there on the river when there
was a squall coming down from the mountain," sulked Merritt. "Don't
you talk. That was the biggest fool thing I ever saw any one do."

"Shut up!" snarled Herring. "What we want to do is to fix the boat
so that it won't run. Sheldon can't afford to buy another, and we
will have all the fun, while he has to stay on shore."

All right. To-night will be a good time. How are you going to manage
it? He may be watching."

"Why should he? He won't suspect anything. After all the boys have
gone to sleep we can steal down to the shore and fix it all right.
All we have to do is to see where he puts it."

It was a lovely night with a moon and stars, and a number of the
boys were out on the river with their boats, skimming over the water
like fireflies, and sending paths of colored light in every direction
from their side lamps or with their pocket flashlights.

Herring was prohibited from going out as the day was not yet over,
and he fretted at the prohibition, although it gave him a chance to
watch Jack when he came in and see where he tied up.

"That's all right," he whispered to Merritt. "It's in a line with
the tent where he and Percival sleep and right on the beach. We'll
be able to find that all right."

"Yes, and when Sheldon goes out in his boat to-morrow we'll be able
to walk right away from him. It's a pity you can't get him to bet
on it, but he won't bet on anything."

"No, but Percival might. He likes to spend money. I'll get him to
bet and win a lot from him."

The boys went to bed at the usual time, and before long all the tent
lights were out, only a few of the camp lights being seen, as the moon
was still up and there was light enough for all ordinary purposes.

There was a deep shadow on the bank of the river, however, on account
of the trees and the mountains behind them, and when all was still
Herring and Merritt stole from their tent and hurried toward the shore.

They wore soft shoes, so as not to betray themselves, and were
dressed in dark clothes so as not to be seen readily, having prepared
themselves for any possible emergency.

They had agreed between them that the safest thing to do was to bore
a hole in the bottom of the boat so as to cause it to leak, and they
had provided themselves with augers for the purpose.

Stealing down to the river noiselessly they easily found Jack's boat,
as they thought, and were preparing to bore the hole when sudden