s had somewhat sobered by then
amusement succeeded anger. Perry faintly and vaguely described his
wanderings about the harbour and the amusement increased. As dinner was
announced about that time he was dragged to the cabin and propped in a
corner of a bunk and fed out of hand. An hour later he was transported,
somewhat recovered, to the _Adventurer_ by Harry and Tom Corwin and Wink
Wheeler and delivered, together with his precious can of milk, into the
hands of his ship-mates.

The _Adventurer's_ tender bobbed about at the stern and the first person
Perry set eyes on as he scrambled onto the bridge deck was Han. Perry
fixed him with a scathing gaze. "Where," he demanded, "did you get to,
idiot?"

"Oh, I'll tell you about that," answered Han. "You see I was afraid
about that poison-ivy and so I took a dip in the ocean. And--"

"But I called you and called!"

"Yes, and I answered a couple of times. And then I may have had my head
under water."

"A monstrous pity you didn't keep it there!"

"When," continued Han, "I went to look for you I couldn't find you. So
I--so I came back here."

"Yes, you thought maybe I'd swum across, eh! Or found a boat?"

"Sure! You did find a boat, didn't you?"

"You make me tired," growled Perry amidst the laughter of the others.
"And I hope that poison-ivy gets you good and hard!"

"I don't believe it took," replied Han gently, "Maybe it wasn't
poison-ivy, after all!"

At that instant the outraged countenance of Ossie appeared in the
companion way. "What," he demanded irately of Perry, "do you mean by
bringing back half a gallon of sour milk?"

Perry looked despairingly about at the unsympathetic and amused faces
and wandered limply aft to the seclusion of the cockpit.

The next morning the Adventure Club chugged around to Edgartown, and
then, after putting in gasoline and water, set out at a little after
eleven, on a fifty-mile run to Pleasant Bay.

CHAPTER X

THE _FOLLOW ME_ DISAPPEARS

There had been talk of going through the Cape Cod Canal and so obviating
the outside journey, but most of the voyagers thought that would be too
tame and unexciting. Besides, a barge had managed to sink herself across
the channel near the Buzzard's Bay end a week or so before and no one
seemed to know for certain whether she had yet pulled herself out and
gone on about her business, and, as Steve pointed out, they'd feel a bit
foolish if they got to the canal entrance and had to