n a short time we were seated in
camp, and with ravenous appetites were attacking our supper, our heads
still wet and our faces shining red from the water and the sun.

We were just tired enough to enjoy sitting on the old bent cottonwood,
swinging our feet. You know how you feel if you have been tramping all
day or working in the fields, and after a good clean up, sit down to a
square meal.

We were in high spirits as we had made a good start or rather laid a
basis for our work. We certainly felt sturdy and adequate enough for
anything. There is a peculiar feeling of strength that comes to one
after a day of muscular exercise and we had had that all right.

"What are you going to do with that big stick, Jim?" I asked.

"That goes for the keel," he answered.

"You are not going to build a boat, are you?" I inquired.

"No," replied Jim, "but even with a raft you will have to have something
to keep her in the current."

We got into our blankets quite early and slept like logs, with never a
thought of mosquitoes or anything else. A mountain lion might have crept
down and yanked one of us off and the other two would not have been the
wiser.

Jim got us out the next morning before the sun was up and we were down
at the beach working like beavers. I tell you it was a busy scene.

Tom and I, with axes and adzes, hollowing out the two logs. Jim went to
work on his stringer, shaping it up and also digging it out after he had
made some measurements of the log I was working on.

When night came, after we had put in twelve hours' steady toil I felt
discouraged. It did not seem that we had accomplished much, but Jim was
cheerful.

The following morning, however, after a refreshing night's sleep, it
looked much more hopeful as I stood on the beach looking over what had
been accomplished on the two previous days.

Jim's plans began to shape themselves and we saw what our new craft was
to be like. His design was far superior to what we had planned. The
groundwork was three of the longest and largest logs.

The bow was three feet across, the end of the logs being trimmed and
shaped together. The stern was made by the spread of the logs and was at
least six feet across. This end was also shaped up so as to offer as
little surface to the current as possible.

The logs were held together by heavy planking that we had recovered from
the drift. These were spiked to the logs. Before this was done Jim had
fixed his heavy keel