intercede for the
latter.

"He pestered the life out of me," explained Joe ruefully, "and I finally
told him I'd ask you fellows. But I suppose we can't take two more. Nine
would--um--be rather overdoing it, eh?"

Everyone agreed that it would. Han suggested that Wink Wheeler and Harry
Corwin might toss up for the privilege of joining the club. "After all,"
he added, "we aren't all of us certain that we can go. If one or two of
us drop out there'll be room for Wink and Harry, too."

"Seems to me," said Phil Street, "it might be a good plan to enlarge
the membership to, say, twelve, and let the new members find a boat of
their own. I dare say they could. Then--"

"Fine!" exclaimed Joe. "Harry and his brother have some sort of a
motor-boat. He told me so today. That's a bully idea, Phil! With twelve
of us we could divide up between the two boats--"

"How many will Corwin's boat hold?" asked Neil.

"I don't know. I'll see him and find out. But it ought to be big enough
to hold four, anyway. There are seven of us now, and Wink and Harry and
his brother Tom would make ten, and we could easily pick out two more."

"Let's make the membership thirteen," said Perry.

"Thirteen!" echoed Han. "Gee, that's unlucky!"

"Rot! Why, you've got thirteen letters in your name. George Hanford."
Perry counted on his fingers. "This is the Adventure Club, isn't it?
Well, starting out with thirteen members is an adventure right at the
start!"

"Sure!" agreed Ossie. "Let's take a chance. It's only a silly
what-do-you-call-it anyway."

"Meaning superstition?" asked Steve. "Well, I'm agreeable. Who else do
we want? Bert Alley asked to join, and so did George Browne."

"And Casper Temple," added Joe. "And they're all good fellows. But I
want it distinctly understood that I'm going on the _Cockatoo_."

"Me too!" exclaimed Perry. "All of us fellows must go on the _Cockatoo_.
We were the first."

"But suppose Corwin's boat won't hold five?" said Han.

"We can squeeze eight into the _Cockatoo_, if we have to," said Steve.
"Joe, you cut along and find Corwin and bring him up here. We might as
well settle the thing now."

"All right, but don't settle about the cruise while I'm gone," answered
Joe. "I'll have him here in ten minutes."

When the meeting adjourned that evening the club had added six new
members and enlarged its fleet by the addition of the cabin-cruiser,
_Follow Me_. It was just half-past ten when Joe and Steve produced