"Crowded Owl!"

I didn't feel much like laughing, but I did laugh a little.

"Yes," I said. "He probably swam over with a pair of oars on purpose to
steal our boat. But, whether he did it or not, it's very certain that
somebody has taken the boat, and there isn't any way, that I see, of
getting off this place to-night. There'll be nobody going over so late
in the afternoon--except, to be sure, those men we saw at the other end
of the island with a flat-boat."

"But that's away over at the upper end of the island," said Rectus.

"That's not so very far," said I. "I wonder if they have gone back yet?
If one of us could run over there and ask them to send a boatman from
the town after us, we might get back by supper-time."

"Why not both of us?" asked Rectus.

"One of us should stay here to see if our boat does come back. It must
have been some one from the island who took it, because any one from the
mainland would have brought his own boat."

"Very well," said Rectus. "Let's toss up to see who goes. The winner
stays."

I pitched up a cent.

"Heads," said Rectus.

"Tails," said I.

Tails it was, and Rectus started off like a good fellow.

I sat down and waited. I waited a long, long time, and then I got up and
walked up and down. In about an hour I began to get anxious. It was more
than time for Rectus to return. The walk to the end of the island and
back was not much over a mile--at least, I supposed it was not. Could
anything have happened to the boy? It was not yet sunset, and I couldn't
imagine what there was to happen.

After waiting about half an hour longer, I heard a distant sound of
oars. I ran to the landing and looked down the creek. A boat with a man
in it was approaching. When it came nearer, I saw plainly that it was
our boat. When it had almost reached the landing, the man turned around,
and I was very much surprised, indeed, to see that he was Mr.
Chipperton.

CHAPTER VII.

MR. CHIPPERTON.

I took hold of the boat, and pulled the bow up on the beach. Mr.
Chipperton looked around at me.

"Why, how do you do?" said he.

[Illustration: "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"]

For an instant I could not answer him, I was so angry, and then I said:

"What did you----? How did you come to take our boat away?"

"Your boat!" he exclaimed. "Is this your boat? I didn't know that. But
where is my boat? Did you see a sail-boat leave here? It is very
strange--remarkably strange! I don't know what to