the south-west, for they were now cruising along the northern shore of
the great lake, where the Dominion of Canada held sway, and not Uncle
Sam.

So they watched it anxiously, and every time it missed an explosion
Bumpus would utter a grunt or a groan; only to catch new inspiration and
hope when he found that it was a false alarm, and that they were still
going right along.

Thad was doing everything he knew how to encourage the engine to keep up
the good work; but he had already made up his mind to be surprised at
nothing. There was a possibility that it might keep working fairly well
as long as they wanted, in order to find safety in the shelter of the
island; and then again it was apt to let down at any minute.

Thad, however, was not the one to show the white feather. He knew that
there were several of his chums who might not be constituted just the
same as he and Allan, and Giraffe--Bumpus and Davy and Step Hen; and his
seeming cheerfulness was partly assumed in order to buoy their drooping
spirits up; as scout-master Thad felt that he had many duties to
perform, and one of these was to instill a feeling of confidence in the
breasts of his comrades.

"I can see a white streak on the water away back there!" announced
Giraffe, presently.

"That's where you've got the advantage of the rest of us, with your long
neck, and that way of stretching the same," complained Step Hen; and
determined to meet the other on his own grounds he clambered to the top
of the cabin, where he could use the glasses he had taken from the hand