ts."

The faces of both Roland and Guardley grew dark. "All right; if you
don't want us, we'll hook fast somewhere else," muttered Roland, and
turned on his heel.

"Maybe you'll regret throwing us off some day," came from Guardley, as
he passed Earl; and then the two men were lost to sight among the tents
up the lake shore.

"Oh, what cheek!" burst from Randy, when they were gone. "I wouldn't
have Roland in the party for a farm."

"I'd be afraid of Guardley's stealing everything we had," said Earl. "As
if we didn't know his real character, and that he had been up before
Judge Dobson lots of times!"

"I reckon they'll stand watching, especially that last cur--from what he
said to Randy," said Captain Zoss. "He's got a bad eye, he has, eh?"

All hands slept soundly after their hard day's work in the timber, and
it was not until they heard others stirring in the morning that they
arose. As he was not working on the boat, Dr. Barwaithe took it upon
himself to perform the "household duties," as he expressed it, and soon
a well-cooked breakfast was arranged on a rude table Captain Zoss had
stuck up. The doctor was an excellent cook, and Foster Portney could not
help but ask him whence his knowledge had been derived.

"It's easily explained," said the doctor. "I have an older sister who
was once the head of a cooking school in Montreal. She insisted on it
that every one should know how to cook, especially a bachelor like
myself, and she used to deliver her lectures to me, at home, before
delivering them at the school. I believe I was an apt pupil, but I never
dreamed at that time of how useful the knowledge would become."

"Which goes for to prove a feller can't know too much," remarked Captain
Zoss. "But come on," he added, draining off his big tin cup of coffee,
and springing up. "That ere boat ain't going to build itself." And off
he hurried for the woods, carrying all of the tools he could carry. In a
moment the boys and Foster Portney followed him.

They found the rough slabs of lumber as they had left them, and sticking
them up in convenient places, began the task of smoothing them off into
boards, working first with their axes and then with the drawing-knife
and the plane. It was no light labor, and night was again upon them by
the time the boards were ready and hauled to the edge of the lake.
After supper Foster Portney brought out a measuring-rule and marked off
the different parts of the boat, which was to