satisfied. He believed the lesson would not be wasted
on the ambitious scouts. Even Bumpus would use more care in making
haste, and look for treacherous roots that always lay in wait for his
clumsy feet. While Smithy, it might be understood, would either have his
cup thoroughly clean to start with, or let a few innocent grains of
coffee go unnoticed.

"I don't know why," remarked Allan, as they were cooking a little lunch
that noon; "but somehow that island over there looks mighty inviting to
me."

"Do you know," Thad remarked, "I've thought the same myself, and some of
the other fellows have their minds set on it. If we only had some way of
getting over, I might think of changing our camp, and going across. Of
course I could swim over and see what the island is like, but that
wouldn't do us any good without a boat."

"A boat up here is something nobody ever saw, I reckon, suh," said Bob
White.

"It certainly does look cool and fine across the water there; and I
suppose the bear could swim it if we chose to go; unless we made up our
minds to turn the old rascal loose," Step-hen put in.

"Say, I think myself he'd follow us, we've fed him so well since he came
in on us," Giraffe grumbled; for it certainly did provoke him to see a
shaggy beast devouring good food that human beings could make use of.
"Why, I had to get up from breakfast hungry because of him. The island
for mine, if it's going to help us get rid of our star boarder any
quicker."

"Star boarder!" mimicked Step-hen; "well, that's a joke I take it;
because all of us have got our minds made up who fills that bill, all
right."

But Giraffe pretended not to notice what was said. He did not like to
have his comrades pay too much attention to his little weakness in the
food line.

"How about my being rewarded for coming in first in the water boiling
test, Mr. Scout-Master?" he called out. "Wasn't there something held out
as an inducement, a sort of prize, so to speak? Seems to me you said the
feller that won might have the privilege of making the big camp-fire
this evening; and that would be reward enough for me, I tell you."

"That was the offer, Giraffe," replied Thad; "and I'm going to give you
that chance, on one condition only. It is that you promise not to carry
a single match around with you this blessed day."

Giraffe knew only too well what that meant, for he understood how Thad
worried over his propensity for starting fires at any time the no