rapping game, the various
uses of which he took delight in explaining to the boys. He was an adept
at cooking--as the bountiful evening meal proved--and he possessed a
fund of adventurous stories that made the hours pass quickly until
bedtime.

He spread blankets and pillows on the floor for his guests, and after
the wearisome events of the day they slept soundly until dawn.

A plunge in the creek was first in order, and then came a warm
breakfast. An hour later, with many sincere expressions of regret at
parting, the Jolly Rovers resumed their cruise. Mr. Hocker pressed them
to stay a couple of days, but they deemed it best to push on, since they
were yet many miles from home.

Little did they think as they paddled away from the cabin, that they and
their friendly host would meet again under far different circumstances
in the near future.

All that day--which was Wednesday--the boys paddled steadily. They
camped in the evening at the water works dam, one mile out from
Carlisle, and while Clay and Randy prepared supper, Ned and Nugget went
to town for mail. Fortunately they visited the express office as well,
and found a cake there addressed to Randy. They brought it triumphantly
back to camp--a straight road precluded the possibility of losing the
way on this occasion--and had a glorious feast before going to bed.

Thursday was a repetition of the previous day. Nothing occurred worthy
of special mention. The boys covered ten or fifteen miles in spite of
the dams that frequently blocked the way.

About four o'clock in the afternoon, while passing through a lonely and
beautiful strip of country, they came upon five tiny islands grouped
together in mid channel. The largest was not more than a dozen yards
long. All were grassy and shaded by trees, and they made a pretty
picture with the water rippling softly through the narrow winding
channels that separated them.

As the bushes and timber on both banks of the creek were very dense, the
boys chose one of the islands for a camping place--the left hand one of
two that lay a little farther down stream than the others. It was two or
three feet above the surface of the creek, level and grassy on top, and
contained seven or eight good sized trees.

The largest of these--a massive buttonwood--stood at the extreme lower
end, and its whitened, far stretching roots had been laid bare by the
current that came sweeping down each side, formed a shallow swirling
eddy.

Here