f you feel like skin diving,
you can try for rock or hardheads off the northern tip of Taylors
Island, right at the mouth of the river. Did you bring gear?"

"The whole set," Rick replied. "Lungs, compressors, guns, and even
suits."

"You won't need suits. The bay is shallow and warm. At night you can
relax right here. Plenty of books, TV, radio, or a chessboard. If it
gets cool, there's wood for the fireplace."

"Sounds good," Scotty agreed. "But we wanted you with us."

"I will be. Before the weekend."

"When do you have to leave?" Rick asked.

"Three this afternoon. I have an evening meeting at headquarters. I'll
be back on the four-o'clock flight tomorrow afternoon, and, with luck, I
won't have to go again. If I do, it will be only for a day."

"Okay," Rick said reluctantly. "We'll settle in, but we won't move in.
We'll sleep on the boat. No need to use up your linens and stuff when we
have sleeping bags if the weather is cold and cotton blankets when it's
warm. Besides, housekeeping is easier on the boat."

Steve grinned. "I'll bet it is. If I know you two, you eat out of cans
and never use a dish if you can help it. Your idea of washing a coffee
cup is to hold it under running water or to dip it in the bay. Wait
until your mother and the girls join you. Life will undergo a drastic
change."

"Don't rub it in," Scotty said ruefully. "Now, how about showing us over
this estate of yours?"

Steve was pleased by the request. He obviously was proud of his
creekside home, and with reason. There were fifty acres of land, mostly
oak forest, with a private access road. Electric power came in from the
public power lines, but he had a gasoline generator in case of failure,
and his own artesian well. He explained:

"The house has been completely remodeled, but it's really quite old.
When it was built, there was only a wagon track. In those days, the
rivers and creeks were the highways, and the people traveled by boat.
You'll see old mansions fronting on the rivers here. The back doors face
the roads. Water transport was the reason. The landed gentry had barges
rowed by slaves. The poor folks rowed their own. Of course, there were
plenty of sailing craft, too. There still are."

The creek in front of the house proved deep enough for swimming, and the
three went for a dip. Rick tasted the water. It was salty, but not like
the ocean. The backwaters of the bay were brackish, with low-salt
content.

In the afternoon