and again. I thought my Lake St. John trip was something, but
while there I stood at the portals of the unknown, and it brought
back stronger than ever the old longing to make discoveries, so
that now the walls of the city seem to me a prison and I simply
must get away."

My friend's enthusiasm was contagious. It had never previously
occurred to me to undertake the game of exploration; but, like most
American boys, I had had youthful dreams of going into a great wild
country, even as my forefathers had gone, and Hubbard's talk
brought back the old juvenile love of adventure. That night before
we lay down to sleep I said: "Hubbard, I'll go with you." And so
the thing was settled--that was how Hubbard's expedition had its
birth.

More than a year passed, however, before Hubbard was able to make
definite arrangements to get away. I believe it was in February,
1903, that the telephone bell in my law office rang, and Hubbard's
voice at the other end of the wire conveyed to me the information
that he had "bully news."

"Is that so?" I said. "What's up?

"The Labrador trip is all fixed for this summer," was the excited
reply. "Come out to Congers to-night without fail, and we'll talk
it over."

In accordance with his invitation, I went out that evening to visit
my friend in his suburban home. I shall never forget the
exuberance of his joy. You would have thought he was a boy about