de of
his friend. "I suppose we'll have to have it," he added solemnly, "so
the sooner we get it out of the way the better. Tell us and have it
over with."

"The Cape Cod Canal," said Grant as he looked sternly at John, "is
eight miles long, it is twenty-five feet deep and one hundred feet
wide."

"My, now I am almost ready to go back home!" said George solemnly. "I
cannot imagine finding out anything more important than that. Have you
noticed these Palisades we have been passing? Did you ever see anything
more beautiful than the river? Pretty soon we'll come to the Highlands
and to West Point and I want to say to you right now, Soc, that I would
rather know about these things than I would to hear about a ditch that
is one hundred feet wide and twenty-five feet deep and eight miles
long. What's the good of knowing that anyway?"

"I shall try to improve your mind before we come back home," said
Grant, shaking his head.

"You don't expect to accomplish much in just a month, do you?"
interposed George.

"Not much more than to get ready to prepare to begin to start to
commence on the contract."

"My, what a fluent talker my friend is!" said George. "He never is at a
loss for a word. It doesn't make any difference to him whether he knows
what it means or not."

"Never mind your old facts and figures," spoke up Fred. "I want you to
notice that big! black yacht yonder. Isn't she a beauty?"

"She is that," replied Grant with enthusiasm. "I can almost make out
her name," he added as he looked through the field-glasses. "There it
is C-a-l-e-Caledonia," he added quickly.

"They have got quite a good many people on board," suggested George as
he noticed a group of boys and girls near the rail, who apparently were
as deeply interested in the motor-boat as the Go Ahead boys were in the
big, black yacht.

"Let's have a race with her," suggested George. "Start her up, Fred,
and see if the yacht will try to keep up with us."

Fred laughingly complied with the request, although neither of his
companions had any suspicion of the many experiences they were to have
with the passengers and crew of the Caledonia before either vessel
returned to New York.

[1] See "The Go Ahead Boys and The Treasure Cave."

[2] "The Go Ahead Boys and the Mysterious Old House."

[3] See "The Go Ahead Boys and the Island Camp."

CHAPTER II

ON THE WAY

The proposed race, however, did not take place. The graceful Caledonia
steadily