s Jack had
anticipated, some of the fellows on the shore called insultingly after
them.

"Don't pay any attention to them," he cautioned his mates.

It was hard to stand being abused without having done the least thing
to deserve such treatment, but all the boys knew the wisdom of
controlling their tempers under provocation.

Then, finding that no attention was paid to their remarks, the fellows
started to hurling stones after the boats. Fortunately, when they
thought of this means for making a display of their rowdyism, the small
craft had gained such headway that they could not reach them with the
missiles. Several splashed water aboard and came near striking home,
but Jack breathed easy when he realized that they had passed beyond
range of the missiles.

"That's a fine bunch of scoundrels," he said, partly to Jimmy.

"They don't mean any harm, Mistah; that's on'y th' way they hes o'
havin' fun," Pete remarked, at which Jimmy laughed scornfully.

"Fun, is it?" he said, with a gleam of anger in his blue eyes; "sure
it's little the big trotters 'd care if one of thim stones would be
after hittin' us on the head and knocking the daylight out of us. Fun,
do ye say? It'd give me great pleasure, so it would, to have a chanct
to teach some of thim manners. An' I could do it, too, d'ye mind, for
all I'm but a broth of a bhoy."

Jack began to ask a few questions of the fellow, whom Jimmy had soon
supplied with an abundance of food.

"It's on'y a few miles tuh whar Mistah Spence holds out now, suh, an'
we kin git thar right peart in this fine little boat," the other was
saying, when Jimmy broke into the conversation by exclaiming:

"Looky yonder, Jack, darlint; d'ye twig the two gossoons wagging a
handkerchief at us? Holy smoke! I belave they've got a motor boat
half under water, and do be havin' an accident of some sort. How now,
Commodore, do we be after puttin' in to the rescue?"

"You're right, Jimmy," remarked Jack, "they have got a boat of some
kind partly filled. Perhaps they went too near the shore and got
snagged on a stump or a rock. But we just can't pass them by and
pretend we don't see them. Listen, one is yelling."

"Help! we're wrecked! Come ashore and take us off!" came the call.

"Hang the luck!" remarked George, "what else is going to detain us?
Seems to me we've just done nothing but hold out a helping hand ever
since we started on this blooming trip."

"But you know the rules of t