the
river?"

They decided to paddle leisurely, ending their canoe trip next day.
About dusk they made their camp on a steep, wooded shore, and with the
flame of their campfire reflected in the rippling water, Roy cooked
supper.

Pee-wee was supremely happy. It is doubtful if he had ever before been
so happy.

"There's one thing," said Tom, as he held the bacon over the flame. "I'm
going to do my first-class stunts before we get there."

"And I'm going to do some tracking," said Roy; "here you go, Pee-wee,
here's a bacon sandwich--look out for the juice. This is what Daniel
Boone used to eat." He handed Pee-wee a sizzling slice of bacon between
two cakes of sweet chocolate!

"Mmmmmmm," said Pee-wee, "that's scrumptious! Gee, I never knew
chocolate and bacon went so good together."

"To-morrow for breakfast I'll give you a boiled egg stuffed with caraway
seeds," said Roy.

"Give him a Dan Beard omelet," said Tom.

"What's that?" asked Pee-wee, his two hands and his mouth running with
greasy chocolate.

"Salt codfish with whipped cream," answered Roy. "Think you'd like it?"

Pee-wee felt sure he would.

"And there's one thing _I'm_ going to do," he said. "Tom's going to
finish his first-class stunts and you're going to do tracking. I'm going
to----"

"Have another sandwich?" interrupted Roy.

"Sure. And there's one thing I'm going to do. I'm going to test some
good turns. Gee, there isn't room enough to test 'em indoors."

"Good for you," said Roy; "but you'd better trot down to the river now
and wash your face. You look like the end man in a minstrel show. Then
come on back and we'll reel off some campfire yarns."

They sat late into the night, until their fire burned low and Roy
realized, as he had never before realized, what good company Pee-wee
was. They slept as only those know how to sleep who go camping, and
early in the morning continued their journey along the upper and
tortuous reaches of the narrowing river.

Early in the spring there had been a serious flood which had done much
damage even down in Bridgeboro, and the three boys as they paddled
carefully along were surprised at the havoc which had been wrought here
on the upper river. Small buildings along the shore lay toppled over,
boats were here and there marooned high and dry many yards from the
shore, and the river was almost impassable in places from the
obstructions of uprooted trees and other debris.

At about noon they reached a