The Boy Scouts on Sturgeon Island | Page 3

read your accounts of it."
He squeezed the hand of every one of the six lively lads; and there was
a huskiness in his voice as he bade them a last good-bye that told better
than words how sorry he was to leave the merry bunch, just when they
were almost, as Bumpus put it, "in sight of the Promised Water."
So the vehicle passed from sight, and the last they saw of Doctor Hobbs
was a hand waving his campaign hat to them just before a bend in the
country road was reached.
All of them now turned to Thad to see what his plan of campaign
would be.
"If it's just this way, fellows," he remarked, with one of his smiles that
had made him the most popular boy in all Cranford, barring none;
"we've got about three miles to hit it up before we reach the lake shore.
Then we'll make camp and spend another night, which I hope will be
our last ashore for some little time. Because, unless there's a hitch to
the program, we ought to come on the landing where our boat is going
to be in waiting, by ten o'clock to-morrow."
"Hurrah!" cried Bumpus, who was already weary of "hiking" because
his build made him less active than some of the other scouts, notably
Davy and Giraffe.
"Let's get a move on, then," suggested Step Hen. "I can see that poor
old Giraffe here is nearly perishing for a little bite of supper."
A rippling laugh ran around at this, for every one knew the failing of
the long-legged scout, whose stowage capacity when it came time to
eat had never as yet within the memory of any comrade been fully
tested; for they always declared that his legs must be hollow, for
otherwise it was a mystery where all the food he devoured went to,

since he never seemed to get any stouter after a meal than he was
before.
The march was accordingly resumed, with Tad and Allan leading the
van. The boys were going light, because they did not intend to do much
camping on this trip, as it was expected that the boat would
accommodate all of them with sleeping quarters.
Each one had a blanket strapped to his back, and with this were a few
necessities in the line cooking utensils and food. Most of their luggage
had been sent on by another route, as had also their supplies. Doctor
Hobbs had wished them to go to the landing where their boat was to
meet them, by following this roundabout course, having had some
reason of his own for visiting the country. His folks in Cranford owned
considerable land in this vicinity, and it was said that there were out-
croppings of valuable copper to be found upon it; which accounted for
the young man's desire to make inquiries while up in this region.
Joking and laughing, and even singing snatches of school songs, the
boys of the Silver Fox Patrol tramped along the road that was to bring
them to the shore of the lake by and by.
It was about half-past four when they obtained their first glimpse of the
apparently boundless body of water, said to be the largest fresh water
sea in the whole world. Shortly afterwards they reached the shore and
were looking almost in awe out upon the vast expanse of water, upon
the bosom of which they anticipated making their home for some
weeks during vacation time.
"Here's the finest camp site you ever struck in your born days, fellers!"
called out Giraffe, as he waved his arm around at the trees that grew
close to the edge of the inland sea; and every one of the other five
scouts agreed with him.
They had made many camps in the last two years, for they had
wandered far from the home town, down in Tennessee, up in Maine,
and away out to the Rockies on one memorable occasion; but no better
place to spend a night had ever greeted their eyes.

It was soon a bustling scene, with a fire being started, and arrangements
made to build a sort of lean-to shelter that would even shed rain in a
pinch should a storm come upon them during the night they expected to
spend here.
Davy, as usual, was climbing trees, and spying into every hole he could
find. When Monkey Jones had a chance to exercise his peculiar gifts
like this present opportunity afforded him it was utterly out of the
question to hold him in. And so he swung daringly from one limb to
another, just for all the world like a squirrel, chattering at times in a
way that Giraffe always declared left no doubt in his mind concerning
Davy's