ix."

"Doctor!" Harry exclaimed, "did the lads of Lunda ever fail to carry
out their schemes, or squirm out of the ugliest fix in creation?"

"I must own," laughed the Doctor, "that collectively you have a
wonderful faculty for emerging with _eclat_ from every adventure; but I
can't say as much for you individually."

"One for you, Tom," whispered Bill.

"And one for yourself," retorted Tom.

Meantime Signy had crept into Yaspard's arms, and was coaxing him to
tell her the secret; but he put her off with a promise of telling it
when they were on the way home. "And, Mootie," he added thoughtfully,
"I believe we ought not to stay here very long to-morrow, just that
Uncle Brues may see that we aren't anxious to take the greatest
advantage of his permission. Besides, we don't want him to feel that
we like being away from Boden so awfully much."

She squeezed his hand. She understood him perfectly, and Yaspard,
laughing into her upraised eyes, said aloud, "Here is a little girl who
wouldn't contradict me for worlds, and is agreed with me in stating
that the _Osprey_ must be on wing to-morrow morning."

But when to-morrow morning came there had been a breeze in the night
which had raised the sea a bit, and Dr. Holtum would not permit them to
leave until it had subsided, notwithstanding the Viking's declaration
that he never minded such a small thing as that.

"My boat and I go out in rough weather," he declared; "and even Signy
would laugh at the idea of calling this a 'rough morning!'"

The Doctor was firm, however, and the morning slipped happily away in
the pleasant companionship of so many new and agreeable friends.

It was arranged that the Lunda boys were to run across to Boden on the
evening of the following day, to carry out the mysterious plans of Tom
and Yaspard. They were to wait at the geo for Yaspard and his chums,
and the mighty deed was to be done at the witching hour of night. So
they planned, and put aside with unwonted impatience the Doctor's
declaration that there was going to be unsettled weather, and that they
must not count upon being able to carry out their scheme in such an
expeditious way.

"I don't know what has come to father," Tom muttered; "he is quite
scarey: he proposes that some of us go in the boat with you, Yaspard;
or that we escort you in our own boat!"

The Viking's face flushed hotly, for he knew himself to be an expert
"seaman," and it was exasperating that anybody sho