The boys lived in the town of Fairview, a country place, located
on the Rocky River, about ten miles above a fine sheet of water
called Lake Cameron. The town boasted of a score of stores, several
churches, a hotel, and a neat railroad station at which, during
the summer months, as high as ten trains stopped daily. On the
outskirts of the town were a saw mill, a barrel factory, and several
other industries.

To those who have read the two former books in this series, entitled,
"_Four Boy Hunters_" and "_Guns and Snowshoes_," the lads getting
ready for a swim will need no special introduction. The lad called
Snap was Charley Dodge, the son of one of the most influential
men of that neighborhood, who was a school trustee and also part
owner of the saw mill and a large summer hotel. Charley was a
brave and wide-awake youth and was often looked up to as a leader
by the others. Where his nickname of Snap had originated it would
be hard to say, although he was as full of snap and ginger as a shad
is full of bones.

Sheppard Reed, always called Shep for short, was the son of a
well-known physician, a boy who loved outdoor life, and one who was
as strong as he was handsome. He and Snap had been chums for many
years, and as a consequence were occasionally known as the twins,
although they were no relation to each other.

Frank Dawson had moved to Fairview about three years before this tale
opens. He was a merry lad, with laughing eyes, and his method of
exaggerating had speedily gained for him the nickname of Whopper. But
Frank was withal a truthful lad his "whoppers" being of the sort meant
to deceive nobody. Even his mother could not make him give up his