done much in the past for Aleck, as they called him, and Pop was so
greatly attached to the youths that he was ready at all times to do
anything they desired.

"I dun lub dem Rober boys, aint no ust ter talk," Pop would say. "Dem
is de most up-to-date boys in de world, dat's wot, and da did dis yeah
niggah a good turn wot he aint forgittin' in a hurry, too." What that
good turn was has already been related in full in "The Rover Boys in
the Jungle." Pop was now installed on board the _Swallow_ as cook
and general helper, a position he was well fitted to fill.

The boys had laid out a grand trip, and one which certainly promised a
good deal of pleasure. The first stop was to be at Cleveland, and from
that city they were to go to Sandusky, and then up the lake and through
the Detroit River to Detroit. Here a short stay was to be made, and
then the journey was to be resumed through Lake St. Clair and the St.
Clair River to Lake Huron. Once on Lake Huron they expected to skirt
the eastern coast of Michigan, stopping whenever they pleased, and thus
gradually make their way to Whitefish Bay and Lake Superior. What they
would do when Lake Superior was reached would depend upon how much time
was left for the outing.

The _Swallow_ was a well-built, sturdy craft, fifty feet long and
correspondingly broad of beam. She had been constructed for a pleasure
boat and had all of the latest improvements. She belonged to a rich man
of Buffalo, who had known the Rovers for years. The rich man was now
traveling in Europe, and had been only too glad to charter the yacht
for a period of six weeks. When the Rover boys were through with her
she was to be placed in charge of the rich man's boatman, who was to
take her back to Buffalo.