want them, and I'm not going to take any risks."

"Do you think we'll be away over night?" asked Bill.

"I shouldn't be surprised," answered Lester. "Maybe we'll be gone for
more than one. It's a pretty stiff sail up there, and we may have to do
a good deal of tacking on the way back. Then, too, Mark may not be in
when we get there, and we may have to wait till he gets back."

"What kind of a fellow is this Taylor, anyhow?" asked Fred. "Has he any
family?"

"No, he lives all alone in a little cabin down near the beach. Spends
his time fishing and doing odd jobs. He's a little wizened-up fellow.
He's fond of talking, and all we'll have to do is to get him started and
he'll do the rest. I only hope we'll find him in condition to talk."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Teddy.

"Mark is a little too fond of a black bottle that he keeps in his
cabin," explained Lester. "But he's usually sober in the daytime, and if
we get to him before night, he'll be all right."

The boys went down to the little dock where the _Ariel_ was riding.
They had all grown more or less expert in handling her since their
arrival at the Shoals, and in a very short time they had her ready for
the trip.

"I wonder if Uncle Aaron has got my letter yet," remarked Teddy, as he
helped Bill pull up the anchor.

"Not yet," replied his brother, "but he's sure to get it before the day
is over."

"I'd like to see his face when he reads it," chuckled Teddy.

"You aren't usually so anxious to see his face," laughed Fred. "That
time, for instance, when he came up on the bank after his ducking in the
river."

"No," admitted Teddy. "But this time things are different."

Lester had made several trips to the boat, each time loaded with
provisions, and by the time everything else was ready the little larder
was well stocked.

"No danger of starving on this trip," smiled Mr. Lee, who had come down
to see them off.

"Not much," laughed Lester. "Now, Dad, don't worry if we're gone longer
than we expect to be. We'll be back when we get here."

"I'll not worry," promised his father. "Any one who can take a boat
through Sentinel Rocks in such a blow as we had the other day, can get
out of any kind of scrape."

He waved his hand genially in farewell as the _Ariel_ fell away and
set her course for Milton.

"We've a following wind," remarked Lester, as he settled himself at the
tiller, "and if it holds out, we ought to make Milton in three hours."

"