e
appetizing smell was full of promise. It even induced Tom to abandon his
leisurely attitude and "rustle" the good things out of the basket. They
made a royal meal and feasted so full and long that, when at last old
Nature simply balked at more, they had no desire to do anything but lie
back lazily and revel in the sheer delight of living.

"If I've an enemy on earth, I forgive him," sighed Dick blissfully.

"Old Walt Whitman's my favorite poet," said Tom. "Isn't he the fellow
that tells you to 'loaf and invite your soul'?"

"Soul," grunted Bert disdainfully. "You haven't any soul. Just now you're
all body."

"Always pickin' on me," groaned Tom resignedly.

In complete abandonment to their sense of well being they drew their hats
over their eyes and stretched out under the shadow of the trees that came
down almost to the water's edge. A brooding peace enveloped them, and the
droning of insects and the faint lapping of the water on the shore lulled
them into drowsiness. Insensibly they lapsed into slumber.

A half hour passed before Bert started up and rubbed his eyes. It took
him a moment to realize where he was. His eyes fell on his sleeping
companions, and he made a movement as though to awake them. Then he
checked the impulse.

"What's the use?" he said to himself. "There's plenty of time before we
need to start for home."

He yawned and lay back again. But now the desire for sleep had left him.
After a moment he sat up again.

"I haven't tried the canoe yet," he thought. "I'll take a little spin
across to the island. They'll be awake by the time I get back."

Noiselessly he walked down to the water's edge, unfastened the canoe and
took up the paddle.

There was scarcely a ripple on the lake except that made by the sharp bow
of the canoe. There was an exhilarating sense of flying as his light
craft shot away from the shore. Almost before he knew it he had covered
the distance and was drawing up the canoe on the sloping beach of the
island.

It was larger than he had thought, at a distance, and toward the center
was heavily wooded. There was a dense tangle of undergrowth, and in order
to avoid this he skirted the shore, intending to make a complete circuit
before returning to the canoe.

His surprise was great when on reaching the further side he found that it
was not an island at all. A narrow strip of land connected it with the
mainland beyond. It was not over a hundred feet in width, but he noticed