" suggested Jerry, drily, "my first job would be to
hire some caddy with a heavy foot to kick me good and hard. Then I'd
set out to get a new sweater and another supply of golf balls. Later
on I'd make it a point to head back this way and hunt you up, to
apologize humbly and to hand over your bag intact."

"Well said, Jerry," was Frank's hearty commendation.

Will picked up a little hope at that. Perhaps after all matters might
not be quite so bad as they looked at first glance. Even if he did
lose a week of time, there were plenty of other things he could be
doing, since he had his camera and flashlight apparatus intact.

"Thanks, Jerry. I guess you are right," he told the other. "Every
cloud has a silver lining, they say, if only you look for it. I'll try
to hope for the best after this. My precious films may come back to me
again undamaged. I hope so, anyway; but you know there's no telling
what a fellow may do when in a sudden rage."

"Think again, Will," said Frank. "We all agreed that this Gilbert
fellow was as cool a customer as we'd ever met. Now the chances are
he'll grasp the situation at a glance, laugh at his blunder, put
_your_ bag safely away, and hustle to remedy the mistake so as not to
be left out of the tournament. Believe that, Will, for your own peace
of mind."

So the forlorn chum finally fastened the bag and hung it on a peg.

"I hope to see it give way to my own bag by the time a week or so has
passed," he forced himself to say.

As the afternoon was getting well along the boys busied themselves
with what appeared to be the most urgent duties. Such things as roof
mending and the like could wait for another time, since there did not
seem to be any possibility of a storm coming up, on that night at
least.

"But we must surely pay attention to that roof the first thing
to-morrow," Frank told them, as they began to make preparations for
the cooking fire.

"Yes, that's right," Jerry added; "because we mustn't be like the
Irishman in the old story who never did mend the hole in his roof,
although always going to do so; and when they asked why he kept
putting it off explained by saying: 'Whin it rains I _can't_ mind it,
and whin it's dry and fair, be jabers! phy should I bother?'"

Of course things were in something of a turmoil that evening, though
the boys were beginning to plan just how they meant to store their
possessions away so as to have their customary system about the cabin
camp.