but near to the edge of the lake. The tent had been put up in
a natural clearing, behind a line of timber, so that the canvas
was not visible from the other side of the lake.

At trout fishing Dick had proved himself more than an expert.

Now that darkness was coming, Dick was bending over a low fire,
watching a frying pan in which four speckled beauties, well dipped
in batter, were sizzling merrily.

"This is the finest food I've ever had," declared Greg Holmes,
swallowing another mouthful of trout and leaning back with a contented
sigh.

"It certainly is great," agreed Dave Darrin. "Fellows, I've wasted
some of my life in the past, for I never before knew the taste
of brook trout."

"I tried 'em once," said Reade, "but they didn't taste as fine
as these. With trout, I've heard, a tremendous lot depends upon
the way they're cooked."

"Of course the cooking has a lot to do with bringing out the full
flavor," Dick admitted modestly. "But, Tom, perhaps you hadn't
done any hard work before eating trout that time. Exercise brings
hunger, and hunger is the best sauce that food can have---as we
all ought to know."

"Exercise?" repeated Tom, with a laugh. "Yes; I've had that this
afternoon, all right. You had me guessing when you told me you