s when off duty and meant "to stir up"
one of them if nothing better offered.

Something better did offer, in the shape of Melvin Cook; calmly munching
a slice of bread and butter in the stable-yard and as rejoiced as Monty
himself to be quit for a time of women and girls and "manners" in
general.

Montmorency hadn't been attracted before to this "son of all the Cooks,"
who was so fair of face and slender of build, but now he reflected that
if he obtained permission to go into camp with the "Boys," and the
Judge, Melvin would, perforce, be his daily companion. As well begin now
as ever then; so he accosted the bugler with the question:

"Say, can't you get up something dandy for the rest of the day? We've
shed those folks till dark, I guess, and I'm dying for anything doing.
Eh?"

"I've hired a sail boat and am going out alone, except for Tommy here."

Tommy was the most juvenile of all the bell-boys, a lad of not more than
ten, who tried to appear quite as old as these others and who now
strutted forward announcing:

"Yes, me and him is going out in the 'Digby Chicken.' A tidy craft but
we'll manage her all right, all right."

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" cried Monty, patting the child's shoulder and
incidentally slipping a quarter into the little fellow's open palm; for
it was a habit of the richer lad to bestow frequent tips whenever he
journeyed anywhere, enjoying the popularity this gave him with his
"inferiors."

"A sail-boat? Can you manage a sail-boat, Melvin Cook, by yourself
without a man to help you?" he demanded in sincere astonishment.

"Feel that!" answered Melvin, placing Monty's hand upon his "muscle."
"There's a bit of strength in that arm, eh, what? And you may not know
that I come of a race of sailors and have almost lived upon the water
all my life. Manage a sail-boat? Huh! If you choose to come along I'll
show you."

Ten minutes later they were moving out in a their frail craft from the
little pier across the street from the hotel; Melvin for skipper, Tommy
for mate, and Montmorency for a passenger. That was the beginning. It
did not dawn upon any of the trio what the ending of that sail would be.

CHAPTER X

WHAT BEFELL A "DIGBY CHICKEN"

The second bell for the last meal of the day had again rung, and again
the Breckenridge party waited on the verandah for delinquents. Mrs.
Stark positively declined to enter the dining-room until she had found
out what had become of Montmorency.