From care and toil,
On Nature's soil."

"Just to listen to Songbird!" cried Tom. "He grinds it out like a
regular sausage-making machine," and then he went on gayly:

"I love to swim,
In Nature's soil,
By the green-clad side,
Of a mountain wide,
And there to bake,
My little toes,
On a garden rose,
And take a hose,
And wet the lake
With a hot snowflake,
In the middle of June--
If that isn't too soon--
And sail to the moon
In a big balloon--"

"Oh, Tom, let up!" roared Fred. "Talk about a sausage-making machine--"

"And when in the moon,
I'd drive a stake,
And tie my lake
Fast to a star,
Or a trolley car,
Then jump in a sack
And ride right back--"

"To where you belong,
And stop that song!"

finished Sam. "Oh, but that's the worst yet. Shall we duck him, Fred?"

"No, don't pollute the water," answered Garrison.

"He ought to be ducked," came from Powell, in disgust. "Whenever I have
a poetic streak--"

"It's catching, as the fly-paper said to the fly," finished Tom. "Let's
call it square and take a new tack. Who's in for a swim when we reach
the end of the lake?"

"I am!" was the united cry from the others. They were passing several
small islands and now came to another turn in Bass Lake. Just beyond
this was a small sandy beach, backed up by a mass of rocks and
brushwood.

"That looks like a good place for a swim," said Powell, forgetting all
about his so-called poetry.

"Suits me," returned Tom. "Let's pull ashore and tie the boat fast, and
I'll put up--"

"A peanut reward for the first fellow in," finished Fred. "Caught you
that time, Tom, just as you caught Songbird with his doggerel."

As happy as any boys could be, the four cadets tied up their boat. In
doing this one started to splash in the water, followed by another, and
as a consequence before the cutting-up came to a finish the seats of
the craft were pretty well wetted.

"Never mind," said Tom. "They'll soon dry in the sun. We can put our
clothes on the rocks."

The boys were soon in the water and having a most glorious time. The
lake was fairly deep off the end of the boat and here they took turns
at diving. Fred and Songbird also went in for a race, the former coming
in only a few feet ahead.

"I guess we had better dress now and try our hand at fishing," said Sam
after nearly an hour had passed.

"One more dive!" cried Tom and took one full of grace,