“Yes; summer before last. And I believe a few other boys besides scouts went, too; so perhaps your brother was among them.”
“It’ll be fun to see if we can find any traces of them,” remarked Ethel. “Or maybe we’ll find treasure.”
“Oh, all islands are reported to contain buried treasure,” laughed Miss Phillips.
The girls continued to paddle straight ahead all morning. As the stream was swift and narrow, they did not attempt to eat their luncheon in their canoes, but pulled up to the shore and got out upon a large, flat rock which jutted out from the bank.
Ruth Henry was the first to finish eating. Jumping to her feet, she hurried down the bank to where her canoe lay and rummaged for her field-glasses.
“The creek seems to be getting wider down there,” she said; “maybe I can see the island.”
But although she looked carefully, and several of the others made attempts also, they could not distinguish anything which resembled an island. This was not strange, for it was necessary for them to paddle for three hours longer before they finally sighted it.
“There it is!” cried Ruth. “Oh, I think this is going to be lots of fun!”
The small island, not much wider than a city square, appeared most attractive with its shady trees, and sandy sloping shores. The girls put more energy into their strokes, that they might reach it more quickly. Marjorie was the first to pull her canoe to shore.
“I feel like Christopher Columbus!” she cried, darting forward to explore.