"Do you think your father will let us go?" asked Hal somewhat
apprehensively.

"We've taken trips alone before," Cub reminded.

"Yes, but only for short trips along the shore or up the canal," Hal
replied. "Ontario's a rough lake, you know."

"Yes, but safe enough if you're used to it," Bud reasoned, coming to the
aid of his lanky friend. "If necessary, we could follow the bend of the
shore all the way and never get out of sight of land."

"That would make the trip longer and consequently take so much more time
to get there," reasoned Cub.

"Time's precious in a case like this," Hal averred. "Remember that we
must get up there in time to save a fellow with no food on hand from
getting an empty stomach."

"How long would the trip take?" asked Bud.

"Well, let's see," said Cub, picking up a pencil and beginning to figure
on a tab of paper before him. "The Catwhisker can make twelve miles an
hour under favorable conditions. We could start early in the morning and
reach the Thousand Islands surely by noon, and then have the rest of the
day to hunt for Mr. Robinson Crusoe."

"It might be like hunting for a needle in a haystack," suggested Hal
dubiously.