ere less accessible, if not less inviting and in the
nature of things, less frequently visited.

This company of "rescue tourists" had motored through the Lake of the
Thousand Islands before, and hence were not at a loss at any time how to
find their way. The spectacle, therefore, of a hit-and-miss, crazy-quilt
arrangement of long, round, high, low, green, bare islands, many of them
decked with a wealth of firs, pines, tamaracks, oaks, maples, bushes and
flowers, was not new to them. However, it was not long after their
decision to look for a mooring place when they found an ideal cove and
tied the Catwhisker to an overhanging bent, gnarled, contorted pine tree.

No camp was made on the shore, as they had no intention of remaining at
this place longer than until the next break of day. All hands were pretty
tired after supper, but Hal decided he must listen-in for a while before
going to bed. So he donned a pair of phones and began to tune for an
evening program, when a call, clear and distinct, addressed to him,
suddenly held his attention.

It was from the now mysterious "V A X", the "Island Crusoe". Hal answered
it and then received the following message:

"Thanks awfully for your good intentions, but I didn't need any help.
Sorry to have troubled you. I did have a wager with that other fellow,
but not the kind he described. It was the first big contest in the
history of radio. I gave odds of four to one and am the winner. We both
went to the island together and each put up an independent receiving and
sending set. My part of the contest was to induce someone to come to the
rescue of me as an island prisoner; his part was to head off any such
rescue. He admitted I won after it was certain you were headed for us,
and then we both lost our nerve and ducked. Good-bye."

Bud and Cub took the hint, from Hal's eager and almost awed manner, that
something unusual was coming in through the ether and donned phones in
time to catch the latter half of the message. This was sufficient to give
them a clear understanding of the situation. After the "good-bye" finish,
Hal made a desperate effort to hold the "Island operator" for further
conversation, but could get no reply. At last he gave it up and they
turned their attention to discussion of the situation.

"Well, I wonder if that's the last well hear from him," said Bud as he
removed the phones from his ears, while the other two boys did likewise.

"More of a puzzle than ev