rupted by the grating of the
boat's keel on the sand. Gallup jumped out into six inches of water and
pulled the boat up on the beach and the rest scrambled out.

Nothing had been seen of Hammond's spies and so they went to bed without
posting guards that night.

"I don't see," observed Roy as he was undressing, "why we don't tie the
boats up if we're afraid of having Hammond swipe them."

"Well, it wouldn't be fair, I guess," Chub answered. "You see we've
always left them on the beach. If we tied 'em Hammond wouldn't have any
show to get them."

"You talk as though you wanted her to get them," said Roy in puzzled
tones.

"We do; that is, we want her to try and get them. If we take to tying
them to trees and things Hammond will stop coming over and we'll miss
more 'n half the fun of the camping. See?"

"You bet!" grunted Post.

"What's to keep her from coming over to-night, then," pursued Roy, "and
taking the whole bunch while we're asleep?"

"Because she doesn't know where they are, silly!" replied Chub. "You
don't expect those fellows are going to row across here and then go
hunting all about the island in the dark, do you? They always come
spying around in the daytime first and see where the boats are hauled
up."

"It won't be dark to-night," said Roy. "There's a dandy big moon."

"That's so, but Hammond never has tried it without looking about first
and I guess she won't this year."

"I wish I was a Hammondite for about three or four hours," said Roy
grimly. "I'd open your eyes for you!"

Whereupon he was quickly tried for a traitor and sentenced to be
walloped with a belt. The walloping process occupied the succeeding ten
minutes and when concluded--not altogether successfully--left the tent
looking as though a cyclone had visited it. But Chub's prediction proved
correct. The boats were there in the morning, all five of them.

"Those Hammond fellows are a set of chumps," grunted Roy. "Why don't
they send you a note and tell you when they're coming? They might as
well do that as send fellows over in a boat to rubber around."

"Get out! How are we going to know when they're coming?" asked Chub.
"Suppose we see them peeking about to-day; maybe they won't come for
three or four nights."

"Then how do they know you won't move the boats in the meantime?"

"Why--why we never do!"

"Oh, I guess I don't know the rules of the game," sighed Roy. "Sounds as
though you were all woozy."

It was raining tha