"Next time anything happens, me to stick to the old boat, even if I go
up a mile high in the air!" he declared, raising his right hand
solemnly, as though taking a vow.

"Have your wings ready, Bumpus, and you'll be all right, because you can
fly," said Giraffe; and that provoked another laugh; because Bumpus,
once upon a time, being very ambitious to learn how to swim, had
purchased a pair of those "White Wings," which are simply bags made of
waterproof cloth that can be inflated, and used after the manner of life
preservers; so that he had had heaps of fun poked at him on account of
his "wings."

So a full hour passed.

Some of the boys were growing impatient, and to relieve the monotony,
Thad managed to call the attention of Giraffe to the fact that it lacked
only ten minutes of high noon.

That was enough.

"I thought I was feeling pretty weak!" ex-claimed the tall scout,
rubbing his stomach sympathetically, "and no wonder, with breakfast so
far back I've even clean forgot what I had. Come along, boys, let's get
busy with lunch."

"The rest of you can attend to that," said Thad, satisfied that his plan
had worked; "and by the time you are ready to call us, we'll have this
job all done, so we can start her going."

That was cheering news, and the rest immediately set to work with a