n the little lake down at their country
club. I told him it seemed to me that a canoe like ours was an
expensive sort of thing to put in a pond. Then he offered me
seventy-five dollars."

"That's a good, round sum, and will help us out a lot this summer,"
nodded Dave Darrin. "I'm glad you accepted it."

"I didn't," smiled Dick. "Mr. Eades finally offered eighty, and
I told him I regretted that we hadn't done the trading at the
time that he came over to Gridley to see the canoe. Mr. Eades
replied that at the time he came here he wasn't authorized to
speak for his friends, but merely to look at the canoe and report.
After that he made one or two more small increases in his price,
but I seemed to have lost interest in the subject of a trade
and looked at my time table to see when the next train left for
Gridley. Then we talked about other matters, and, fellows, I
was pretty glum, though I didn't allow the fact to show. Finally,
he offered me more money, and then a little more. At last I came
down on my price, and made him my final offer. Mr. Eades didn't
seem to like it, and then, all of a sudden, he took out his check
book and wrote a check for me."

"Close to a hundred dollars?" asked Dave, with deep interest.

For answer Dick threw the check on the table. There was a wild
scramble for it.

"A hundred and fifty dollars!" gasped Tom Reade.

"Let me see that check!" demanded Greg Holmes unbelievingly.

The check went from hand to hand, each of the fellows looking
at it half bewildered. Yet certainly the check said one hundred
and fifty dollars.

"See here, Dick," asked Tom anxiously, "are you sure---positive,
that is---that it was honest to charge a hundred and fifty for
that canoe of ours?"

"You may be sure that I thought of that," Prescott answered.
"I don't want to defraud any man. But birch bark suitable for
canoes is getting to be a thing of the past in this country.
Our friend, Hiram Driggs, the boat builder, told me that a birch
bark canoe, nowadays, is simply worth all one can get for it.
But, after Mr. Eades had written the check and handed it to me,
he said: 'Now, the trade is made and closed, Prescott, what do
you really consider the canoe worth?' I answered him a good deal
as I've answered you, and offered to return the check if Mr. Eades
wasn't satisfied. Fellows, for just a moment or two my heart
was in my mouth for fear he'd take me up and ask for the return
of his check. But M