention to the fact of
+their being so near safety, yet unable to quite reach it.
+
+"But we're going along past it!" shrieked Bumpus.  "Thad, ain't there
+any way we could work in?  Oh! think quick, please, or, it'll be too
+late!"
+
+They were moving quite fast, with wind and wave joining forces to sweep
+the little helpless craft along.  Just as Bumpus had said, unless
+something could be done immediately it must surely be too late; for once
+they left the island behind, the whole immense inland sea would be
+before them; and their hopes of surviving the storm must sink too close
+upon the zero mark.
+
+Thad was thinking as fast as he could; indeed, his very brain seemed to
+be on fire, such was the mental energy he was expending.  But really
+there was nothing in the wide world that could be done then.
+
+True, they had push-poles, but doubtless the depth of water would have
+rendered these utterly useless, even had they started to handle them.
+Nothing was to be hoped for in the direction of the engine, since that
+had collapsed in the most cowardly fashion at the first swoop of the
+blow.
+
+What then?
+
+Thad had made one little discovery that gave a slender promise of
+succor; and it is strange upon what a small foundation hopes can be
+built at such a time as this.  He saw that the wind had shifted just a
+little; but this was enough to carry the drifting launch a trifle toward
+the side of the island.
+
+Now, it did not stand to reason that they would strike, no matter how
+long that shore turned out to be; because there was enough current to
+sheer them off; but when the lower end of the island was reached, Thad
+really believed there might be a sudden inward sweep of the water that
+had been so long held at bay by the rocky shore.
+
+There always is more or less of this eddy at the end of an island in a
+river; and upon a large lake in our country it may be found as a rule
+toward the eastern terminus, since the prevailing storms come from the
+west, southwest and northwest.
+
+The only question with the anxious lad was whether this eddy would have
+sufficient "pull" to drag them in behind the island.  Upon that one
+small possibility rested all their hopes.
+
+Thad knew that possibly he and his chums might render some assistance at
+this critical moment, if so be they were ready.
+
+"Allan--Giraffe, come here!" he called out.
+
+The two scouts heard him above all the racket of the elements, which,
+what with the howling of the wind, the breaking of the waves against the
+boat, and the roar of the surf on the exposed end of the island,
+amounted to a tremendous volume of sound.
+
+"Ay! ay!" Giraffe was heard to cry in return, as he proceeded to make
+his way forward, clinging to every object that offered a stable hold,
+because the wind seemed trying its level best to tear him away.
+
+Bumpus also heard the call, but as his name had not been mentioned he
+dared not take it upon himself to move so much as one of his tightly
+braced feet. He seemed to feel that if he did so it would be at the risk
+of his life; and the thought of being cast adrift on that raging sea
+filled him with actual terror.
+
+Could those boys have had a vivid picture of that scene just then, they
+would never have been able to look at it again without shivering;
+because their faces must certainly have expressed the sensations that
+filled their hearts to overflowing.
+
+But Davy, as the official photographer of the patrol, was too much
+concerned just then in holding on, to dream of making any use of his
+vest pocket kodak; nor would it have been possible to have obtained any
+sort of view under such stormy conditions as surrounded them.
+
+"What is it, Thad?"
+
+Giraffe asked this question as he and the other scout managed to come
+close to where the patrol leader clung.
+
+"We've got a little chance when we get to the end of the island, don't
+you see?" Thad bawled, making use of one hand to serve in lieu of a
+speaking trumpet.  "We're getting closer all the time, and will just
+skim past the last rock.  And then is our chance, when we strike the
+eddy there always is beyond an island.  Do you understand?"
+
+Both scouts nodded their heads violently, and Giraffe called out:
+
+"What d'ye want us to do, Thad?"
+
+"We must get the setting poles out, and be ready to try and push with
+all our might and main when the time comes.  Everything depends on
+that!" Thad replied, also, at the top of his strong, young voice.
+
+"But it may be too deep!" objected Giraffe; though at the same time
+fumbling with the rope that fastened one of the push-poles in question
+to the deck alongside the cabin roof.
+
+"We've got to take the chances of that," Thad went on; "and besides, you
+know it always shallows where the sand is washed around the point of an
+island.  Hurry, fellows, because we must be nearly there!"
+
+He lent a hand himself, for he saw that Giraffe was meeting with more or
+less difficulty in releasing the pole toward which he had turned his
+attention; though had the conditions been different, the boy might not
+have had the slightest trouble about getting it free.  The boat was
+pitching so furiously, that he could only use one hand, because it was
+necessary for him to grasp some hold, lest he be tossed overboard, as a
+bucking bronco hurls an unsuspecting rider from the saddle by a quick
+upward movement.
+
+Hardly had they secured possession of the two long and stout poles than
+the end of the island hove in sight.  They were very close to it now;
+indeed, it almost seemed as though an agile fellow might have made a
+flying leap, and with half-way decent luck manage to alight on the
+sentinel rock that guarded this point.
+
+But no one tried that desperate game; in fact, it was doubtful whether
+it even occurred to Davy or Step Hen before they had been carried past,
+and the widening gulf rendered such a movement impossible of
+accomplishment.
+
+But the three lads toward the bow of the drifting boat were desperately
+engaged in trying to swerve the cruiser more and more behind the island,
+ere they got so far that they would lose the benefits of the half-way
+calm condition existing in the lee of the shore.
+
+Fortunately the water did prove to be fairly shallow at this point, just
+as the scout-master had predicted; for vast quantities of sand had been
+deposited there from time to time through such storms as the present
+one, and also the melting of the ice that drifted there during each
+breaking-up season for ages past.
+
+The poles easily reached bottom and secured a firm hold there, so that
+the boys were enabled to throw their full strength upon the other ends.
+And the Chippeway Bell was thus shoved around, so that the anchor, which
+was watched by Step Hen and Davy Jones, could be easily thrown ahead,
+thus preventing their drifting further away from the friendly shore.
+And this having been accomplished the three scouts were almost ready to
+drop down with fatigue, for they had worked strenuously.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+MAROONED
+
+
+"Hurrrah!" shouted Bumpus, who had been so worked up during this
+struggle between his comrades and the greed of the elements, that he had
+hardly taken time to breathe.
+
+Davy, and Step Hen too, seemed ready to throw up their hats, and cheer
+with exultation because of their wonderful deliverance from continued
+perils.
+
+All of them were pretty well soaked, though it had not rained at all; so
+that their bedraggled condition must have come from the water that was
+in the air, and an occasional wave that slapped over the boat when it
+broke.
+
+Although they had apparently secured a firm grip on an anchorage, and it
+would seem as though their present troubles were over, Thad did not sink
+down like his two fellow laborers, to pant, and rest up.
+
+He proceeded to scramble aft, for he had made an alarming discovery, and
+wished to start an investigation at once.
+
+The boat sat much lower in the water than he had ever known it to do;
+and this circumstance seemed alarming.  One look into the cabin told him
+the reason, nor was Thad very much surprised to find that it was already
+knee deep in water.
+
+"How did this come in here, fellows?" he asked Davy and Step Hen, who
+from their positions might be expected to know; "did you notice many
+waves pour over the stern of the boat?"
+
+"N-no, hardly any water at all came in, Thad," replied Step Hen,
+astonished when he came to look into the partly submerged cabin for
+himself.
+
+"She kept riding like a duck, and was ahead of the waves most all the
+time," was the testimony Davy added; which might be set down as the
+first words of praise given to the little craft thus far during the
+cruise.
+
+"Why, goodness gracious, Thad, we must be sinking!" bellowed the amazed
+Bumpus, also craning his fat neck the best way he could, in order to
+peer into the cabin.
+
+"Just what she is doing," replied the scoutmaster, composedly; because
+they were now in comparatively shallow water, out of the reach of the
+storm; and it did not matter so much what happened after this.
+
+"Sprung a leak, mebbe?" suggested Giraffe, joining the group.
+
+"Wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened," Allan added, as, he
+too took a survey of the flooded interior.
+
+"Then, like as not she'll go down right under us, after a bit, Thad!"
+exclaimed Bumpus, in new excitement, as he contemplated the distance
+still separating them from the point of the island, and mentally figured
+whether he could float to safety with that life preserver on, and one of
+his chums towing him.
+
+"She will, and that's a dead sure thing," Giraffe told him.
+
+"We ought to get her in closer before that happens, hadn't, we,
+fellows?" Step Hen wanted to know.
+
+"We've got to try that same, and right away!" declared Thad, as he
+stooped to once more; pick up a push-pole.
+
+"Here, you Step, Hen and Davy, take hold in our place, because you're
+fresh, and ought to do better work," Giraffe remarked, as he thrust his
+pole into the hands of the former.
+
+Now, under ordinary conditions Step Hen might have wanted to know by
+what authority the lengthy, scout presumed to order him around, when
+they were of the same rank in the patrol; but he realized the force of
+what Giraffe had said, and hence accepted the pole without a murmur,
+starting to work immediately; while, Davy did the same with the one Thad
+allowed him to take.
+
+"When you get the boat part way up toward where the anchor holds,"
+observed the scout-master, "we'll drag the mudhook in, and stand ready
+to throw it out again.  By pulling on the cable after the anchor gets a
+firm hold on bottom, it's possible to claw the boat along foot by foot.
+I've done that same many a time; and it'll help out more than a little."
+
+They speedily found that Thad spoke truly, and under the influence of
+poles as well as the anchor drag the Chippeway Belle began to approach
+the shore, much to the delight of Bumpus.  When the fat scout, closely
+observing the setting poles as they were dipped repeatedly into the
+water, discovered that they struck bottom in a depth of not more than
+four feet, he was ready to shout with joy.  That meant it could not be
+over his head; and if the worst came, he might wade to land.
+
+Despite the fact that their vessel was a wreck, and about to sink, the
+boys had no desire to complain just then.  Their escape from threatening
+danger had been too recent for them to feel ungrateful.  Later on the
+grumblers would no doubt start to work in their customary way, and find
+cause for venting their disgust because things did not come out as they
+might have wished; but even Giraffe was bubbling over with satisfaction
+when he realized that they had actually managed to cheat the storm after
+all.
+
+It had been a close shave, however, and only for that bright thought on
+the part of Thad, they might at that very moment have been drifting far
+away, with their boat slowly but purely sinking, despite all the baling
+they could accomplish.
+
+But then, what was the good of scout-masters if they were not able to do
+the thinking for the crowd, the reckless Giraffe would possibly have
+said, if the question had been put up to him.
+
+Everybody was working like the busy bees; even Bumpus tried to assist in
+hauling at the cable, having moved forward when the boat no longer
+pranced and bobbed on the agitated sea like a skittish horse.
+
+Of course, as the water was coming in so fast, the cruiser was bound to
+presently strike bottom; but it was the design of Thad to work her in
+just as far as possible, for as they had a block and tackle aboard he
+hoped they would be able to make some sort of rude "ways," where she
+might be hauled out later on, patched up, and their interrupted cruise
+continued.
+
+"Stuck fast, Thad; she's on bottom, and no use straining to try and get
+her another inch toward the shore!" announced Allan, presently; and all
+of them realized that he spoke the absolute truth when he said this.
+
+"Well," remarked Bumpus, complacently, "we are on the wreck of our noble
+ship, and close enough to shore to salvage all our possessions; which I
+consider the greatest of good luck.  Who'll carry me on his shoulders,
+now?"
+
+Strange to say, nobody offered to undertake this task, where Bumpus
+pretended to feel very much hurt, though in reality quite merry.
+
+"I was afraid you'd all speak at once, and have a quarrel over the
+honor; but looks now like I might have to do the grand wading act
+myself, holding up my clothes-bag and blanket, to keep from getting the
+same more soaked than they are now.  If we could only make a raft like
+old Robinson Crusoe did, it would be fine.  Can we get this cabin roof
+off, and would it float, do you think, Thad?"
+
+"We'll wade!" replied the scout-master, grimly, and that settled it.
+
+"The sooner the better," remarked Giraffe, "because night's going to
+drop down on us right early to-day, and we ought to have a warm fire
+started somehow, so's to dry us off," for Giraffe had the utmost faith
+in a fire being able to do about nearly everything necessary to the good
+cheer of mankind, because he fairly worshipped a jolly blaze.
+
+Indeed, as most of them had commenced to shiver already, owing to their
+wet condition, and the stress of excitement under which they had been
+recently laboring, the thought of sitting before a comfortable fire did
+seem to buoy up their spirits amazingly.
+
+"Get ready to slip over, and go ashore!" ordered Thad, "I'll take the
+anchor cable with me, and see that it's made fast to a rock or a tree.
+We may find a chance to mend the boat, and anyway it's just as well that
+we try and keep her here; though if the wind whips around no cable would
+hold her, I reckon."
+
+Giraffe was the first to drop over.  The water hardly came above his
+waist; but then his height was responsible for this, and cautious Bumpus
+did not deceive himself on that account.  Still he found that he could
+easily wade, and in a short time all of them had reached the friendly
+rocks.
+
+Here Thad made the rope secure.
+
+"I'm going back for a few more things, and you might come along with me,
+Allan," the scout-master remarked.
+
+"I reckon you think there's a pretty good possibility that the wind will
+veer around, sooner or later, and that the old tub won't be in sight
+when morning comes?" Allan remarked, as he pushed out alongside his
+chum.
+
+"Chances tend that way," was the replied Thad, "and anyhow, it's better
+that we get all the supplies we have ashore.  Then if 'we have to play
+Crusoe for a while we'll have something to go on with."
+
+"Our stock happens to be pretty low," remarked Allan; "and Giraffe was
+only this morning complaining that he didn't get enough to eat, and that
+we'd better stop off  somewhere to buy more bacon and bread and such
+things. Too bad we didn't think of that when near Duluth, which place
+you wanted to avoid because of certain reasons."
+
+They made the trip without accident.  Then it was considered that about
+all had been taken from the stranded and half sunken cruiser that was
+worth salving.
+
+Already was Giraffe hunting for some good place where they might find
+shelter, and start a fire; for while it had not rained as yet, strange
+to say, a flood was likely to come down at any moment, so long as the
+heavens remained as dark as they were still.
+
+Bumpus was looking all around him.  He did not wander away from the
+rest, because it seemed as though that mysterious island on which they
+had been cast might be inhabited by wild beasts of prey, for all they
+knew, ready to spring upon a nice, juicy morsel like him, and make a
+meal.  That was one of the disadvantages in being plump, Bumpus always
+insisted, because envious eyes were won't to fall upon him first of all.
+
+About that time Giraffe hove in sight again, and from his happy manner
+it was evident that he had important news to communicate.
+
+"Just shoulder your packs, fellows, and come with me," he hastened to
+tell them.  "I've run across the boss place for us to keep under
+shelter; and there's aplenty of nice dry wood handy, so we can lay in a
+supply before it rains.  After all it strikes me that with our troubles
+we ought to be thankful things ain't worse'n they are.  With a fire a
+fellow can do nigh anything to make you feel good.  Come on!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIL
+
+ROBINSON CRUSOE, JR.
+
+
+"There you are," said Giraffe, presently.
+
+"Why, that shelf of rock looks just like it was meant to keep the rain
+off," declared Step Hen, delighted at the prospect.
+
+"Hold on," Bumpus advised.
+
+"What ails you now?" Giraffe wanted to know.
+
+"Why, you see," the stout boy went on to say, "she looks kinder dark and
+gloomy under that same rock."
+
+"But it won't after I get a fire started; you see the night's beginning
+to settle down already," Giraffe told him.
+
+"How d'ye know there ain't somethin' ahiding in there?" demanded Bumpus.
+
+At that the lengthy scout laughed scornfully.  "Oh! that's the way the
+wind blows, does it?  Well, you watch me eat your old wolf up.  I'm
+hungry enough right now to eat anything, I reckon."
+
+Few of them could remember when Giraffe was anything but starving, for
+he always had that appetite of his along, and working overtime.
+
+He immediately crawled under the ledge, for the shelf of rock was not
+high enough to admit of his standing erect.
+
+"Seems to be all right," admitted Bumpus.
+
+"Of course it is, though I kind o' think a wolf, if he showed good
+taste, would let me alone, and wait for you, Bumpus," Giraffe called
+back.
+
+They hastened to deposit their burdens under the shelving rock.
+
+"Now, Thad, don't you think it'd be a good idea to have everybody
+hustle, and collect what fuel we could?" the fire-maker asked.
+
+"As it's apt to rain any, time now," answered the scout-master, "and
+we'll be glad to have a fire all night, it seems as though we'd show our
+good sense by gathering wood while we have the chance."
+
+"That's the ticket!  You hear Thad speaking, fellows, so get busy."
+
+Giraffe showed them how by immediately starting in to collect such wood
+as lay conveniently at hand.
+
+"Pile it up here, where it'll keep dry, and we can get what we need from
+time to time," he told them.
+
+Many hands make light work, and as the entire half dozen boys busied
+themselves like a pack of beavers, before long they had accumulated such
+a pile of good dry fuel as pleased Giraffe exceedingly.
+
+"That's what I call a hunky-dory lot of wood," he finally declared, when
+Thad had announced the they must surely have enough to see them through
+the night, "but better bring in a little more, boys, because you don't
+know how fast the fire eats it up."
+
+As for himself, Giraffe was now ready to get his cheery blaze started.
+
+He actually wasted a match in doing this, muttering at the time that
+there was no use bothering with his fire-sticks, which would come in
+handy later, perhaps, when the stock of matches ran low.
+
+Well, every boy admitted that things certainly did take on a rosier hue,
+once that fire began to crackle and send up sparks.
+
+"That feels good, Giraffe," said Bumpus, holding his hands out toward
+the blaze.
+
+"Sure it does," the fire maker went on to say, "and we'll all feel
+better still after we get some grub inside.  Thad, what are we going to
+have for supper?"
+
+Nobody started making fun of Giraffe now.  They were all pretty sharp
+pushed, and could sympathize with the hungry one.
+
+"Oh! look over our stock, and see what we've got," replied the scout-
+master.  "Only go slow, and don't cook too much, because nobody can tell
+how long we might have to stay here on this island, and we may have to
+come down to half rations yet."
+
+His words struck a chill to some of their hearts.
+
+Giraffe, however, refused to allow himself to be concerned.
+
+"Oh! don't worry, boys," he remarked, "we ain't going to starve, even if
+we have to be marooned here two weeks before a vessel can be signaled.
+Why, what use are the fishing lines to us if we can't take lots of finny
+prizes? Then, if there's ducks around, or anything else to shoot, ain't
+we got a gun?  And last of all, I reckon we'd find lots of mussels or
+fresh water clams in the sand at the end of the island where we landed."
+
+Somehow, his hopeful spirit did a great deal to help buoy up the spirits
+of the other scouts.
+
+Even Bumpus volunteered to assist in getting supper ready; indeed, there
+was no lack of cooks on this occasion, for every one seemed willing to
+lend a hand.
+
+After all, youth is so hopeful, and filled with animal spirits, that it
+takes more than ordinary backsets to dishearten a parcel of healthy
+boys.
+
+By the time the supper was done they were talking like magpies, and it
+would be difficult to imagine that these six happy-go-lucky fellows were
+now actual Crusoes of the, great lake, their boat a wreck, and
+deliverance a very uncertain prospect of the future.
+
+"That's the very last of the bacon, ain't it, Giraffe?" asked Step Hen,
+during the progress of the meal.
+
+"Sorry to say it is," came the reply.
+
+"And don't it taste finer than ever, though?" Bumpus wanted to know.
+
+"That's always the way," laughed Thad.
+
+"Yes," added Allan, "you never miss the water till the well runs dry.
+But how about our ham, is that gone, too!"
+
+"Well, I should say, yes," declared Giraffe, an injured look on his
+face, as if he felt accusing eyes fixed upon him, "s'pose you think one
+poor lone ham with six hungry fellows to chaw away at it, could last
+forever, but it won't.  If you want to know what we've got left I'll
+tell you--two cans of Boston baked beans, one of tomatoes, some
+potatoes, a package of rice, plenty of tea, sugar and coffee, three tins
+of milk, some chocolate, and three packages of crackers."
+
+"Is that all?" gasped Bumpus.
+
+"So you see right away to-morrow we've got to get busy trying to lay in
+some sort of supplies," Giraffe went on to say.  "How about that, Thad?"
+
+"You never said truer words," was the scoutmaster's comment.
+
+"Yum, yum, I don't know when I've enjoyed a supper like I have this
+one," Step Hen acknowledged.
+
+"I hope it ain't the last time I'll hear you say that," remarked
+Giraffe.
+
+"Hope so myself," returned the other, "because it'd be too bad if I had
+to quit eating at my tender age."
+
+"Thad, do you think this island could be inhabited?"
+
+It was Davy who asked this question, but Bumpus must have been thinking
+along the same lines, for he nodded his head violently and smiled, as
+though he awaited Thad's answer with interest.
+
+"Of course I couldn't say," the scout-master observed.  "It's only a
+small rocky island, you know, and people wouldn't live here the year'
+through."
+
+"But they might come here, ain't that so?" Step Hen insisted.
+
+"Why, yes, to fish, or shoot wild fowl in the season," Thad went on to
+say.
+
+"Well, I sure do hope there may be some white fish netters here right
+now," Step Hen said.
+
+"Or if their ain't, let's wish they'll be comin' along soon," Bumpus
+added with a fervency that was certainly genuine.
+
+"I wonder," Davy broke in with, "what we could do if our boat was
+carried away, or we found we couldn't mend the same?"
+
+"Huh!  What did old Robinson do but build him a boat?  Here are six
+boys, wide-awake as they make 'em--and I'd like to know why we couldn't
+do as much as one man!"
+
+Bumpus said this rather boastfully, not that he had so much confidence
+in his own ability to do things as he felt satisfied that Thad and Allan
+would be equal to almost any emergency.
+
+"Well, we might, under the same conditions," the former told him.
+
+"Ain't the conditions the same," inquired Step Hen.  "He was wrecked,
+and so are we, you might call it."
+
+"Yes, but there's no tree on this rocky island big enough to make into a
+boat," Thad informed him.
+
+"That's a fact, they do grow dwarf trees here," Step Hen admitted.
+
+"And suppose there was, how could we ever chop one down with one little
+camp hatchet, and hollow out the log?" Thad asked.
+
+"Might take a year," acknowledged the other.
+
+"We'd freeze to death here in the winter time, because it gets awful
+cold, they say," Step Hen continued.
+
+"Why, we could walk over the ice, and get ashore," Davy suggested.
+
+"Guess the old lake don't freeze over solid any time; it's too big,
+ain't it, Thad?" Giraffe went on to say.
+
+"That's something I don't know," came the scout master's answer; "and
+what's more to the point I don't care, because we'll never stay here
+that long."
+
+"Glad to know it," said Bumpus.  "P'raps now our friends'll be looking
+us up, and come to the rescue."
+
+"You mean Smithy and Bob White, don't you?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"That's who."
+
+And so they continued to discuss matters from every view-point possible,
+as only wide-awake boys may.
+
+Meanwhile the scout-master, thinking that while the rain held off he
+might as well step out and take a little look around, proceeded to do
+so.
+
+Allan Hollister was sitting there, resting, and listening to the
+arguments of the other boys, when he saw the scout-master beckoning just
+outside the full glow of light cast by the fire.
+
+"What's up, Thad?" he asked, as he joined the other.
+
+"I think I've made the discovery that we're not alone on the island,"
+came the answer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+WHAT THAD FOUND OUT
+
+
+"That sounds good to me, Thad," remarked Allan.
+
+"Hold on before you say that," the other went on to say, significantly.
+
+"What about it?" demanded Allan.
+
+"Because we don't know who they may be, if there are men out here,"
+answered the cautious scout-master.
+
+The other gave a low whistle that stood for surprise.
+
+"I see now, what you mean," he observed; "but what makes you think there
+are others here, when they never lifted a hand to help us, and haven't
+as much as dropped in to sit at our fire?"
+
+"Well, perhaps they don't want to see us," Thad told him.
+
+"Oh! yes, we were talking about smugglers, and then we ran across that
+Mr. Stebbins who knew all about us, and he was one of a party looking up
+the slick men who fetch things over from Canada to escape the heavy
+duties. But Thad do you, really believe there could be a bunch of that
+stripe hiding out on Sturgeon Island?"
+
+"I don't know anything yet, Allan, except that I've reason to know we're
+not alone out here, that's all."
+
+"Well, what did you see, or hear?" asked the other.
+
+"This is what happened," Thad went on to say, in a low tone, though the
+storm was still making such a racket that he had to put his mouth close
+to Allan's ear in order to allow him to catch what he said.  "While the
+rest kept up their talking I came out here to see how things looked, and
+make up my mind whether we were going to have any wet with this gale or
+not."
+
+"Yes, and it don't look like it now, Thad, because it's gone so far;
+reckon it must be what they call a dry storm; but go on and tell me the
+rest."
+
+"Well, I was standing about here, in the dense shadow, you see,
+thinking, when all at once I discovered that there was something moving
+between me and the fire!"
+
+"Whew!" murmured Allan, deeply impressed.
+
+"Of course, at first I thought it might be only a fox, or something like
+that, curious enough to want to creep up, and learn what sort of
+intruders had landed on Sturgeon Island; I could see that the bushes
+were moving softly, and that soon the thing, whatever it was, would come
+in sight of where stood here."
+
+"And it did?" Allan demanded.
+
+"That's right," replied the other, softly; "and it turned out to be a
+man's head!"
+
+At that the other scout again gave one of his low whistles, to show that
+he was listening, and duly impressed by the startling information
+conveyed.
+
+"Of course," continued Thad, "I couldn't make out what he was like, very
+well, because his face was turned away from me; but as near as I can say
+he was a big man, a rough looking chap, and ugly in the bargain.  More
+than that, he struck me like he might be a half-breed, or else an
+Italian, for his skin was very dark."
+
+"Well, what did he do?" inquired the other.
+
+"Just lay there watching the rest of you for several minutes, Allan.  I
+could see him elevate his head at times, and then duck like a flash when
+he thought some one might be looking his way; which showed pretty
+plainly that he didn't want to be seen, and that he didn't mean to step
+forward and join the crowd."
+
+"Then he went away, did he?" continued the other.
+
+"Yes, backed off, and I lost track of him among the rocks and the
+bushes," Thad went on to say, impressively.  "It struck me as a queer
+proceeding, and I didn't lose much time in getting you out here, so I
+could talk it over."
+
+"Perhaps there's only one, all told, and he might be some fellow who's
+escaped from prison, and is in hiding away off here, where he thinks no
+one will ever take the trouble to look for him," Allan suggested.
+
+The scout-master shook his head.
+
+"I can't say just what he is, or whether there's a dozen here," he
+observed; "but I do know that all his actions were suspicious, for no
+honest fisherman would do what he did."
+
+"We'll have to be on our guard, then, Thad?"
+
+"That goes without saying, until we know more about who our neighbors
+are," the scout-master replied.
+
+"It sort of complicates the situation some, too, don't it?" Allan asked.
+
+"Yes, and perhaps we'd better not say anything to the rest until we
+learn something more about this thing," Thad told him.
+
+"How are you going to do that, when this man seems disposed to give us
+the cold-shoulder?" inquired the other.
+
+"I had about made up my mind to go off for a little stroll, and see what
+I could run across near by," the scout-master continued.  "This island
+isn't so very large but I could find my way around; and while that storm
+is howling I'm not anxious to cross over to the other side.  This is the
+sheltered part, and like as not these people, whoever they turn out to
+be, will have taken up their camp somewhere about here.  But I wanted to
+warn you so you might make sure none of the other fellows wandered off."
+
+"I'll see to it, though I don't think they're apt to do anything of that
+sort, as they're a tired bunch right now," Allan assured him.
+
+"And while you're about it," continued the other, impressively, "you'd
+better keep your hand on that shotgun of ours all the while, until you
+see me beckon to you again."
+
+"That sounds like you expected we'd be up against it good and hard
+before this game came to an end," remarked Allan.
+
+"Oh! not necessarily," replied his chum.  "It's only following out our
+motto, 'be prepared.'  You know there are a whole lot of sayings along
+that line, such as 'fore-warned is fore-armed,' and as the old pilgrim
+fathers used to say: 'trust in the Lord; but, keep your powder dry!'  We
+want to keep our ammunition ready.  But while you go back to the rest of
+the boys I'll take a sneak."
+
+"Don't think you'd better take that gun along with you, Thad?"
+
+"Not at all," was the quick reply.  "I'll depend on the darkness, and
+the noise of the storm, to keep from being seen or heard.  But I'm bent
+on trying to find out whether there's any sort of shack or cabin built
+here on Sturgeon Island.
+
+"Well, take good care of yourself," warned Allan, a little uneasily; for
+it was almost on his lips to ask why he might not be permitted to keep
+the scout-master company, for he did hate so much to see Thad pull out
+alone.
+
+He insisted on gravely shaking hands before he would leave his partner,
+to return to the camp under the rocky shelf.  They had been so much
+together of recent years that these two boys were exceedingly fond of
+each other, more so than brothers could ever have been; which was one
+reason why Allan disliked seeing the other moving away into the
+darkness, and taking voluntarily upon himself the dangers such a scout
+involved.
+
+Obeying orders he himself made his way back to where the other sat.
+Giraffe was holding out, and explaining something that he had advanced;
+but evidently he must have noticed the absence of the others, for he
+soon asked:
+
+"What's the good word, Allan; because I reckon you and our scout-master
+have been taking a squint at the weather?  I was just telling the rest
+here that we won't get any wet with this blow, because all the signs
+point that way, and as I said before.  I'm getting to be an authority on
+weather now-a-days.
+
+"That was about what we thought," Allan told him.
+
+"You mean that Thad is with me in my assertion, do you?" demanded
+Giraffe; and when the other had nodded in the affirmative the tall scout
+turned to Davy, Bumpus and Step Hen triumphantly, to add: "There, didn't
+I tell you I could hit these weather changes on the handle every time.
+When I warn you next time there's going to be a storm, better hurry to
+get in out of the wet."
+
+"I think it's a great pity you waste your precious time bothering about
+what the weather is agoing to be, when we can't help it; and you might
+be racking that really stupendous brain of yours adoing other things
+worth while," Bumpus went on to remark.
+
+"Huh! as what?" Giraffe wanted to know.
+
+"Well, famines in the eating line, for one thing," spoke up the fat
+scout, instantly.  "S'pose now you'd told us we was going to run up
+against hard times, in the way of a scarcity of grub two days back,
+couldn't we just as well have dropped in to some town along the shore,
+and stacked up with heaps and heaps of good things?  Seems to me,
+Giraffe, you've gone and wasted your talent on the wrong thing.  What
+good is it ever agoing to do you, to pretend to tell what sort of
+weather we'll get next week, when it's only a guess after all?  Better
+make a change, and predict famines and such things, so we can take the
+alarm, and buy out some country grocery."
+
+Giraffe had not one word to say in reply.  He must have recognized the
+force of Bumpus' philosophy, and wished in his heart he had been gifted
+with the spirit of prophecy, so that he might have given warning in due
+time as to the need of replenishing their stock of provisions.
+
+The conversation ran on, other subjects being taken up.  Giraffe wanted
+to know what kept Thad away so long, and was told that the scout-master
+had concluded to take a little look around.
+
+At that the other suggested that perhaps he too might stretch his legs;
+whereupon Allan informed him that he was under orders to keep them all
+close to the ledge under which they had found shelter; and that Thad had
+told him no one must be allowed to stray away a single yard.
+
+After that the boys did not talk quite so volubly; possibly some
+suspicion may have entered their minds that perhaps things were not
+quite so peaceful as they appeared on the surface; and that Thad might
+know of some reason for expecting a new batch of troubles to descend
+upon them.
+
+Allan kept sitting there, gun in hand.  He was waiting to receive some
+sort of sign from Thad, to tell him his presence was desired once again
+out there beside the tree where they had previously conferred.
+
+It seemed a very long time before he caught a movement there, and then
+saw the hand of the scout-master beckoning to him.
+
+"Stay here, as Thad wants to talk with me," he told the rest, after
+which he strode forth to join the other.
+
+"Well, did you find out anything?" he asked, the first thing.
+
+"Only this," replied Thad, solemnly, "the island is occupied by a party
+of several rough men, who have a boat in a sheltered cove over there,
+and a cabin half hidden among the rocks and brushwood; but the mystery
+of it all is, what they may be doing here, and why they look on us as
+enemies!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+BAD NEIGHBORS
+
+
+"It seems to be getting worse and worse, the further we go, don't it,
+Thad?" Allan asked, after he had had time to digest the startling
+information which his chum had imparted, as they stood there within the
+outer edge of the glow cast by Giraffe's camp-fire under the overhanging
+ledge of rock.
+
+"Looks that way," replied the other, seriously enough, for he did not
+exactly like the situation.
+
+"Seems like it wasn't bad enough for us to be wrecked, and marooned on
+this queer island, but we have to fall across the trail of some unknown
+parties who may be up to all sorts of unlawful dodges, for all we know.
+But Thad, tell me more of what you saw and heard."
+
+"When I started out from here," the scoutmaster began, "I knew that I'd
+probably only have to look around at this end of the island, because no
+sensible man was going to take up his quarters where these storms always
+strike in.  And then I figured it out that the chances were, these
+parties, if there were more than the one fellow I'd seen sneaking
+around, and spying on us, would want to be down close to the water, for
+a good many reasons. You can understand that, Allan?"
+
+"Yes, and I think that notion would have come to me, just as it did
+you," replied the other promptly, showing that he was following the
+narrative closely.
+
+"Well, that being the case," resumed the scoutmaster, "I stuck to the
+lower part of the land, climbing over and around such outcropping rocks
+as I came across.  The moon wasn't helping me very much, though it's up
+there behind the clouds; and on that account you see the darkness is
+never so bad as when there's no moon at all.
+
+"It wasn't so very long before I heard something knocking softly near
+by, and listening carefully I made up my mind that it must be a boat
+that was kept in a snug cove perhaps, and yet where it got more or less
+wash of the sea beyond.
+
+"That was just what it turned out to be, Allan, a fair sized motorboat,
+stoutly built, and yet something of a hummer when it would come to
+speed. Her outlines told me this as soon as I could make her out down in
+the berth she occupied between the rocks where they had protected the
+sides of the little basin with logs to keep her from chafing too much.
+
+"Now, speed indicates that the people owning that boat expect to show a
+clean pair of heels, as they say, at times.  They want to be in
+condition to skip out in a hurry, and be able to outrun any ordinary
+craft that might try to overhaul them.  Wouldn't you think that way,
+Allan?"
+
+"You're speaking my mind to a dot, Thad."
+
+"But I wasn't satisfied wholly, and made another move, to see whether
+they had any sort of a cabin around.  Seemed to me that if they were
+using Sturgeon Island for some sort of shady business, they ought to
+have a shelter.  Well, I found it before ten minutes had passed, and by
+just creeping along what I made out to be a regular trail leading from
+the boat up the shore a piece."
+
+"Good for you, Thad; no woodsman could have done better!" exclaimed the
+other scout, who, having had practical experience extending through many
+trips into the wilderness with hunting parties, was pretty well posted
+on the numerous little "wrinkles" connected with woods lore.
+
+"Oh! that was the most natural thing in the world for any one to do, and
+I don't deserve any credit, Allan.  But there were times when I admit I
+did have to almost smell that trail, for it passed over little stretches
+of rock, you see.  At such times I had to look around, guess about where
+it ought to be found where the earth began again, and in that way pick
+it up once more."
+
+"And it really led you to a cabin, did it?" Allan asked, as the other
+paused.
+
+"Yes, and there had been a fire burning in front of the shack, though I
+found only the ashes, as though it had been-hurriedly put out, perhaps
+when they first saw us heading toward the island, just before the storm
+came along."
+
+"The ashes were still warm, then?" queried Allan, knowing that to be the
+logical way a forest ranger always learns about how long past a fire has
+burned out, or been extinguished.
+
+"They were, and I could see that the brands had been torn apart, showing
+that some one was in a hurry to keep its light from betraying the fact
+of any person being camped on Sturgeon Island."
+
+"Just what I'd think myself, Thad."
+
+"After I saw that there was a cabin," continued the scout-master, "I
+wondered whether I had better take chances, and crawl up close enough to
+hear what they were saying, if so be there were men there.  Before I had
+gone far in that scheme I realized that it was a little too risky,
+because I could hear a moving about, as though several men might be
+passing in and out.  I also caught an occasional low muttering tone; but
+the noise of the waves dashing against the rocks, and the rattling of
+the branches of the trees that overhung the lone cabin, kept me from
+catching more than a single word now and then.
+
+"After listening for quite a while I thought you would be getting
+anxious about my staying so long; and as I couldn't get any real
+satisfaction out of the game by hanging around any longer, why, I made
+up my mind to clear out.  I'd learned several things, anyway, and by
+putting our heads together thought we might get at the meat in the
+cocoanut."
+
+Of course that was a neat way of admitting that he wanted to talk
+matters over with his best chum, on the supposition that "two heads are
+better than one."  Allan took it that way, for had he not on numberless
+occasions done just about the same thing?
+
+"Of course you couldn't tell how many of these men there were, Thad?" he
+asked.
+
+"I tried to make a stab at it by noticing the different sound of voices;
+and I'm dead sure there must have been three anyhow, p'raps more," the
+scout-master told him.
+
+"And I think you've said once or twice that they seemed to be a rough
+lot?" the other went on to remark.
+
+"That's my impression, Allan, from a number of things which I won't
+bother mentioning now.  And there's something more.  I told you that
+when I had a glimpse of the fellow who spied on our camp I thought he
+might be a foreigner, or a half-breed, didn't I?"
+
+"Yes, I remember you did, Thad."
+
+"Well," explained the other, "although I heard so poorly while I was
+hanging out near that hidden shack there were times when I thought one
+of the men was talking in some tongue besides plain United States.  Fact
+is, he rattled off something in French."
+
+"Oh! then it's plain who they are--half-breed Canadians from the North
+Shore.  As this island properly belongs to Canada they would have a
+right to land here, and our coming needn't bother them any--if they are
+honest men."
+
+"Thad, they wouldn't hide out like they do if they were the right sort.
+Make up your mind they're doing something that's against the law.
+Honest men don't carry on this way, and spy on a camp of Boy Scouts
+wrecked in a storm.  Why, no matter how rough they might be, they'd drop
+in on us, and offer to share whatever they had.  It's only fear of
+arrest that makes cowards of men this way."
+
+"I forgot to tell you that among the few words I did manage to pick up
+by straining my ears to the limit, were just three that gave me an idea
+they took us for a detachment of militia, either Canadian or Yankee, out
+on the lake on some serious business that might interfere with their
+trade.  Those three words were 'soldiers,' 'khaki,' and 'arrest.'"
+
+Allan gave a soft whistle to indicate how his state of feeling
+corresponded with that of his chum.
+
+"There isn't any doubt about it in my mind, Thad," he asserted,
+vehemently; "but that they're here for no good.  That fast launch means
+they are in the habit of making swift trips back and forth, perhaps
+taking the night for it every time, so as to run less chance of being
+seen.  And here hard luck has marooned us on Sturgeon Island with a
+bunch of desperate smugglers, who look on us as soldiers sent out by the
+Government to gather them in.  If ever we were up against it hard, we
+sure are right now, Pard Thad."
+
+"You seem to have set your mind on that one explanation of their
+presence here; and I'll admit that this island would be a great half-way
+place to hide the smuggled goods on, till the right night came to run
+them across to the American shore; but perhaps you're barking up the
+wrong tree there, Allan!"
+
+"Oh! I'll admit that when I call them smugglers I'm only guessing,
+because, so far as I know we haven't any sort of evidence looking that
+way.  It only seems the most natural explanation of why they're so much
+afraid of us, believing as they seem to that we're connected with the
+Government, one side or the other, just on account of these Boy Scout
+uniforms, which I reckon they don't happen to be familiar with.  But
+Thad, you're holding something back; I can tell that by the way you act.
+You learned more than you've told me so far; own up to that."
+
+The young scout-master chuckled.  He liked to spring little surprises
+once in a while.  It was just like tapping a peg until he had it set in
+the ground to suit his fancy; and then with one master-stroke driving it
+home. He had whetted Allan's curiosity now, and the time had come to
+satisfy it.
+
+"Yes," Thad went on to say, "there was one little discovery I made that
+gave me certain information, and it was strong enough to convince me
+that our earlier suspicions about smugglers and all that sort of thing
+were away off the track."
+
+"Yes, go on, please, Thad."
+
+"It struck me while I was lying there not so very far away from that
+shanty hidden among the rocks and brushwood.  Most of the time the wind
+was blowing on my left side, but every little while there would come a
+pucker or a flaw, causing it to change for just for a second or two.
+And it was when this happened the first time I got scent of what was in
+the wind, in a double sense.  In other words, Allan, I discovered a
+distinct odor of fish in the air!"
+
+"Oh! now I tumble to what you mean!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"And every time that wind brought me a whiff of the fishy smell the
+stronger became my conviction that these men must be poachers, who knew
+they were breaking certain game laws by taking white fish or trout
+illegally, and reaping a harvest that honest fishermen were unable to
+reach.  Stop and think if things don't point that way?"
+
+And Allan did not have to hesitate in the least, for what his companion
+had just told him seemed to settle the matter beyond all dispute.
+
+"Yes, Thad," he said, "now you've let the cat out of the bag there can't
+be any question about it.  These half-breed Canadians are illegal
+fishermen, poachers they'd be called up in Maine; and they believe we've
+come to arrest the lot.  It's a bad lookout for the Silver Fox Patrol;
+but we've seen worse, and always came out on top."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+"HOLD THE FORT!"
+
+
+As a rule it did not take these boys long to decide upon their course of
+action. And in the present instance they had so little choice that
+unusually prompt results might be expected.
+
+"We'd better tell the other fellows, to begin with?" ventured Allan.
+
+"Yes," remarked the scout-master, promptly, "it wouldn't be fair to keep
+things like this from the boys.  They're just as much interested in how
+it turns out as we are.  And, besides, we may get a bright idea from
+somebody."
+
+"You never can tell," added Allan; and some of those same other scouts
+might not have felt complimented could they have heard him say these
+words, as they seemed to imply that miracles did sometimes happen, when
+you were least expecting them.
+
+But having made up their minds on this score the pair walked over to the
+camp under that friendly ledge.
+
+Upon their arrival every eye was immediately glued upon Thad.  It seemed
+as though Giraffe, Bumpus, Davy and Step Hen must have guessed that the
+scout-master had made some sort of exciting discovery, and now meant to
+take them into his confidence.
+
+Complete silence greeted the arrival of the two who had been conferring
+so mysteriously near by.  Of course, once Thad broke the ice, and
+started to tell what he had discovered, this was apt to give way to a
+bombardment of questions; for Giraffe and Bumpus could think up the
+greatest lot of "wants" imaginable; so that it would keep Thad busy
+explaining, until their ammunition ran out, or he had to throw up his
+hands in surrender through sheer exhaustion.
+
+He started in to explain what he had seen, and done, as soon as he
+dropped down beside his comrades of the Silver Fox Patrol.  Immediately
+he had the attention of every one enlisted.  Bumpus sat there, watching
+and listening with such intentness that you would hardly believe he
+breathed at all. Step Hen, too, was following every word spoken by the
+scout-master, as though trying to grasp the seriousness of the
+situation, and figure out a way to circumvent the danger that had arisen
+so unexpectedly in their path. And the other two could not be said to be
+far behind in the interest they betrayed.
+
+As we have already heard Thad tell Allan about his first, seeing the man
+who was spying upon the camp; and later on how he came to find the
+hidden boat, as well as the concealed cabin, there is no necessity for
+us to follow the scout-master while he imparts this information to the
+quartette who, having been absent from that interview, had no previous
+knowledge of the facts.
+
+By the time he spoke of crawling silently away, and coming back to join
+the balance of the patrol, he had his chums worked up to a feverish
+pitch of excitement.
+
+"Well," Step Hen was the first to break in with, "anyhow, game-fish
+poachers ain't quite so bad as smugglers would have been, and that's one
+satisfaction, I take it."
+
+"But they're bad enough," urged Davy; "because they must be breaking the
+laws by taking fish in some way that ain't allowed.  And if trapped they
+stand a chance to face a heavy fine, or a long sentence in jail, perhaps
+both.  And if, as Thad says, they've got the silly idea in their heads
+that we're connected with the Canadian militia, and came here meaning to
+destroy their nets, and likewise haul the men over the coals, why,
+they'll either skedaddle and leave us marooned on old Sturgeon for
+keeps, or else do something worse."
+
+"What sort of worse, Davy?" demanded Bumpus.  "There you go again,
+saying things in a sort of half-cooked way, and leaving the rest to a
+fellow's wild imagination.  Do you mean you believe they'd really hurt
+us, when we ain't so much as lifted a finger to do the bunch any harm?
+Speak out and tell us, now, you old croaker."
+
+"Thad, what do you think they might do?" Davy asked, under the
+impression that he would be wise to leave the explanation of the matter
+to one who was more capable of handling it than he could possibly be.
+
+"If they were sensible men," remarked the other, deliberately, as though
+he had given that particular thought much attention, "I wouldn't be
+afraid, because then we could reason with them, and explain that we were
+only a party of the Boy Scouts of America, off on a little cruise, and
+shipwrecked in the storm; also, that if they helped us in any way we'd
+just forget that we'd ever seen them here."
+
+"But explain and tell us what you mean by hinting that they mightn't be
+sensible men?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Oh! well, that was my way of putting it," Thad went on to say; "I meant
+that as near as I could guess they seem to be Canadian half-breeds, for
+some of their talk was in a French patois I couldn't just understand.
+And I've always heard that those kind of men are mighty hard to handle,
+because, like Italians they get furiously excited, and let their
+imaginations run away with them, like some other fellows I happen to
+know."
+
+"Did you say there, were only three of this bad crowd, Thad?" Giraffe
+asked.
+
+"I wouldn't like to say for sure," came the reply, "but as near as I
+could make out that would cover the bill."
+
+"Huh! and we count six, all told," continued the tall scout,
+indifferently, although Thad imagined he was not feeling so comfortable
+as he pretended to be.
+
+"Yes, six boys," the scout-master reminded him.
+
+"But husky boys in the bargain, and accustomed to taking care of
+themselves in tight places," Giraffe went on to remark, proudly.
+"Besides, ain't we got a gun that shoots twice?  That ought to account
+for a couple of the rascals; and then what would one poor fish poacher
+be against a half dozen lively fellows, tell me that?"
+
+Allan laughed at hearing the boast.
+
+"How easy it is to figure out who's going to win the next championship
+in the National League of baseball clubs, while you're sitting around
+the stove in the winter time?" he told Giraffe.  "But these paper
+victories seldom pan out the same way when the good old summer time
+comes along, and the boys get hustling.  I suppose now, Giraffe, you'll
+be the one to knock over those two men, each with a single shot from
+your faithful double-barrel.  Give him the gun, Step Hen, and let him
+start in right away."
+
+Of course that rather startled the tall scout.
+
+"Hold on there, don't be in such a big hurry!" he went on to say,
+holding up a hand to persuade Step Hen to keep the firearm a while
+longer.  "Course now I didn't exactly mean it that way.  I never wanted
+to shoot a man, that I know of.  What I had in my mind, I reckon, was
+that one of us could keep a pair of these rascals covered with the
+shotgun, and hold 'em steady, while the other five managed the third of
+the bunch.  See?"
+
+"The trouble is," Thad told them, "none of us know French, and in that
+case we mightn't be able to talk with the poachers, even if they gave us
+half a chance.  They seem to have a bad case of the rattles right now,
+and if it wasn't for the storm I really believe they'd get away from
+here in a hurry."
+
+"Do we want 'em to go, or stay?" asked Bumpus, as though he could not
+settle in his own mind which one of these several openings would be best
+for their interests.
+
+"For my part," spoke up Step Hen, "they couldn't clear out any too soon
+to make me feel happy.  I know what the breed is like, and believe me,
+boys, I don't care to make their acquaintance, not me."
+
+"That's all mighty fine, Step Hen," remarked Giraffe, loftily, "but when
+you talk that way you don't look far enough ahead."
+
+"Just explain that, will you, and tell me why I don't?" demanded the
+other, with some show of indignation.
+
+"Well, suppose now they did jump the island, and give us the merry ha!
+ha! what difference would it make to us whether they upset out there on
+that stormy lake or not; wouldn't we lose all chance of being ferried
+across to the mainland, and so making our escape from this measly
+island?"
+
+Step Hen apparently caught the force of this reasoning, for he subsided,
+with a sort of discontented grunt.
+
+Davy, however, took up the reasoning at this point.
+
+"But suppose now they wouldn't want to get out in such a hurry?  What if
+they had a lot of valuable fish nets around somewhere that they hated to
+let go?  Don't you reckon in that case they might take a notion to try
+and bag the lot of us, so's to hold us prisoners till they could decide
+what to do with the ones they took to be Government spies?"
+
+Bumpus groaned as he listened to all this terrible talk.  His mind was
+already on fire with anticipations of what the immediate future might
+bring forth.  Still, on occasion Bumpus could show considerable valor;
+and several times in the past he had astonished his chums by certain
+feats which he had engineered.
+
+"It's up to me to think up some way to get us out of this terrible
+pickle," he was telling himself, over and over again; but even if any
+one of his five comrades heard what he was saying they paid little
+attention to it; but the fat scout meant all he said, as the future
+proved.
+
+"One thing sure," Giraffe went on to remark, presently, "they know where
+our little camp is, because Thad saw that spy watching what we was
+adoing here.  And if so be they should take a notion to pay us a visit
+before morning, why, they wouldn't have any trouble finding us out."
+
+"Not less we made a move," argued Davy.
+
+"And we're too nicely fixed here for that, ain't we?" Giraffe demanded,
+as he cast a swift look around to where the various blankets, having
+first been dried in the heat of the fire, were now inviting to repose,
+each fellow having apparently selected the particular spot where he
+meant to sleep, let the wind howl as hard as it wished, for that
+projecting rocky ledge would keep any rain from coming in upon them.
+
+"That's right, Giraffe; you know a good thing when you see it!" declared
+Bumpus, who did not altogether fancy starting out to seek another camp,
+where they would have to lie down in the dark, and take chances of being
+caught in a rain, if later on such a change in the character of the
+storm came about.
+
+"Then, if Thad says the word, we'll stick right here, and hold the
+fort!" the tall scout exclaimed.  "In the words of that immortal Scot we
+read about, what was his name, Roderick Dhu, I think, who cried: 'Sooner
+will this rock fly from its firm base, than I.'  Them's our sentiments,
+ain't they, fellows?"
+
+"Hear! Hear!" came from Bumpus, as he snuggled down again contentedly,
+believing that this disagreeable part of the program at least had been
+indefinitely postponed, and that they stood a good chance for staying
+out their time under that friendly protecting ledge.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+GRAFFE HAS A SCHEME
+
+
+"If they'd only leave us alone, why, what's to hinder us mending our own
+ship, and sailing away out of this, sooner or later?" Bumpus wanted to
+know; after they had been talking the matter over for a long time.
+
+"I suppose you'll do the mending part, Bumpus?" demanded Step Hen,
+wickedly.
+
+"Well, I'd be only too willing, if I knew how," instantly flashed back
+the other, "but unfortunately my education was neglected when it came to
+patching up boats, and tinkering with machinery.  I'm ashamed to confess
+to that, but it's the whole sad truth.  But, thank goodness, we've got a
+scoutmaster who can do the job mighty near as well as any machinist
+going. I'll back Thad, yes, and Allan in the bargain, to make a decent
+job of it. And even Giraffe here might fix things up in a pinch.  So
+long as we've got a chance to make the Chippeway Belle do duty again at
+the old stand we hadn't ought to complain, I think, boys."
+
+"I'm sorry to tell you that there's only a slim chance of that ever
+coming about," Thad remarked, right then and there.
+
+"Then you believe she was smashed worse'n any of us thought was the
+case; is that it, Thad?" asked Giraffe.
+
+"No, it isn't that so much as another thing I've noticed lately, that's
+going to upset our calculations," replied the scout-master.
+
+"Tell us what that might be, won't you?" pleaded Bumpus, with a doleful
+shake of his head; as though he might be beginning to believe in the
+truth of that old saying to the effect that "troubles never come
+singly."
+
+"You may remember," Thad went on to say, "that when you asked my opinion
+be fore about the boat staying where we left it, I said there was a good
+chance we'd find her there in the morning if the wind didn't shift?"
+
+"And now you mean that it's doing that very same thing, do you?" Giraffe
+asked.
+
+"If you'd taken the trouble to notice all sorts of things, that you had
+always ought to as a true scout," the other told him, "you'd have found
+that out for yourself.  The fact of the matter is that when we first
+reached this place under the ledge the wind seemed to find a way in
+here, and make the fire flare at times.  Look at it now, and you'll see
+that it's as steady as anything; yet you can hear the rush of the wind
+through the treetops just the same.  It's turned around as much as
+twenty degrees, I should say."
+
+"And that's bad for the boat, ain't it?" Bumpus wanted to know.
+
+"I'm afraid so," the scout-master replied; "because it will get the full
+force of both wind and heavy seas.  Long before morning it will most
+likely be carried out into deep water, and disappear from sight.  I
+think we've seen the last of the Chippeway Belle, boys."
+
+"But, Thad," observed Giraffe, "how about that anchor rope?  You know we
+carried it ashore, and fastened it to a rock.  Would that break, now?
+It was a dandy rope, and nearly new."
+
+"Well," said Thad, decisively, "once the seas begin to pound against the
+boat, with every wave the strain on that rope is bound to be just
+terrific. It might hold for a time; but mark my words, the constant
+chafing against the rock, where you fastened the end, will wear the
+strands until they snap; and then good-bye to our boat."
+
+"Then we had better make up our minds to facing that fact, and not feel
+very much disappointed if in the morning we can't see a sign of the
+Belle," Allan went on to give, as his opinion; for he accepted, the
+theory advanced by the scout-master as though there could be no
+reasonable doubt about its being a positive fad.
+
+"What if them fellows took a notion to step in on us to-night, and make
+us all prisoners of war?" queried Bumpus; for this possibility had been
+working overtime in his brain, and he was only waiting for a break in
+the conversation to advance it.
+
+"Just what I was going to speak about," Giraffe up and said, somewhat
+excitedly.  "You all sat down on me when I happened to remark about
+getting a pair of the birds with the gun.  I move that we ask Thad to
+take charge of the firearm, and the rest can load up with whatsoever
+they can find," and leaning over, he deliberately appropriated the camp
+hatchet before Step Hen, whose eye had immediately started to look for
+the same, could fasten, upon it.
+
+"Me too, I second the motion!" exclaimed Davy, in turn making a dive for
+the long and dangerous looking bread knife, which had proved so handy
+for many services while on the trip, and was being constantly lost and
+found again.
+
+"But where do I come in?" asked Bumpus, as he saw the favorite weapons
+of offense and defense taken possession of so rapidly.
+
+"A club will do for you, and Step Hen as well," remarked Giraffe,
+complacently; "for when a fellow has appropriated the best there is, he
+can afford to smile at his less fortunate comrades, and assume a
+superior air.
+
+"Oh! well, I'd just as soon arm myself that way," the fat scout told
+them, as he set about finding something that would answer the purpose
+from amidst the firewood they had carried under the ledge to keep it
+from getting wet. "I'm a peaceful fellow, as you all know, and think
+there's nothing like a good hickory or oak club to convince other people
+that you've got rights you want them to respect.  I've practiced
+swinging Indian clubs by the hour; and when it comes to giving a right
+hard smack, count me in.  That's going to hurt, without injury to body
+or limb."
+
+At another and less exciting time Giraffe would have surely insisted
+upon Bumpus explaining the difference, between these two sources of
+injury; but just then he had too much else to bother his head about to
+start an argument.
+
+"Now, let's see any three men tackle this crowd, that's what!" he went
+on to remark, as he swept his eye proudly over the motley array of
+weapons; for even Allan had armed himself, having a stout stick, with
+which he doubtless felt able to render a good account of himself in a
+tussle.
+
+"But let's remember," warned Thad, "that we don't want to let ourselves
+be drawn into a battle with these poachers, unless it's the last resort.
+They're ignorant men, and just now they must feel pretty desperate,
+thinking that we're going to break up a profitable game they've been
+playing for a long time, carrying their fish to some American market
+against the laws of Canada, and perhaps smuggling their cargo in, if
+there's any duty on fish, which I don't know about."
+
+"If only you could get a bare chance to talk with one of the lot, Thad,"
+Allan spoke up, "I'm pretty sure you'd be able to let them know the
+truth; and in that way we'd perhaps make friends of them.  They might
+take our solemn promise that we never would give them away, and land us
+somewhere ashore, so we could make our way to either Duluth, or some
+other place to the north here."
+
+"I'm hoping to get just such an opening, if we can hold the fort till
+morning; and they haven't skipped out by then," Thad told him; which
+proved that he had planned far ahead of anything that had as yet been
+proposed.
+
+"And meanwhile try to be thinking up any French words you ever heard,"
+suggested Bumpus, artfully.  "Who knows what use the same'd be to you in
+a tight hole.  How'd parley vous Francais sound, now?  I've heard our
+dancing-master in Cranford use that more'n a few times, though I own up
+I don't know from Adam what she means.  But it might make a fellow come
+to a standstill if he was agoing to run you through, and you suddenly
+shot it at him."
+
+"Thank you, Bumpus, I'll remember that, though I think it means 'do you
+speak French?'  And what if he took me up, and became excited because I
+couldn't understand anything he said, you see it wouldn't help much,"
+the scout-master told him.
+
+"But say, what are we meaning to do about standing guard; because I
+reckon now we've got to watch out, and not let them fellows gobble us up
+while we're sleeping like the babes in the wood?" Step Hen asked.
+
+"Oh! that can be fixed easy enough, if we all have to stay awake through
+the whole night.  Wouldn't that be the best plan, Thad?"
+
+It was Bumpus who put this important question, but none of them were
+deceived in the least by this apparent warlike aspect on the part of the
+fat scout.
+
+Bumpus could play a clever game when he became fully aroused; but if
+Thad guessed what his true reason might be for asking such a question,
+he did not choose to betray the fact, knowing that it would cause the
+fat scout more or less confusion.
+
+"Yes, it might be as well for all of us to try and stay awake!" he
+declared.  "As you seem to have settled it that the gun falls to my
+share, why, I'll make up my mind not to close an eye the whole livelong
+night; and if the rest choose to sit up with me and help watch, the more
+the merrier."
+
+"I will, for one," said Giraffe, stoutly.
+
+"You can count on me to make the try," added Davy.
+
+"Ditto here," Allan went on to say.
+
+"Oh! I'm willing enough," Bumpus observed hastily, seeing that several
+of his comrades were waiting for him to speak; "but I hope that every
+time anybody just sees me abobbing my head he'll stick a pin in me; only
+please don't jab it too deep, or you'll make me howl."
+
+"As for me," Step Hen added, "I don't feel a whit sleepy right now; and
+my eyes are as starey as a cat's, or Jim's over yonder," pointing to
+where he had managed to fasten the captive owl, which he had persisted
+in carrying ashore, despite the fact that he had about all the burden
+any boy would care to carry when compelled to wade through water almost
+up to his neck.
+
+"Well, listen here, then," remarked Giraffe, mysteriously, "I've been
+thinking up a scheme that looks good to me, and I want to know how the
+rest of you stand when it comes to trying it out."
+
+"Go on and tell us what it is, Giraffe!" exclaimed Bumpus, eagerly.
+
+"Yes, if you have thought up anything worth while, we'd be mighty glad
+to hear about the same," added Allan.
+
+The tall scout looked cautiously about him, and lowering his voice went
+on:
+
+"Why, I'll tell you, fellows, what I thought.  Now, about that boat
+belonging to these here poachers, what's to hinder us from coolly
+appropriating the same, and starting out to look for the mainland
+ourselves?  Then, you see, it'll be that bunch that's left behind to be
+marooners on old Sturgeon Island; and when we get to town why, we can
+let the authorities know all about what they're adoing out here, so
+they'll come and arrest the whole kit.  Now, what d'ye say about that
+for an idea, hey?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE LONG NIGHT
+
+
+"Good for you, Giraffe!" exclaimed Bumpus, ready to seize upon the idea
+without stopping to examine the same in order to find out whether or not
+it were possible to carry it out.
+
+"It ain't half bad," admitted Step Hen.
+
+"But how about starting to sea in this blow?" asked Allan, quietly,
+after he and Thad had exchanged winks.
+
+"Oh! hang the luck, I clean forgot all about that!" admitted the tall
+scout, his smile of triumph disappearing immediately.
+
+"Whew!  I should say we couldn't!" Bumpus hastened to add, showing that
+it was possible for a boy to change his opinion almost as speedily as a
+shift of wind causes the weather vane to turn around, and point toward a
+new quarter.
+
+"And," added Thad, "that will all have to be left to the morning,
+anyway. If we should find a half-way chance to do something along those
+lines, why, we'll gladly give Giraffe the credit for thinking up the
+scheme. But it's time we settled down for the night now; so let's fix
+our blankets and be as comfy as we can, even if we do expect to keep
+awake."
+
+"And don't you think it'd be a good plan, Thad," suggested Step Hen, "to
+always keep that gun in evidence?  If we could make them believe we all
+of us carried the same kind of weapons, we'd be more apt to see sun-up
+without any trouble happening; and that's what I think."
+
+"Well, now, there's some meat in that idea of yours, Step Hen," the
+scout-master told him; "and it wouldn't be a bad scheme for those who
+have clubs, to carry them more or less this way under your arm, just as
+you would your gun if tramping, or on a hunt.  In the firelight they may
+think that's what they are, and the effect will be worth something to
+us, as you say."
+
+All of the boys started to settling down.  Policy might have told them
+that if they made themselves too comfortable the chances of their
+remaining awake were rather slim.
+
+Bumpus was a lad of good resolutions.  No doubt he meant to stay awake
+just as firmly as Thad himself could have done.  But sleeping was one of
+the fat boy's weak points, and it was not long before he found himself
+nodding.
+
+Twice he was jabbed in the leg with the point of a pin, once by Giraffe,
+and the second time by Davy; for the other boys, took his request
+literally, and doubtless enjoyed having the chance to "do him a to
+favor."
+
+Each time he was thus punctured the fat scout would start up hurriedly,
+and open his mouth to give a yell, perhaps under the impression that he
+had been bitten by a snake, which reptiles he despised, and feared very
+much.
+
+Discovering where he was in time, however, he had managed to hold his
+tongue, and muttered to himself that they "needn't go it quite so
+strong," as he ruefully rubbed his limb where the pin had entered.
+
+After each sudden awakening Bumpus would sit sternly up straight, as
+though he had taken a solemn vow not to be caught napping again; but as
+the minutes dragged along he would begin to sink lower and lower again,
+for sleep was once more getting a firm grip upon him.
+
+When the fat boy reeled for a third time Thad, who was watching
+operations with more or less amusement, noticed that neither Step Hen
+nor Davy offered to make any use of their pins; the truth being that
+both of them had meanwhile gone fast asleep, and hence there were all
+three in the same boat.
+
+It happened that Bumpus managed to arouse himself presently with a
+start; as if a sudden consciousness had come upon him. Perhaps he
+imagined he felt another jab with a pin, and the sensation electrified
+him.
+
+First he looked on one side and then on the other.  When he discovered
+that his persecutors were both sound asleep, a wide grin came over the
+good-natured red face of the stout youth.  Thad could see him
+industriously hunting along the lapels of his khaki jacket, as if for a
+weapon in the shape of a pin; and having secured what he wanted Bumpus
+carefully reached out both hands, one toward Step Hen and the other in
+the direction of Davy Jones.
+
+Then, with a low squeal of delight, he gave an outward motion with each
+hand.  There instantly broke forth a chorus of yells that could be heard
+above the noise of the breakers on the rocks, and the wind rattling the
+branches of the low oak trees.
+
+"Tit for tat," exclaimed. Bumpus; "what's sauce for the goose is sauce
+for the gander.  After this we'll call it off, fellows, remember.  It
+was give and take, and now the slate's wiped clean."
+
+Davy Jones and Step Hen, quite tired out from their exertions, slept
+peacefully, one on either side of Bumpus; while Giraffe dozed, and
+whenever he happened to arouse himself he would wave that hatchet
+vigorously, as if to call attention to the fact that he was "on deck,"
+and doing full duty.
+
+The long night dragged on.
+
+Once Thad had some good news to communicate.
+
+"Clouds seem to be getting lighter," he announced, pointing overhead.
+
+"Yes," added the other, "and there's a sure enough break, I reckon,
+p'raps now we'll see something of that old moon before the peep of day
+comes."
+
+At any rate the fact of the khaki-clad denizens of the camp under the
+ledge being constantly on guard must have impressed itself upon the
+minds of  the poachers, for they made no hostile move while darkness
+held sway.
+
+Of course though, both sentries were glad to see the first peep of dawn
+in the far east.  The wind had died down, and there seemed to be some
+chance that the wild waves would subside by noon, at least sufficiently
+to allow them to go forth if by any good luck they were given the
+opportunity to leave the island upon which they had been marooned by so
+strange a freak of fate.
+
+The others were soon aroused, and made out to have just allowed
+themselves a few winks of sleep toward morning, though they cast
+suspicious looks toward each other, Thad noticed.  However, neither he
+nor Allen said a word about the hours that they had been by themselves
+on guard.  The dreaded night had passed, and nothing out of the way had
+happened, so what was the use of rubbing it in, and making some of their
+good chums feel badly.
+
+"I think it would be possible to see the place where we left our boat,
+if I went out on that point there," Thad remarked, while some of the
+rest were busying themselves in getting breakfast ready, as though
+meaning to make all the amends possible for their lack of sentry duty.
+
+As though he wished to make sure concerning this matter the scout-master
+left them, and made his way to the lookout he had indicated.  He came
+back later on, and his face did not seem to show any signs of good news.
+
+"No boat in sight, I take it, Thad?" asked Giraffe, rightly interpreting
+his lack of enthusiasm.
+
+"It's sure enough gone, and look as hard as I could there didn't seem to
+be the first sign of the poor Chippeway Belle.  Dr. Hobbs' friend will
+have to buy him another cruising boat, that's sure," Thad told them.
+
+"Well, he can do that, all right, out of the insurance money he collects
+from that old tub," declared Giraffe, indignantly.  "Let me tell you
+he's been hoping we might sink the thing, somehow or other."
+
+Breakfast was a bountiful meal, because Giraffe happened to be a fellow
+who disdained half-way measures, when it came to feeding time.  The idea
+of going around half starved so long as there was the smallest amount of
+food in camp did not suit him at all.
+
+So they ate until every one, even Giraffe, announced that he had had
+enough; but by that time the frying-pans were empty, and the coffee-pot
+ditto, so perhaps it may have been this condition of things that
+influenced some of them to confess to being filled.
+
+The face of the tall boy had become clouded more or less, and it was
+evident to the scout leader that Giraffe was busily engaged in pondering
+over something that did not look just right to him.
+
+"What's the matter, Giraffe?" he asked, as they lounged around, enjoying
+the fire, because the morning had opened quite cool after the blow of
+the previous night.
+
+"I don't like this thing of an empty pantry, that's what!" observed the
+other, who could not forget that in less than five hours there was bound
+to be a demand from somewhere inside that he get busy, and supply
+another ration; and where was he to get the material to carry out this
+injunction when their supplies were practically exhausted.
+
+"Well, we can't do anything about it, can we?" demanded Step Hen,
+trembling in the hopes that the tall scout might have thought of a plan.
+
+"That's just like some fellows," remarked Giraffe, disdainfully; "ready
+to throw up the sponge at the first show of trouble.  Now, I ain 't
+built that way; and say, I've thought up a plan by which we might get
+some grub."
+
+"Yes, what might it be?" asked Thad, seeing that the other was waiting
+for a little encouragement before bursting out into a display of
+confidence; for he knew Giraffe's ways to a fraction.
+
+"I tell you what we ought to do," the other suddenly explained; "march
+on that cabin in a bunch, looking mighty determined, and then demand
+that they supply us with what grub we need to tide us over.  There you
+are; and how about it?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+WHERE WAS BUMPUS
+
+
+"Huh?  I don't all speak at once, please.  Seems like my splendid idea
+ain't made a hit like I expected it would.  What ails you all?" Giraffe
+demanded, after a dead silence had fallen upon the little party, instead
+of the quick response he had hoped for.
+
+"We're waiting to hear from Thad," explained Step Hen, as though he
+might himself be "up in the air," or, as he would himself have said,
+"straddling the fence," not knowing whether to scoff at the other's
+scheme, or give it his unqualified approval.
+
+"Well, I wanted to figure it over in my own mind first," remarked the
+scout-master, slowly.  "It has some good points, Giraffe, but we'll have
+to get good and hungry before we start to holding up other people and
+demanding that they supply our wants, even if they are only fish
+poachers."
+
+"Then you don't think we had ought to rush the cabin, as yet?" asked the
+other in a disappointed lone.
+
+"Wait awhile; and see what turns up," Thad told him.
+
+"But what could come along to give us a meal around noon?" Giraffe
+flashed up, always thinking of the main chance, which meant looking
+after the demands of that voracious appetite.
+
+"Oh! lots of things," laughed Thad.  "You know yourself it's the
+unexpected that keeps happening with us right along.  Many a time in the
+past we didn't have any idea of what was going to stir us up, till it
+came along. Just now it strikes me all of us ought to stick together,
+and not go wandering around by ourselves."
+
+"Bumpus ought to be here to get that advice, then," remarked Davy.
+
+At that Thad turned upon the other scout.
+
+"Why, I hadn't noticed that he was away," he said, hastily, and frowning
+at the same time; "when and where did he go, can you tell me that, Davy,
+since you seem to be the only one who knows about his being gone?"
+
+"Why, you see, Thad," began the other, looking a trifle alarmed himself
+now, "he just remembered after we'd had our breakfast, you know, that he
+must have dropped his belt somewhere; and as he remembered having the
+same after he came out of the water, he said he expected he'd be able to
+pick it up between here and that place; so he strolled off.  Why, I
+never thought but what some of the rest of you saw him go; and because
+nobody said a word I 'spected it was all right."
+
+"How long ago was that, did you say, Davy?" Thad asked.
+
+"Why, just after Giraffe here cleaned out the last piece of bacon in the
+pan, as he said it was silly to waste even little things; and, after
+all, he wasted it in a hurry, too, let me tell you," Davy proceeded to
+say.
+
+"Why, I think that must have been nearly twenty-five minutes ago!"
+exclaimed Step Hen, in some excitement, as he cast an anxious look away
+across the rocks and brush that interfered somewhat with their view of
+the route Bumpus would be apt to take on his way toward their landing
+place.
+
+Thad jumped to his feet.
+
+"This must be looked into!" he said, decisively.
+
+"You're going off to hunt for him, I take it?" observed Giraffe; "how
+about not getting separated, like you just told us?  Ain't it going from
+bad to worse, Thad, if so be you rush out by yourself and leave us
+here?"
+
+"Yes," added Davy, quickly, "if they're alooking around for chances to
+gobble us up, one by one, first it'd be Bumpus, then our scout-master,
+and then another of the bunch, till we all got caught.  Thad, hadn't we
+ought to go along with you--"
+
+"Just what I would have proposed, if you'd let, me speak," the other
+assured them readily enough; "so get, ready now, and we'll start off."
+
+"But how about all our stuff here; shall we leave it behind?" questioned
+Davy.
+
+"Oh! I hope not," remarked Step Hen; "I've got somewhat attached to that
+blanket of mine, you know."
+
+"Yes, we've noticed that lots of times, when you hated to get up in the
+morning," chuckled Giraffe,
+
+"But how about it, Thad; do we leave 'em here, and run the chance of
+getting the same took; or shall we take the stuff along with us?"
+
+"I don't believe these men will bother with such small things as
+blankets and cooking things; if we had a supply of eatables it might be
+a different matter; but we happen to be shy along that line.  Yes,
+bundle them up, and hide them 'as best you can. We may be in for a
+fight, for all we know, and in that case we'd want the freedom of our
+arms to work those clubs."
+
+"Sounds like business, anyway!" muttered Giraffe, as he started in to do
+as the scout-master recommended; for obedience is one of the first
+principles laid down in the rules by which Boy Scout are guided when
+they subscribe to the regulations of the troop they have joined.
+
+They were soon ready.
+
+As the five lads went forth they presented quite a formidable appearance
+indeed, what with the gun, the camp hatchet, the long bread knife, and a
+pair of clubs thick enough to give a fellow a nasty headache if ever
+they were brought in contact with his cranium.
+
+"First of all, it's only right we should give a hail; and if Bumpus is
+wandering around somewhere he may answer us; and then we can wait for
+him to come in.  I see he's left his bugle with his blanket here; pick
+it up somebody and give the recall, if anybody knows how."
+
+"Trust that to me!" exclaimed Davy; and snatching up the nickeled
+instrument he placed it to his lips, immediately sending forth the
+strident sounds that have done duty on many a battlefield.
+
+No sooner had the last note pealed forth than every boy listened
+eagerly; but there was no reply.
+
+"Sure he could have heard that, even if he was at the other end of the
+island," remarked Davy, ready to try again if the scout-master told him
+to do so.
+
+"And Bumpus has got a good pair of lungs, so he'd be able to let us know
+he was on to the job, if he had the use of his mouth!" remarked Giraffe,
+darkly.
+
+"But you don't hear even a peep, do you, fellows?" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Come on, and fetch that bugle with you, Davy," said Thad; "we might
+need it again later, you know.  I wonder, now, what the poachers will
+think when they hear a bugle sound?  If they don't know anything about
+the Scouts, they'll think more than ever that we belong to the Canadian
+militia."
+
+Thad could understand just what course Bumpus was likely to take in
+passing along the rough surface of the ground between their landing
+place and the spot where they had found the friendly ledge.
+
+That was the way he expected to go also, keeping constantly on the
+lookout for any sign calculated to tell him if the fat scout had fallen
+into difficulties.
+
+It led them down near the edge of the water, too; and this gave Thad a
+sudden bad feeling.  Could it be possible that Bumpus, who was always a
+clumsy fellow at best, owing to his great bulk, had tripped, and taken a
+nasty fall, so that his head had struck some cruel rock?
+
+He would not say anything to the rest just now upon that score; but all
+the same it troubled him not a little as he wandered along, keeping on
+the alert for just such a trap, into which the missing scout may have
+fallen.
+
+All at once Thad stopped, and the others saw a peculiar look cross his
+face.  It seemed to tell them that their guide had conceived an idea.
+
+"Guessed where he's gone, have you, Thad?" inquired Giraffe, quickly.
+
+"Well, no, hardly that," was the reply; "but I ought to tell you that
+right now we're close to that clump of brush that hides the little rock
+hollow where they've got their boat hidden."
+
+"Oh! mebbe Bumpus he went and took a look in there, just the same as you
+did, and discovered the boat, too!" remarked Step Hen.
+
+"Well, what if he did, would that explain his absence one little bit?"
+demanded Davy.  "You don't think, now, I hope, our chum is such an idiot
+that he'd start to take a little cruise out there on that rough water
+all by himself?  Bumpus ain't quite so much in love with sailing as all
+that, let me tell you right now."
+
+In another minute they were looking at the boat that lay concealed in
+among the rocks and brush.  Thad even jumped down, and passed into its
+cabin; while the others listened, and waited with their hearts
+apparently ready to jump up into their throats, lest they caught sounds
+of a conflict.
+
+But presently the scout-master again appeared, and joined them.
+
+"Not there, then?" asked Giraffe, in a disappointed tone.
+
+"No, but I saw the print of his shoe on the seat of the boat, which
+shows Bumpus did climb down here; but it was heading outward, so it
+seems he came up again.  Now to look a little further, and find out if
+he went on toward the spot where we came to land."
+
+They started off, leaving the vicinity of the fish poachers' hidden
+boat. For a couple of minutes, Thad seemed to be having little or no
+trouble in following the marks which Bumpus had left behind him; for the
+fat scout never so much as dreamed that there was such a thing as
+covering his trail; nor would he have known of any reason for doing
+anything like this had he been so far up in woodcraft.
+
+"Hold up!" they heard Thad say, suddenly, as he bent over more than he
+had been doing up to now.
+
+All of the others waited anxiously to hear what the scout-master
+believed he had discovered, for they could see him moving this way and
+that. Finally Thad looked up, to disclose a frown upon his usually calm
+brow.
+
+"Well, would you, believe it," he went on to say, as free from anger as
+he possibly could bring himself to speak, "they've gone and done it,
+after all."
+
+"What, Thad?" asked Giraffe, who had been actually holding his breath
+the while.
+
+"Jumped on our chum right here, and made him a prisoner," came the
+staggering reply; "I reckon they must have done something rough to him,
+or we'd have heard him make some kind of an outcry; but they got Bumpus,
+all right, boys!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+LOYAL SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+This assertion on the part of their leader was so tremendous that for
+almost a dozen seconds the boys could not utter a single word; but just
+stood there, and gazed at Thad, speechless.
+
+But it is a very difficult thing to muzzle some lads for any length of
+time; and Giraffe presently burst out with:
+
+"Jumped on poor Bumpus right here, did they, Thad?  And p'raps pounded
+him into a condition where he just couldn't give the alarm, no matter
+how hard he tried?  Oh! mebbe I don't wish I could have been there to
+touch up the scoundrels with this fine hatchet?  What I'd a done to 'em
+would have been a caution, let me warn you!   But how do you tell all
+this from the signs, Thad?  We're only a bunch of next door to
+tenderfeet scouts when it comes to reading trail talk; but we know
+enough to understand when she's explained to us. Please open up, and
+tell us now."
+
+"And then we must decide what we'll do, so as to rescue our chum," said
+Step Hen angrily; "because scouts always stand by each other, you know,
+through thick and thin; and Bumpus is the best fellow agoing, you bear
+me saying that?"
+
+"Well, it's this way," said the scout-master, always ready to oblige his
+mates whenever he could do so; "you can see that some sort of a scuffle
+has taken place where we're standing right now.  Other feet than those
+of Bumpus are marked; and then they all start away from here, heading in
+that direction.  But although Bumpus walked to this spot there's never a
+sign of his footprints, which I know so well leading off from here."
+
+"What's the answer to that?" asked Davy.
+
+"Why," broke in Giraffe, quickly, "that's as plain as the nose on your
+face, Davy.  Our chum was carried away!  Either he couldn't walk because
+he'd been tapped on the head, and was senseless; or else they had got
+him tied up that quick."
+
+"Is that so, Thad?" demanded Step Hem
+
+"Giraffe has got the answer all right," came the reply.  "I can see
+where these fellows must have been hiding, and let Bumpus pass them by.
+Then one dropped down on top of him, so that he couldn't so much as draw
+in his breath before they had him.  This is what I was thinking about
+when I said we shouldn't be caught off our guard; and that we'd be
+foolish if we separated at all, for they could pick us off one by one,
+where they'd be afraid to tackle the whole bunch.  It came quicker than
+I thought it would, though."
+
+"Well, we ain't going to stand for this, I hope?" remarked Giraffe.
+
+"We'd be a fine lot of scouts, wouldn't we," broke in Davy, indignantly,
+"if we were ready to desert our chum when he was in hard luck?  Anybody
+that knows what the boys of the Silver Fox Patrol of Cranford Troop are
+would make certain that could never go down with them.  Sure we ain't
+ameaning to keep on hiding our light under a bushel, and sneaking off,
+while Bumpus, good old Bumpus, is in the hands of the enemy, and p'raps
+with a splitting headache in the bargain."
+
+"Headache!" echoed Step Hen; "just wait till we get our chance, and if
+they ain't the fashion among these here poachers, then I don't know
+beans, and I think I do.  Wow! you hear me talking, fellows!" and he
+caused his club to fairly whistle through the air, as though getting
+into the swing, so that he would know just how to go about laying out
+one of the law-breakers when they finally rounded them up.
+
+"Hope we ain't meaning to waste any more time around here than's
+necessary, Mr. Scout-master?" Giraffe observed, grimly, running his
+finger suggestively along the edge of the camp hatchet, which they kept
+in pretty good condition, so that it would really cut quite well.
+
+"We're off right away," said the other.
+
+"And Thad," observed Allan, speaking for the first time, because he was
+usually a boy of few words, and one who left it to some of the others to
+do pretty much all the talking, "the new trail, where we fail to find
+any mark of Bumpus' shoes leads this way, which I take it is toward that
+shack you said you'd seen last night when you took that little scout on
+the sly?"
+
+"It sure does, Allan," came the reply.
+
+"Well, then, we must expect that was where they carried our chum; and so
+we'll make for the cabin now," Allan continued.
+
+"We'll see it soon enough," Thad told them, "because it's only a little
+ways from where they have their powerboat hidden.  Move along as still
+as you can, boys; and no more talking now--except in whispers."
+
+Every scout must have felt his heart beating like a trip-hammer as the
+forward progress was continued.  The very atmosphere around them seemed
+to be charged with electricity; at least one would imagine so to see the
+way they looked suddenly from right to left with quick movements, as
+they went stooping along.
+
+It was only a space of sixty seconds or so when Thad came to a stop.
+They knew from this that the cabin spoken of must already have been
+sighted; and this proved to be the case, as was made apparent when they
+came to examine the territory just ahead.
+
+Among the rocks and undergrowth it could hardly be seen; indeed, if they
+had not known of its presence there, possibly none of them would have
+thought a cabin was so near by.
+
+They stared hard at it, but failed to see the first sign of any living
+being in the neighborhood.
+
+"Any signs of 'em, Thad?" whispered Giraffe, who was close at the heels
+of the scout-master; so close indeed, that Thad had more than once
+wondered whether the tall and nervous scout were still waving that up-
+to-date tomahawk, and if he the leader, might be so unlucky as to get in
+the way of the dangerous weapon.
+
+"Nothing that I can see," Thad answered, softly.
+
+"But you think they're in that place, don't you?" Giraffe continued to
+ask.
+
+"Like as not they are," the scout-master replied.
+
+All of them were staring hard at what they now saw.  Having continued to
+advance a little farther they made out what seemed to be a lot of
+barrels; and some of them must have contained ice, to judge from the
+straw scattered about.  Well, ice was needed in order to properly pack
+fish for the market; and if the poachers had ever had a supply on the
+island, secured during the winter time, it must have been exhausted
+before now, because the season was late.
+
+Yes, and what was more to the point, as the breeze happened to waft an
+odor to their noses all of the scouts detected the strong and
+unmistakable smell of fish, which must always be associated with every
+fishing camp.
+
+"Are we agoing to walk straight up to that door, and knock it in?" asked
+Giraffe, after they had stood there for a couple of anxious minutes,
+staring hard at the lone shack, as though trying to peer through the log
+walls, and see what lay within.
+
+"That might be hardly the thing for scouts to do," Thad told him.  "They
+are taught to be cautious as well as brave.  If those men happen to be
+hiding inside there, wouldn't they have a fine chance to riddle us if we
+walked right up as big, as camels?  No, we've got to show a little
+strategy in this thing, eh, Allan?"
+
+"Just what we have, Mr. Scout-master."
+
+"So let's begin by circling around, and coming up on the shack from the
+other side," Thad said this he started off, with the others skulking
+along behind, about like a comet is followed by its tail.
+
+They kept a bright lookout all the while, not meaning to let the
+poachers get the better of them by creeping away from the shack while
+the boys in khaki were carrying out this evolution.  Nothing however was
+seen.  If the men were still in there they kept very quiet, everybody
+thought; and somehow this worried more than one of the scouts.
+
+Giraffe could not see what all this creeping around was intended for,
+anyhow; he would have been in favor of separating, and rushing toward
+the cabin from as many points of the compass as there were scouts.  That
+sort of plan at least had the benefit of speed; for they would either be
+at the door inside of ten seconds, or have been staggered with a volley
+from within.
+
+But it would not be for much longer, because even now they had made such
+good progress that a few minutes more must put them through.
+
+It seemed an age to Giraffe since they had started to creep to the other
+side of the shack; when he saw by the actions of their leader that Thad
+was now ready to order the real advance.
+
+There did not appear to be any sign of a window on this side of the rude
+building, so that the chances were no one inside could watch their
+coming; which Giraffe well knew had been the principal reason why Thad
+had chosen to make this rear approach.
+
+"Now listen, all of you," whispered the leader, in thrilling tones; "I'm
+going to call out to Bumpus, and perhaps we'll get a clue regarding
+what's happened to him."
+
+Raising his voice, he called out the name of the fat scout twice in
+succession, being very particular to speak it distinctly, so that any
+one within would have to be absolutely deaf not to hear it.
+
+There was no reply, that is, nothing in the way of an answering voice;
+but all of them caught a peculiar sound that kept up intermittently for
+almost a full minute.
+
+"Now, what sort of a queer rumpus would you call that?" asked Step Hen.
+
+"Made me think of somebody kicking his heels into the floor, or some
+such stunt as that," Giraffe declared; while Davy nodded his head, as
+though there was no need for him to say anything when another voiced his
+sentiments so exactly.
+
+"Thad, are we going to stand this any longer?" Allan demanded,
+
+"No, we must see what's inside that place; so come along, boys, and
+we'll break in the door!" with which words the scout-master ran quickly
+forward, the others almost outstripping him, so great was their
+eagerness to be "in the swim," no matter what happened.
+
+The door seemed to be fastened in some way; though there was nothing in
+the way of a pistol shot or even a gruff voice warning them off.
+
+Thad tried in vain to find the fastening.
+
+"Pick up that log, and use it as a battering ram!" he ordered; and the
+other four scouts hastened to do so, while the patrol leader stood ready
+with his gun, not knowing how soon he might have need of it for defense.
+
+As the log came crashing against the door it flew wide open, proving
+that it had never been really intended as a means for keeping enemies
+out. Dropping the log, and at once snatching up their weapons, the
+scouts rushed to the open doorway, to stare into the cabin.  What they
+saw amazed, and yet delighted them.  There was not an enemy in sight;
+but some object moved upon the hard puncheon floor; and looking closer
+they discovered that it was no other than Bumpus, bound hand and foot,
+gagged, and with his face as red as a boiled lobster, redder by far than
+his fiery hair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+NOT SO GREEN AS HE LOOKED
+
+
+The only reason that Bumpus did not call out help! was because the rough
+gag, consisting of a cloth tied about the lower part of his face,
+prevented him from saying a single word.
+
+It was a sight that staggered the other scouts, although at the same
+time they felt considerable satisfaction at finding their lost churn so
+speedily, and thus learning that he had not come to very serious harm.
+
+There was an immediate rush made inside the shack, each seeming desirous
+of being the first to render Bumpus assistance.  All but the scoutmaster
+entered in this promiscuous way, and Thad was too wise a bird to be
+caught with chaff.  What if this should be some sort of a trap, into
+which the rest of the boys were rushing headlong?  He did not stop to
+consider how they might be caught, but made up his mind that it was
+policy on his part to stand guard there at the door.
+
+There were more than enough hands to free the prisoner, and he would not
+be missed in that way.  So Thad, handling his ready gun suggestively,
+and keeping a keen lookout for signs of trouble, stood there, waiting
+for the rest to come but.
+
+Amidst more or less confusion Bumpus was unbound, after that gag had
+been removed from his mouth.  The first thing he did was to breathe
+heavily, as though during his confinement he had not been able to get
+his wind as freely as he liked.  Then, when he could get on his feet
+with the help of Step Hen and Giraffe, he stamped on the cloth that had
+done duty as a preventative of speech.
+
+"Oh! what haven't I suffered, having that measly old thing under my nose
+for ages, and this smell of fish everywhere around me!" he exclaimed, as
+though fairly bursting with indignation.   "How long have I been shut up
+here, anyway, fellows?  Seems like days and weeks must a passed since
+they took me.  I kinder lost my senses I reckon, after that chap dropped
+on top of me, like the mountain was acoming down.  Please tell me what
+day of the week this is?"
+
+At this the others looked puzzled.
+
+"Why, you sure must be locoed, Bumpus, to get so twisted as that!"
+declared Giraffe.
+
+"I should say he was!" echoed Davy.
+
+"Why, this is the same morning after the storm, don't you know, Bumpus,
+really and truly it is," Step Hen went on to assert, with a ring of pity
+in his voice.  "And, say, did you think it was to-morrow, or the next
+day, and we'd just about forgotten we had a chum who was missing?  Well,
+if this don't take the cake, I never heard the beat of it."
+
+"Fetch him outside so I can ask a few questions!" called Thad just then.
+
+"Yes, for goodness sake get me where I can have a whiff of clean air;
+I'm nearly dead with this fishy smell.  I always did hate to handle fish
+after they got over their jumping stage, and this is awful!" Bumpus
+wailed.
+
+"It certain is," muttered Giraffe, holding his fingers up to his nose.
+
+So they all bustled out of the door, where they found the scout-master
+on duty; and all at once it struck the other fellows how smart Thad had
+been in holding back at the time the rush was made to free Bumpus.
+
+"Oh! this is a thousand per cent better!" the late prisoner declared,
+with genuine thanksgiving in his tones, as he fairly reveled in the
+clear air that had been purified by the recent blow.
+
+"I heard you asking what day this was, and from that we understand that
+you must have lost your senses for a while, and got mixed up?" Thad
+remarked.
+
+"That's what happened, Thad," replied the other, promptly enough.
+
+"Well, it's not only the same morning after the storm," continued the
+other, "but just about an hour after you went off to hunt for your belt.
+I see you found the same, and that they made good use of it to fasten
+your arms behind your back."
+
+Bumpus looked astonished, as though what he heard was hard to believe;
+for he shook his head slowly, and observed:
+
+"Tell me about that, will you?  Well, sir, that was the longest hour
+that ever happened to me in all my life!"
+
+"Hold on!" corrected Giraffe, "you're forgetting that time you tripped
+in the dark, and fell over a precipice a thousand feet deep, and hung
+there from the top, yelling for help.  We came galloping to the spot,
+and rescued you, about as limp as a dish-rag; and you told us how you'd
+suffered such agonies that you lived ten years, and wanted to know if
+your hair had turned white.  But when we held the light over the top of
+that awful precipice, and showed you that the ground was just about six
+inches below your toes as you dangled there, why, you made out that it
+was all a good joke, and that anyhow you'd given the rest of us a bad
+scare."
+
+Bumpus grinned, as though the recollection rather amused him now.
+
+"But this time it was different, Giraffe, because they wanted me to
+tell, and I just wouldn't.  Then the big man who was leader, gave me a
+knock on the head, he was so mad at me, and I keeled over a second time.
+That's when I thought days had passed, when I heard you fellows talking
+outside, and after that an earthquake came knocking down the door.  My!
+but I was glad to see the bunch come piling in, you can take it from me.
+Never will forget it, I give you my word, boys!"
+
+"But see here, Bumpus," said Thad, "what do you mean when you say you
+refused to tell?  Of course all of us know how stubborn you can be, when
+you take a notion; but what could these men want to get out of you that
+you'd refuse to let go?  Not any information about us, I should think?"
+
+"Well, hardly," replied the other.  "You see, they had me tied up, and
+that horrible fishy rag fastened around my mouth so I couldn't talk; but
+the fellow that could speak United States bettern'n either of the others
+told me to nod my head if I promised to show 'em where I'd hid it; but
+every time I shook it this way," and he proceeded to give an emphatic
+demonstration of what a negative shake might be.
+
+"But what had you hid away that they wanted so badly?" persisted Thad.
+
+Bumpus grinned, and raised one of his eyebrows in a comical manner.
+
+"Oh! that was a little trick of mine," he remarked, composedly.  "P'raps
+the rest of you'll give me credit for being a mite smart when I tell
+you. But in order to make you understand, just wait till I go back to
+the time I left camp to look for this belt."
+
+"That's the best way, I should think," agreed Giraffe, who knew from
+experience how hard it sometimes proved to drag the details of a story
+from Bumpus.
+
+"Oh! I ain't meaning to string it out everlastingly!" declared the
+other. "I'm going to be right to the point, see if I don't.  Well, after
+I picked up my belt I just happened to remember what Thad had told us
+about that concealed boat belonging to the queer chaps who were hiding
+on this island; and before I knew hardly what I was doing I found myself
+aboard the same, nosing around.
+
+"All at once it struck me what a bad job for us it'd be if they took a
+notion to skip out after the wind and waves went down, and left us here
+by our lonely.  So I made up a cute little plan calculated to block that
+game right in the start.  What did I do?  Just unfastened the crank they
+used to start the engine agoing and hid the same under my coat.  I was
+meaning to fetch it to our camp, so we could make terms with the men,
+when I thought I saw somebody slip around a tree and, on the impulse of
+the moment, as they say in the books, I just let that handle drop into
+the hollow of a stump I happened to be passing."
+
+"Good for you, Bumpus!" exclaimed Giraffe, patting the other on the
+shoulder.
+
+"Well, it wasn't so very good for me in one way," the fat scout
+remarked, with one hand tenderly caressing a bump he seemed to have on
+his head; "because that same little trick got a fellow of my size in
+heaps of trouble right away.  But you know how I hate to give a thing
+up, boys; and once I'd done this job I was bent on holding out to the
+bitter end.
+
+"Well, to make a long story short, the next thing I knew I didn't know
+anything, because that big clodhopper came down from a tree right on top
+of me, and one of his shoes must a struck me on the head right here, for
+it hurts like the mischief.
+
+"When I came to my senses I was fixed up like you saw, and inside this
+old fish house.  Honest boys, first thing, before I got a good look
+around, I thought I had died, and was amouldering in my grave.  The
+three men were hanging over me, ajabbering like so many monkeys or poll
+parrots.  Then the big fellow with the black beard began to throw all
+sorts of questions at me, which I managed to understand.
+
+"Seems like they had gone to the boat after leaving me here, p'raps
+meaning to take chances out on the lake, waves or no waves, because they
+thought if they stayed any longer they were agoing to be gobbled by the
+soldiers, sure pop.  And then they missed that old crank.  Course they
+knowed I'd been pottering around their boat, and they wanted to find out
+what I did with the handle, because it happens you can't start that
+engine like some I've seen, in an emergency, without the crank.
+
+"We had it pretty warm back and forth for a session, him a firing
+questions at me, sometimes in French, and again in mixed English; and me
+a shaking my head right and left to tell him I wouldn't give up the
+information, not if he kept going for a coon's age.  And sudden like, he
+got so fiery mad he just slapped me over the head, and I admit I lost
+all interest in things on this same earth till I came to, and heard
+voices outside that seemed familiar like.  You know the rest, boys; now
+let's get away from this place in a hurry.  I'll taste rank fish for a
+month of Sundays, sure I will. Ugh!"
+
+"Wait, don't be in such a hurry, Bumpus," said Thad.  "First of all I
+want to say that you've done a smart thing, even if it was reckless;
+because with that boat in our hands we can really leave Sturgeon Island
+any time we want, once the lake quiets down some.  And on the way back
+to camp we'll just pick up that crank, after which all we have to do is
+to make sure these three frightened men don't jump in on us, and take us
+by surprise. But while we're here we ought to see what they've got that
+makes them want to avoid the officers who patrol the lakes looking for
+smugglers, game-fish poachers and the like."
+
+"Give me the gun then, Thad," said Allan, promptly, as he saw the other
+glance toward him; "and I'll stay out here on guard while some of the
+rest investigate."
+
+"Thanks, that pleases me," replied the scout-master, relinquishing the
+weapon that had proved to be worth its weight in silver to them, in that
+it cowed the trio of lawless men who had their headquarters on Sturgeon
+Island.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE SKIES BEGIN TO BRIGHTEN
+
+
+It was not very light inside the cabin, so that the first thing Thad did
+in his customary energetic way was to take a lantern from a hook, and
+put a match to the wick.  After that they could see better.
+
+"Don't seem, to be much of anything around here now that we can see
+half-way decent," remarked Giraffe.
+
+"Oh I ain't there?" said Bumpus, who was, pinching his nose between his
+thumb and forefinger, "now, it strikes me there's a whole lot, when you
+come to think."
+
+"However those men could sleep in here beats me?" ejaculated Step Hen,
+who was not looking very happy himself, as he sniffed around.
+
+"Oh! mebbe you'll kinder get a little used to it after awhile," Bumpus
+assured him, in a tone meant to be comforting.
+
+"I don't believe they did sleep in here at all," Thad remarked, after he
+had been spying around a little longer.  "You can't see a sign of a bed,
+or a blanket, or even leaves in a corner to tell where anybody laid
+down."
+
+"And outside of these few old oilskin rags that they use to wear in
+their business," added Giraffe, "and hung up on nails along this wall,
+there ain't anything to tell that they stayed here.  Say, Thad, whatever
+do you think this shack could a been used for?"
+
+"Where's your nose?" demanded Bumpus at that juncture.
+
+"Yes," Thad went on to say, "that's about the only thing you need to
+tell you, Giraffe.  Seems like they must store their catch here until
+they get enough on hand to pay to stop work, and pack and ship the same
+out.  Let's look around.  What d'ye call this but a kind of trap in the
+floor?"
+
+"It sure is, Thad," admitted the tall scout, promptly.
+
+"Looks like it had been used a heap, in the bargain," advanced Step Hen.
+
+"Why, of course, because there must be some sort of well underneath the
+house, where they keep ice all the while, and drop the fish in as they
+net them.  Perhaps one reason why they hate to leave here in a rush is
+that they've got illegal nets out in different places right now, which
+cost a heap of money, and they hate to let them go.  Hand me that strip
+of iron, please, Davy.  Looks to me as if they use this to pry up the
+trap.  There, what did I tell you?"
+
+As the scout-master said this he managed to skillfully raise the square
+that was cut in the floor of the cabin.  Underneath the old building
+there must have been a natural well in among the rocks; for as Thad held
+the lantern over so that all of the boys could see, they discovered what
+looked like a cellar of solid stone, some fifteen feet deep, and with a
+ladder at one side that was doubtless used as a means of passing up and
+down.
+
+"Well! I declare! look at the piles of fine fish, will you?" exclaimed
+Step Hen.
+
+"All sorts too--trout, white fish, and even black bass, whoppers at
+that!" added Davy, staring at such a remarkable sight.
+
+"They must take these in some way that's against the law!" Thad
+declared. "Their suspicious actions prove that, plain enough."
+
+"That's the greatest lot of game fish I ever saw together!" Giraffe
+ventured, "and if such things keep going on, chances are even the Great
+Lakes'll be drained of decent sport before many years.  It's a shame,
+that's what it is."
+
+Bumpus was the only one who had made no remark; but all the same he
+seemed to be busy.  They saw him dive into a pocket, and what should he
+fetch out brut a stout fish line wound around a bobbin, and with a hook
+attached. This he immediately began unrolling so that the end carrying
+hook and sinker fell down toward the bottom of the pit.
+
+"Look at Bumpus, would you?" exclaimed Step Hen; "he's gone clean dippy,
+that's what?  Thinks he's out on the lake, and these fish are swimming
+down there waitin' to bite at his bait!  Poor old Bumpus, that knock on
+the head was too much for him!"
+
+"Was, hey?" snapped the object of this commiseration, as he went on
+unreeling his line; "you just wait and see whether I've lost my mind, or
+if I ain't as bright as a button.  See that buster of a trout alying
+there on top?  Well, that beats the record so far; and if I can only tip
+my hook under his gill I'm meaning to yank him up here the quickest you
+ever saw. Guess the rules and regulations of our watch only said a
+fellow had to catch his fish with hook and line; it never told that they
+had to be alive, and swimming, not a word of it.  You watch me win that
+championship right here!"
+
+"There's a fish pile down in the cellar," spoke up the rival of Bumpus,
+indignantly, "and what d'ye think, Bumpus here means to fetch up a lot
+of 'em with his hook and line, and count the same against me.  Hey!
+guess two can play at that sort of game, if there's going to be anything
+in it; so look out; because I'm after that same big trout myself."
+
+Twice Bumpus managed to get his hook where it seemed to catch upon the
+monster trout's exposed gill, and with a cry of triumph he started to
+pull in; but on one occasion the slender hold his hook had taken broke
+away; and the second time it chanced that Giraffe had managed to fasten
+his barb somewhere about the dorsal fin of the fish, so that there was
+an immediate struggle for supremacy, with the usual result in such cases
+that the anticipated prize fell back, and was lost to both contestants.
+
+"Tell them to let up on that silly business, and let's get out of here,
+Thad," said Step Hen, when this thing had gone on for some time, with no
+result save a weariness to the two rivals.
+
+"But seems to me," Dave put in just then, "that couple of them same
+trout and white fish would be mighty tasty dish for a bunch of scouts I
+know of who always carry their appetites with them."
+
+When Giraffe heard him say that, he suddenly seemed to lose all his
+fierceness as a contestant for honors.
+
+"Here, let's stop this business, Bumpus, because I ain't agoing to let
+you grab up any fish that easy like; and I reckon you feel the same way
+about me.  Anyhow, I leave it to Thad here if it's a sportsmanlike way
+of scoring in our game?  If he says no, why I'm willing to let you hook
+up some of the beauties for our dinner; or to make things more lively I
+agree to climb down that greasy old ladder and put 'em on the hook for
+you.  How about it, Mr. Scout-master; is it fair?"
+
+"Perhaps the letter of the law might favor such a course," he said,
+solemnly; "but we pretend to be sportsmen, all of us, and as such we go
+farther than that.  And Bumpus, you know very well that nothing of this
+kind was thought of when you made your wager with Giraffe.  As I was
+counted on to be the umpire I say now and here that the fish taken have
+to be alive at the time they are hooked, and swimming in the lake."
+
+"Then that settles it, Thad," chuckled Bumpus, with a grin; "anyhow, I
+was only fooling, and wouldn't want to count honors won so cheap as
+this.  But drop down there, Giraffe, since you were so kind as to
+promise, and hook me on that gay fellow I nearly had two different
+times.  Let me feel how heavy he is?  I'd go myself, but chances are I'd
+sure collapse down there, because already I'm feeling weak again, and
+that's the truth."
+
+Giraffe evidently did not mean to go back on his word; and accordingly
+he carefully climbed over the edge of the opening, found a resting place
+for his feet on the top round of the ladder, and then began to slowly
+descend.
+
+First of all he hooked on the big trout, and gaily Bumpus pulled the
+prize up, remarking at the time that it felt as though he were lifting a
+grindstone.  When he lowered his line again Giraffe had a splendid fresh
+looking white fish ready, and this he sent up, after the trout.
+
+"I just can't stand this any longer," the boy below called up; "and I'm
+acomin' right along with the next one, which ought to be a white fish, I
+reckon.  Oh! my! hope I don't keel over before I get to the top.  If I
+do, please, please don't run away and leave me to my fate, boys!"
+
+Perhaps Giraffe was only joking, but it was noticed that when he hastily
+clambered out of the fish pit he made a streak for outdoors, still
+hanging on to his latest capture.
+
+In fact, as they had had enough of that thing, all of them hastened to
+follow the example set by the tall and lanky scout.  Outside they found
+Allan examining the prize with considerable interest, while Giraffe was
+fanning himself, and making all sorts of grimaces as he raised first one
+hand and then the other to his nose.
+
+"I'll step in and take a look now, while we're here," mentioned Allan;
+"because I may never get another chance to see what a fish poacher's
+storage place is like."
+
+"Queer where they've gone and hidden themselves," Step Hen remarked, as
+he looked all around as though half expecting to see a bearded face
+thrust out of the bushes, or above a pile of rocks near by.
+
+"Well, just now they're in a sort of panic, and hardly know what to try
+next," Thad told them.  "Of course they must see that we're only boys,
+after all; but from the fact that we wear uniforms they suppose we are
+connected in some way with the militia, and that perhaps a boatload of
+soldiers is even now on the way here, obeying some sort of wireless
+signal we've managed to transmit.  They thought to seize Bumpus, and
+perhaps get us all, one by one; but when they found that he had rendered
+their boat helpless they just threw up the sponge and quit."
+
+"Well, I kinder feel a mite sorry for the rascals," Step Hen observed;
+whereupon the usually gentle Bumpus, who could be depended on to forgive
+the first one of all, fired up, and burst out with:
+
+"Then I ain't, not one whit; and I guess you wouldn't either, Step Hen
+Bingham, if you had a lump as big as a hickory nut on top of your head,
+that felt as sore as a boil, and knew one of that crowd did it to you.
+Ain't they breaking the law of the land; and every fish they take in
+their illegal nets or seines means one less for the fellow that fishes
+for sport, or the man that does business according to the rules and
+regulations. Sorry, well I guess not!  And when we move away with their
+old boat we'll send somebody with brass buttons over to Sturgeon Island
+to take off the marooners."
+
+"Whew! listen to the savage monster, would you?" purred Step Hen; but
+Bumpus had suffered too much to be in a forgiving humor, and he
+continued to shake his head ominously while he kept on breathing out
+threatenings, like Saul of old.
+
+"Now let's head for our camp," Thad gave the order, when Allan had
+joined them, and declared he had seen all he wanted of the fish
+poachers' storehouse.
+
+"I only hope they haven't stolen a march on us, and got away with our
+traps," Davy happened to remark, as they stepped out at a lively rate.
+
+"What a job we'd have cookin' these fine fish, if we didn't have any
+frying-pan," was the first lament of Giraffe.
+
+"And my blanket that I think so much of, I wouldn't like to lose that,"
+Bumpus told them; but Thad gave it as his opinion that after the men had
+fled, upon hearing the voices of the boys near by, they must have fallen
+into such a panic that no doubt they were now in hiding away off at the
+other end of the island.
+
+"Now don't forget to show us where you bid that crank belonging to the
+boat engine, Bumpus," Step, Hen cautioned, as they strode along,
+
+"Good thing you spoke of it when you did, Step Hen," the fat scout
+declared, "because here's the old stump right now.  Feel down, and see
+if it ain't there, somebody.  Here, let me do it myself, because I know
+just where it lies."
+
+In proof of his words Bumpus speedily drew out the crooked bit of steel
+in question.
+
+"Here you are, Giraffe, like to like!" he sang out gaily, as he tossed
+his find toward the tall scout.
+
+"I s'pose that's as much as calling me a crank," muttered Giraffe; "but
+then, we'd take anything from you, Bumpus, just now, we feel so good
+after your splendid work."
+
+Of course upon receiving that fine compliment Bumpus became contrite at
+once.
+
+"Excuse me for saying that, Giraffe," he called out; "because I reckon
+now you ain't one whit more a crank than some others in this crowd."
+And then noticing that Step Hen and Davy were looking daggers at him, he
+hurriedly added, "particularly a stout feller they call Bumpus for short
+instead of Cornelius Jasper Hawtree."
+
+"My idea is about this," Thad went on to say; "as we are going to depend
+so much on using this boat to get away in, we'd better make our camp
+right alongside; and in that way they won't have much chance to steal
+the same from us."
+
+"But ain't we going away soon?" asked Davy, looking around him again, as
+though he still expected to see a party of furious poachers rush towards
+them, reinforcements having meanwhile arrived on the island.
+
+"Not till that sea goes down a whole lot more," replied the scout-
+master; "and if that doesn't happen until late this afternoon I'm afraid
+we'll have to spend one more night on Sturgeon Island," which
+information the others did not hear with any degree of enthusiasm for
+they were all heartily tired of the place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+TAKEN UNAWARES, AFTER ALL
+
+
+As there was no longer any necessity for their depending upon the
+shelter of the projecting ledge, since the sun was shining cheerily, the
+scouts set about changing camp.
+
+This did not take any great while, because they had no tents to bother
+with; and it was easy enough to gather up their blankets and the few
+things they had saved from the wreck of the Chippeway Belle.
+
+As none of them ever saw the first sign of that ill-fated boat again, it
+was always taken for granted that when the wind shifted in the night, at
+the time Thad drew attention to the fact, the strain became so great
+that the anchor cable had to give way, allowing the still floating boat
+to be carried out into deep water before the end came.
+
+They found the anchor where it had been placed, with the rope broken
+part way out, and this told the story as well as words could have.
+
+And so camp was made close by the boat belonging to the fish poachers,
+which it must be their duty to guard, so that later on they could make
+use of the same in order to escape from the island.
+
+The waves did not go down as rapidly as the boys would have liked, and
+when high noon came they were still rolling along in a way that was
+dangerous to any small craft, especially on such a great inland sea as
+Superior is, with harbors few and far between.
+
+Thad admitted that the chances of their getting away that day did not
+look good to him.  Giraffe was the only real cheerful fellow in the
+party, and as he superintended the cooking of the delicious white fish
+for lunch he was heard to express his opinion several times.
+
+"Well, one thing good about it is that there's enough fish on the ice
+down in that well to last us till Christmas; and it's to be hoped that
+somebody with a boat comes along before then, to take us off; or we can
+get this chunky craft of the poachers to working some.  But let me tell
+you, that same fish does smell grand to me.  Needn't make a face,
+Bumpus, because you think you'll never eat fish again.  It's either that
+or go hungry with this crowd."
+
+"But the white fish, like all other delicate fish, is only at its best
+when eaten on the spot where it's caught," Thad told them; "putting it
+on ice for days hurts the flavor, and sometimes it's just as tasteless
+as so much sawdust."
+
+"Then this one was fresh caught," Giraffe affirmed,  as he looked
+hastily about, took up the last bit that was in the second pan, and
+asked: "anybody want this; if nobody else does, I'm Johnny on the spot."
+
+"Well, I declare, I like that!"  burst out Step Hen; "did you see him
+swing that pan around, and before a fellow could even open his mouth to
+say yes, he had that last big piece in his tin dish.  Oh! well, since
+you've got to be filled up, or you get to growling, go ahead and bolt,
+it; only look out for bones.  If one ever got fastened in that rubber
+neck of yours, Giraffe, nobody's fingers could ever reach it.  And as
+hard luck would have it, I left my fish disgorger at home."
+
+Giraffe never minded this sort of talk, for he was making away with the
+last of the fish with his usual speed.
+
+"Bones never trouble him at all," remarked Bumpus, who was always
+telling about dreaming of choking to death on a fish-bone.
+
+"That's where you're wrong," chuckled Step Hen; "they trouble him a
+whole lot, every time he sits down, I reckon, because Nature ain't been
+so kind to our long friend as to you, Bumpus."
+
+Joking in this style they finished their meal, and the, afternoon stared
+them in the face.  It promised to be a long stretch, if they had to stay
+there until another morning.
+
+Bumpus and Giraffe presently got their lines out, and finding a place
+near by where it seemed safe to remain, they started to try and add to
+their score.
+
+"Let's call it off, Bumpus," suggested Giraffe, who was getting weary.
+"What's the use of all this bother, when we've got a storehouse cram-
+full of fine fresh fish close at hand, so we sure don't need this sort
+of a job for the sake of filling our stomachs.  Anyhow, you can keep it
+up if you feel like it; I'm dead sleepy after passing such a night; and
+we ought to get some rest."
+
+"That's so," echoed Bumpus, just as if he had been on guard every minute
+of the previous night, "and as like as not we'll have to be keeping one
+eye open to-night again, who knows?"
+
+"One?" cried Giraffe, looking sharply at him; and then shaking his head
+he went on to add: "but I said I wasn't agoing to poke fun at you this
+whole day, Bumpus, after what you done.  Course you can't help it if you
+get sleepy, any more'n I can about being hungry all the time.  So let's
+call it a draw, and quit kidding."
+
+"What's that smoke over there mean?" asked Step Hen, a short time later;
+and even Giraffe, who was trying to get some sleep, sat up on hearing
+this.
+
+"Hurrah! mebbe it's a rescue boat coming out after us!" cried Davy,
+standing on his hands, and kicking his heels in the air, just as the
+ordinary boy might clap his hands together.
+
+"What do you say, Thad?" asked Giraffe, cautiously, having arisen to his
+feet, and stretched his long neck in the endeavor to see better than his
+chums.
+
+"Well," remarked the scout-master, after he had made a mental
+calculation; "you notice, don't you, that it comes from toward the other
+end of the island."
+
+"Yes, that's a fact, Thad," slowly admitted Davy, who had now returned
+to his normal condition, with his head higher than his heels; though
+some of the boys often declared that the reverse was true, and that he
+seemed more natural when hanging head downward from the limb of a tree,
+like a giant bat or a monkey.
+
+"And there isn't enough of it to make me think a boat could be coming,"
+Thad went on to say.  "In fact, the chances are those men, as badly
+frightened as they are, have to eat, and I think they've lighted a fire
+to cook something."
+
+"Oh! is that all?" grunted Giraffe, immediately dropping back upon his
+blanket; "please don't wake me up again for such a silly thing as that;
+though of course I can feel for 'em if they are really hungry."
+
+Acting on the advice of Thad the other boys managed to get some sleep
+from time to time, though they were very careful not to let the camp go
+unguarded.
+
+"We're going to be kept here on the island another night, seems like,"
+he had told them, "and that means a constant watch.  So far we've
+managed to hold our own, and we can't afford to get careless, and lose
+out."
+
+"I should say not," Step Hen had echoed, as he cuddled down to carry out
+the suggestion of the scout-master.
+
+Along about half an hour before evening set in an expedition was
+arranged to pay another friendly visit to the fish preserves of the
+poachers.  They wanted to get enough supplies this time to cover several
+meals, so that they would be able to feel that they had food for the
+next day, should they be able to make the start in the morning.
+
+Now Bumpus would much rather have remained behind; but it was a choice
+between two evils with him.  His recollections of the harsh methods by
+means of which the poachers tried to get him to give up his secret were
+still fresh in his mind; so was his detestation of that fishy odor that
+clung to the shack.  But Thad would not let him have any choice in the
+matter, telling him that he must accompany the expedition, and carry
+home his share of the spoils, though Giraffe had promised to again drop
+down into the pit, and send up all they wanted.
+
+They met with no adventure on the way, nor were they interrupted in
+their task of securing a store of fish food for present necessities, and
+looking into the near future a bit.
+
+Giraffe managed his end of the labor manfully.  He suffered a great
+deal, he admitted; but then, somebody had to take on the hard jobs; and
+as no one else volunteered he just had to be the "goat."
+
+"Oh! as if we don't know the real reason," Step Hen declared,
+indignantly. "If you wasn't so crazy after eating all the time, I guess
+now you'd be the last one to go down there of your own free will.  But
+that ain't saying we ain't glad of it.  'Taint often we get a chance to
+harness that appetite of yours to something that pays.  Go on down a few
+more times, Giraffe; we might toddle along under another fish apiece."
+
+"Not much I will," grunted the other; "six trips is the limit for
+anybody with a weak stomach."
+
+"Weak stomach-what, you?" cried Step Hen, scornfully throwing up his
+hands.
+
+The tall scout however did not want to be drawn into an argument just
+then, since that would only delay their departure from the cabin and all
+that it spoke of in such a distinct way.  He darted in again, however,
+for a last visit, and vanished down the pit; to appear a minute later
+holding the largest fish they had as yet run across.
+
+"There, what d'ye think of that for a jim dandy, fellows?" he cried.
+"And Bumpus, take a good look at him, because I'm bound to hook the mate
+to this next time we get out our lines.  I'm not only a weather prophet,
+but there are times when I feel it in my bones that something is going
+to happen."
+
+He tripped just then, and took a header, whereupon Bumpus, with
+pretended sympathy, hurried to his side, and offered to help him get up,
+saying;
+
+"Oh! Giraffe, that was the time your bones told you the truth, didn't
+they; and I reckon your knee joints are skinned some after that tumble,
+too?"
+
+Giraffe may have been suffering all sorts of agonies at the time, but of
+course he was not going to let the others see him wince; so he smiled
+sweetly as he once more gained his feet, and took up the big fish,
+saying at the same time:
+
+"Don't mention it; I'm all right, Bumpus."
+
+But they could see him limp more or less as they headed for the camp by
+the captured motorboat of the fish poachers.
+
+Of course, when they went off like this they made sure to carry the
+crank belonging to the engine along with them, so that even if the enemy
+did enter the camp during their absence they could not run away with the
+craft, which on account of the make of motor was practically helpless as
+soon as the crank was gone.
+
+"Here we are, right-side up with care; plenty of grub, and no damage
+done except that we've decreased the stock of fish supplies the poachers
+have laid by," Step Hen was heard to declare; and though Giraffe gave
+him a pained look, and unconsciously rubbed his injured knee, he did not
+make any remark to the contrary.
+
+And when it came time to get supper ready he was apparently just as able
+to move around as ever, barring a slight limp.
+
+Of course they kept close watch all the while, not wishing to be taken
+by surprise, should the enemy muster up enough courage to attempt some
+desperate trick, possibly looking to making the scouts prisoners, so
+that they could once more secure the valuable crank, and go away on
+board their boat.
+
+Thad himself had managed to secure some rest during the day, because he
+knew that another hard night awaited him.
+
+As on the previous occasion he told the others they could sit up if they
+chose, and keep both he and Allan company; and just as had happened
+before all of them tried hard to accommodate; but before one hour passed
+poor Bumpus had fallen by the wayside; and then soon afterward Davy,
+Giraffe and Step Hen all found themselves unable to hold out.
+
+Since they had really undergone considerable in the way of privation and
+excitement of late, Thad did not have the heart to blame them.  He
+believed that with the one faithful chum alongside, he could take as
+good care of the camp as though the whole six were on duty.
+
+The time dragged along until it must have been close on midnight; and so
+far nothing out of the way had happened, though the sentries did not
+relax their vigilance on that account, for they were too good woodsmen
+to think of that.
+
+As the boat had been secured with all the available ropes, and a part of
+the engine dismantled in the bargain, neither of the scouts dreamed that
+the enemy would aim to strike a blow at them in that quarter.  They
+could not carry the boat off; and even granting that this were possible,
+it would be useless, since they had no means for running the same.
+
+Still another hour had crept along, and Thad was just beginning to
+congratulate himself on the way the night was passing, when without the
+least, warning there came a sudden flash of light down in the rocky
+berth where the boat lay; immediately succeeded by a deafening crash.
+Up into the air arose burning fragments of the poacher's boat; and this
+was the startling spectacle that greeted the astonished eyes of the
+Silver Fox scouts who had been sweetly sleeping, as they sat up and
+stared around them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+GOOD-EYE TO STURGEON ISLAND--CONCLUSION
+
+
+All sorts of loud cries and exclamations arose, as the startled boys
+began to dodge the falling pieces of the blown-up boat.
+
+Thad, although almost stunned by the sudden catastrophe that had come
+upon them, in spite of their vigilance, kept a bright lookout, for fear
+lest the next thing they knew the poachers would come dashing among
+them, hoping to take advantage of the confusion to disarm them.
+
+But nothing of the sort occurred, and presently the six boys huddled
+there in a heap, trying to figure out what had happened, and why the
+three men had resorted to such desperate tactics rather than allow the
+seeming soldiers to sail away in the morning, and perhaps carry the news
+to some place where the authorities would be sure to fit out an
+expedition at once, looking to their capture.
+
+After a great deal of talk, and many odd ideas being advanced, which it
+would not profit us to mention here, they settled on what seemed to be
+the most plausible theory.  This was that the three poachers, believing
+they could not make use of their boat so long as the boys in uniform
+held the key, in the shape of that crank, had decided to blow it up.
+Their reason for this may have been that they would in this way compel
+the others to remain marooned there on the island; and perhaps it was
+expected that another boat, with a fresh lot of poachers, would be along
+after a certain time.
+
+This was the nearest they could ever come to it, for they did not have a
+chance to make the personal acquaintance of the three hide-out men, and
+therefore could not get information at first quarters.
+
+When the morning came the scouts were not so merry as they had felt on
+the previous evening when all things looked rather rosy.  Still, it is
+difficult to keep some fellows moping all the time; and even Giraffe
+tried hard to look at the bright side; thought he often complained that
+he had consider difficulty in making up his mind which side that was.
+
+As long as the food supply held out, Giraffe was not going to give up to
+despair; even if fish as a steady diet might pall on the ordinary
+appetite, Giraffe thought he could stand the bill of fare for a week or
+two, if they had to stick it out that long.
+
+Thad kept them on the watch for some sort of vessel, steamer, sailing
+craft, whaleboat barge or anything that would afford an asylum, if only
+they could by the greatest of good luck attract the attention of those
+on board.
+
+As the morning got pretty well along the boys were beginning to feel
+downcast once more, when all at once Step Hen, who had been using the
+glasses at the time, let out a joyous whoop.
+
+"Would you believe it, fellows," he cried, "while we've been nearly
+breaking our necks looking to the east and south for a sail, why, here's
+a little buzzing motorboat acoming along an the same tack we carried;
+and ten chances to one now, it's carrying our two good Silver Fox pards,
+Smithy and Bob White!"
+
+All of them had to take a look through the glasses, and the consensus of
+opinion seemed to trend that way; though at first some of the more
+dubious were inclined to fear that it might only be another poaching
+boat, that was coming straight to the island to land a catch of
+illegally taken fish.
+
+"Get busy right away, and let them know where we are!" exclaimed Bumpus,
+all of a tremble with anxiety.  "Goodness gracious! just think how we'd
+feel if they went speeding past old Sturgeon Island, never heating us
+yell; because the breeze was wrong.  Bang away with the gun, Thad, and
+make 'em look!  Do something that'll stir things up!  Wish I could let
+out a whoop that'd carry ten miles, you'd hear me spreading myself some,
+I tell you."
+
+But all Bumpus's fears were useless, for those aboard the little
+motorboat that had really come all the way from the Soo, starting
+earlier than Thad and his five companions, heard the combined shouts,
+and signaled that they would head in without delay.
+
+"Say, couldn't you hold up a little while, and let me go back after a
+few more of those fine fish?" pleaded Giraffe, when the rescuing craft
+was drawing close; and when the scout-master shook his head in the
+negative the tall member went on: "you never know how much grub you need
+when on one of these here lake trips, with the chances in favor of
+something happening to knock the engine out.  Besides, remember there
+will be two more mouths to feed, Thad; and sure I could snatch up some
+of them fish in a jiffy.  Say yes, won't you?"
+
+"No need of it, Giraffe," the other assured the lean scout; "it's true
+that we'll have a couple more with us, but don't forget that they are
+expected to have a pretty good supply of food aboard as it is.  Then who
+wants to live on fish diet."
+
+"And we'll get to a place right soon," added Bumpus, "where we can lay
+in all the stores we want."
+
+"Yes," Step Hen thought fit to remark, "and then too, if we loaded down
+so with too much fish, what's ever going to become of that game you and
+Bumpus are working?  We expect to have the table supplied right along
+now with the product of your combined skills as anglers."
+
+"Oh!" chuckled Giraffe, "after all that honey, I give up, and agree to
+let things run as they are.  But I want to warn the said Bumpus here and
+now that I'm camping on his trail; and from this time out the fight is
+agoing to be just fierce!"
+
+"Bah! who's afraid?" sang out the fat scout, with a shrug of his
+shoulders.
+
+"Everybody get their things together so we can climb aboard as soon as
+our comrades come close enough to shore.  We may have to wade a little,
+for the landing places are few and far between, and we don't want to
+take any chances."
+
+"Then I hope some kind friend will have the goodness to carry me on his
+back; because I sure hate to get my footsies soaked again," remarked
+Bumpus, unabashed.
+
+It turned out, however, that there was no need of this. The two boys in
+the motorboat knew how to manage, and brought the little vessel in close
+enough so that even clumsy Bumpus was able to clamber aboard, after
+handing up his possessions.  And Thad smiled when he saw that the other
+included among these the rusty crank belonging to the destroyed boat
+which the poachers had used in their illegal business, evidently
+romantic Bumpus meant to keep that as a reminder of his little adventure
+on Sturgeon Island.
+
+Smithy and Bob White were two of the Silver Fox Patrol whom many readers
+will remember figuring largely in previous books of this series of Boy
+Scout tales.
+
+They were instantly almost consumed with eagerness to know what had
+happened to maroon their chums on the island; but until they had passed
+some distance out Thad would not attempt to relate the stirring
+circumstances.
+
+"Looky, there they are, ashaking their fists after us; and I reckon
+they're letting out a few remarks that might burn our ears if we heard
+the same, which the breeze keeps us from doing," and Giraffe, as he
+spoke, pointed to where the trio of lawless poachers stood on a rock
+near the other end of the island.
+
+That was the last they were fated to see of the men.  Later on they
+happened to enter a Canadian port in search of supplies, and of course
+Thad made it an object to narrate their adventure to some person in
+authority. The boys heard afterwards that an expedition was at once
+started out by the Canadian people, looking to the capture of the
+poacher crowd, and the breaking up of their illegal business; but
+apparently the other boat must have arrived before them; for while they
+found the ice pit, just as the boys had described to them, the fish were
+all gone, nor did a search of the entire island reveal any sign of human
+occupation.
+
+Of course it did not matter at all to Thad And his chums whether the
+three men were ever apprehended, as they did not expect to cruise in
+this region again and consequently there was no chance of their ever
+meeting any of them afterwards.
+
+They would never be apt to forget the strange things that had come to
+them however, while marooned on Sturgeon Island; and often when they
+pored over the Government charts that Thad kept, they could see again in
+memory many of those adventures looming up along the mental horizon the
+wreck of the boat; the lively time they had getting ashore; the
+discovery of the fish packing cabin; the mysterious disappearance of
+Bumpus; how he was found again under such remarkable conditions; the
+blowing up of the poachers' boat; and last but not least the opportune
+arrival of their mates with the other craft.
+
+No doubt many a time the very odor of fish would carry the thoughts of
+those boys away back to this period in their adventurous careers.  Not
+that it marked the culmination of the good times fortune had in store
+for them; because before many months passed a splendid chance was going
+to come along that would give the members of the Silver Fox Patrol an
+opportunity to enjoy another outing, this time while the North, where
+their home town lay, was swathed in snow and ice.  The title of this
+next book will be "The Boy Scouts Down in Dixie; or, The Strange Secrets
+of Alligator Swamp."  And the reader of this volume may rest assured
+that the adventure's befalling Thad and his jolly mates, Allan, Giraffe,
+Bumpus, Davy, Smithy, Step Hen and the Southern boy, Bob White, will
+afford them as rich a treat in the new story as anything that has
+preceded it.
+
+As to that wager between Giraffe and Bumpus, it kept dragging along
+during the balance of the cruise, sometimes one, and then the other
+being ahead. But luck finally favored Giraffe, as on the very last day,
+with the score a tie, he happened to be trailing a stout line out, when
+his hook became fast to the tail of a big fish that came near pulling
+him overboard before he succeeded in landing the same, after the engine
+was hurriedly stopped.
+
+After that Bumpus threw up his hands, and said he would wait on the
+crowd when they had their dinner upon arriving home; which he certainly
+did, and with such success that the boys voted he continue to accept
+"tips" in that vocation whenever they were in camp, Bumpus vigorously
+dissenting, of course.
+
+Thad learned later an that the poor old Chippeway Belle was fully
+insured, and no word of complaint ever reached them after they had
+furnished the owner with all the evidence he needed in order to collect
+the amount; so there may have been a little truth in what several of the
+scouts hinted among themselves, that the sinking of the powerboat
+cleared the air, and allowed the gentleman to replace her with a newer
+model.  "Blessings often come, in disguise," Bumpus says, as he looks up
+at that rusty crank, tied with a red bow of ribbon, and hanging from the
+wall of his den at home; and then feeling of his head to ascertain
+whether that lump has fully subsided, he is apt to go on to remark that
+sometimes they even drop down from trees, and give a fellow the queerest
+kind of a thump; for if he had not conceived that little plan of hiding
+a part of the machinery belonging to the poachers' boat, things might
+have turned out vastly different from what they did.
+
+The End
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The, Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island
+by Herbert Carter
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE, BOY SCOUTS ON STURGEON ISLAND ***
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