“No help for it,” remarked Jerry. “Some day we’ll have a big enough boat to sail half way round the world in, and we’ll not have to depend on trains.”
“I wonder if we’ll meet Noddy when we get to Florida,” mused Bob. “Where did he say his cocoanut grove was, Ned?”
“He didn’t say, exactly, except that it wasn’t far from Lake Okeechobee, and I didn’t care enough to ask him. It’s somewhere in the lower part, I believe. But I hardly think we’ll meet him. Hope we don’t, for we always have bad luck as soon as he or Bill Berry turns up.”
“I guess Bill will keep out of sight for some time to come,” remarked Mr. Slade, who was listening to the talk of the boys. “I understand the United States government is after him for his part in the lighthouse plot, and when Uncle Sam wants a man he generally gets him. So I think Bill will not trouble you this trip. Well, have you settled everything?”
“Pretty nearly,” answered Ned. “All except that I’ll have to have some money for my share of the expenses.”
“I expected that!” exclaimed Mr. Slade with a laugh. “It takes money, as well as gasoline, to make a motor boat go. Well I don’t mind, as long as you boys take care of yourselves and don’t get into mischief.”
As the parents of the boys were well off there was no difficulty on the score of funds, though, for that matter, the lads’ shares in the gold mine were more than sufficient to pay their way on the various trips they made.
They discussed their plans in detail, now and then appealing to Professor Snodgrass for his opinion, but the scientist was busy looking for a specimen of a black snapping bug which had flown in through a hole in the screen to get at the light, so he paid little attention to what the boys were saying.
“Well, I guess that’s all,” announced Ned, as he closed the big geography. “We’ll start getting the boat crated up to-morrow.”
“Is that all?” asked Bob, with rather a blank look.