into the river."

"You would feel better if you had," declared Fred. "Now, then, I don't
see that there's anything more for us to do except to go back to bed."

"But where's my dummy?" demanded Sam.

"That's right," said Fred. "We never fished it out of the river. I
guess you'll find it all right, Sam, somewhere in the slip."

In a brief time Sam's possession was rescued from its place of peril,
but the boatman's lamentations were the last words the boys heard when
they departed.

"Color's all washed out. It doesn't look more than half human," Sam was
declaring as he stood in the moonlight examining the dummy which he had
fashioned after his arrival at the boat-house. "Sam has an extra
assortment of legs and arms in his room," exclaimed Grant, as the boys
entered the house. "He seems possessed to have them around him."

"Perhaps they will come in handy some day," laughed George.

"I don't know how."

On the following morning, however, when the Black Growler was withdrawn
from the slip and once more was sent over a part of the course there
was a goodly supply of Sam's legs and arms on board. Just why he had
insisted upon taking them, he did not explain. So human were the pieces
in their appearance that a stranger might have been startled when he
first saw the heap.

As usual the Varmint II was speedily trailing the Black Growler. Indeed
it was not long before the two boats were moving side by side, only a
few feet intervening.

The Go Ahead boys had been singing a song which has long been famous on
the St. Lawrence,

"Saw my leg off,
Saw my leg off,
Saw my leg off,
Short!"

"That's what you'll have to do," called one of the men on board the
Varmint II, "to lighten your load the day of the race."

"We won't wait until then," called back George. "We'll see if we can't
lighten up a bit right now."

As soon as he had spoken, taking one of the artificial legs from the
pile he flung it far behind the swiftly moving motor-boat.

Instantly the men on the Varmint II rushed to the stern of their boat
and in astonishment were all looking at the leg which now could be seen
floating on the surface of the river.

CHAPTER XXV

THE OWNER OF THE BOND

A loud laugh arose from the people on board the Varmint II when the
floating leg was more clearly seen.

Indeed the last sound that came to the ears of the Go Ahead boys from
their rivals when the boat no longer was seen was a mocking echo of
th