er he had thanked Foster Portney for the supper, bade all
good-by, and was gone.

"Not a half bad boy," was the comment of Mr. Portney. "His one fault is,
I reckon, that he has been allowed to have his own way too long.
Roughing it out here will most likely make a man of him, unless he gets
into bad company and goes to the dogs."

"I am going to write to his folks and let them know where he is," said
Earl; and the letter was penned and mailed before he went to bed.

The three were on their way early on the following morning to complete
the purchase of their outfits, for all must be packed up and on the
steamboat deck by seven o'clock the next morning, to insure being stored
on board of the _Golden Hope_.

The first purchases made were those of a good tent, bedding, woollen
blankets, rubber sleeping-bags, a large piece of oiled canvas, and
several lynx-skin robes.

"Now for our tools with which to cut down trees, build boats, and the
like," said Foster Portney. "Remember, we are almost like pioneers in a
new land."

For boat-building purposes they purchased a good whip-saw, a cross-cut
saw, a jack plane, and a draw knife, a large and a small axe, a hammer,
brace and bits, six pounds of assorted nails, several pounds of oakum
for calking, and some pitch. To this outfit was added fifty yards of
three-quarter-inch rope.

"Don't we want some canvas for sail?" asked Randy, who was intensely
interested, and who felt somewhat as if he was going out to play at
Robinson Crusoe.

"No, the other bits of canvas will do for that," responded Foster
Portney. "Now for the camping-out things," he went on, and had soon
procured a good-sized water kettle, a frying-pan, broiler, bean pot, tin
measure, extra baking and cooking tins, three tin plates and cups, three
sets of knives and forks, coffee pot and strainer, salt and pepper
shakers, and a strong paper-fibre water pail.

"That about ends that," he said, when each article bought had been
carefully scrutinized to see that it was perfect. "Now for food and
medicines, and then we'll be about done."

The food list made Randy smile grimly. "No luxuries there," he whispered
to Earl. "We are going to live as plain as we did up in Maine, or
plainer."

The list consisted of the following: A hundred pounds of flour, with
baking-powder, twenty pounds of smoked ham and bacon, two dozen cans of
tomatoes, a dozen cans of other vegetables, a small sack of potatoes, a
dozen cans of conde