"Oh! don't worry, boys," he remarked, "we ain't going to starve, even if
we have to be marooned here two weeks before a vessel can be signaled.
Why, what use are the fishing lines to us if we can't take lots of finny
prizes? Then, if there's ducks around, or anything else to shoot, ain't
we got a gun? And last of all, I reckon we'd find lots of mussels or
fresh water clams in the sand at the end of the island where we landed."

Somehow, his hopeful spirit did a great deal to help buoy up the spirits
of the other scouts.

Even Bumpus volunteered to assist in getting supper ready; indeed, there
was no lack of cooks on this occasion, for every one seemed willing to
lend a hand.

After all, youth is so hopeful, and filled with animal spirits, that it
takes more than ordinary backsets to dishearten a parcel of healthy
boys.

By the time the supper was done they were talking like magpies, and it
would be difficult to imagine that these six happy-go-lucky fellows were
now actual Crusoes of the, great lake, their boat a wreck, and
deliverance a very uncertain prospect of the future.

"That's the very last of the bacon, ain't it, Giraffe?" asked Step Hen,
during the progress of the meal.

"Sorry to say it is," came the reply.

"And don't it taste finer than ever, though?" Bumpus wanted to know.