hope you pull through O. K."

Thad did not answer, for the simple reason that the log with its boyish
freight was already so far away that he would have to raise his voice to
make Davy hear; and such a thing would be foolish, when they wanted to
keep as quiet as possible, so as not to attract attention.

Standing there, they watched the strange argosy floating away on the
dancing waves. Davy was urging it from the shore of the island as well
as he could by swimming, and without showing any part of his person.

"He's going to make that point, all right," said Thad, knowing that the
Jones boy's one fear had been lest he ground on the bar that put out
there, and be compelled to show himself in order to push off again.

"But you said it would be hours before he could even get to camp, didn't
you, Thad?" asked Smithy.

"The way he's drifting now, he'll surely be at the end of the lake in
half an hour; and given four times as much to make his way round all the
coves, would bring him to camp about noon, I reckon. Then, if Giraffe
starts out at once, and has fair luck traveling he ought to get to
Rockford in two hours, running part of the way, once he strikes the
road."

"That would mean two in the afternoon, then, Thad?"

"About that, if all goes well," the other continued, as though mapping
out the programme, step by step. "Then give him a quarter of an hour to
tell Mr. Hotchkiss the story over the wire; and after that the
Faversham officers would have to come on here. But perhaps they might
get a car to bring them along the road. It's not a first class auto
road, but could be navigated I guess. Say by four o'clock they could be
at our camp, Smithy."

The other sighed.

"That means something more than six hours for us to play hide and seek
here on the island, doesn't it?" he remarked; but Thad saw with relief
that Smithy was certainly showing less signs of alarm than he had
expected, under the best conditions.

"Well, if you were only as good a swimmer as you hope to be one of these
days, Smithy," he remarked, pleasantly, "we might try for the shore. But
as it is, we've got to make the best of a bad bargain, and wait. You've
got good sight, so suppose we try and see if we can tell what the boys
are doing in camp. Two pair of eyes ought to be better than one any
day."

"But honest now, I don't seem to see a blessed fellow there," declared
Smithy, which was just what Thad had himself found out. "I can see the
fir