campaign hats, while they sent back hearty cheers in answer to the many
good wishes shouted after them by the crowd ashore, while Bobolink blew
cheery blasts on his bugle, and Bluff Shipley would have beaten a lively
tattoo on his drum, only it had been decided best to leave that
instrument at home.

And with all this noisy send-off, the two boats began to chug-chug down
the Bushkill, bound for that far-away island in Lake Tokala, about which
so many strange stories had from time to time been told.

"Well, we're off at last, Bobolink," said Jack, who had that individual
aboard with him.

"That's right, and everything seems lovely, with the goose hanging high,"
replied the other. "But seems to me the troop owes us guards a vote of
thanks for serving as we did. Just think what a lot of grunters we'd have
been this fine morning, if our boats had been set adrift, and brought up
on the rocks down below, with chances of holes being knocked in the
sides! Say, we've got a whole lot to be thankful for, Jack; and my old
garden pump stood up to the racket first-rate, too."

"That's true, Bobolink; and as soon as we're settled in camp I'm going to
make sure that the troop acknowledges its indebtedness to you four
fellows by a vote of thanks, see if I don't."

"Oh say, now, I didn't mean to hint that way," objected the other,
turning a little red in the face with confusion. "We only did our duty,
after all, if we did lose a lot of sleep. But then, I guess we got as
much as a lot of the fellows that went to bed at home. Yes, we're off at
last, and things look great. I'm as happy as a lark, and that free from