“I did—but not until I had lost me way, and I reckon they had lost theirs too. Ain’t that so, Bart?”
“Well, I’ll admit we were a little off the trail,” answered Bart Mason, who was very large for his years and correspondingly lazy. “But we weren’t lost like the babes in the woods.”
“I don’t see how a big fellow like you could get lost,” put in Fred, slyly. His head hardly came up to Bart’s shoulder.
“Tell me about those tramps,” said Joe, impatiently. “Where are they now?”
“The last I saw of them they were walkin’ on the lake.”
“The lake!” came from Joe, Harry, and Fred simultaneously.
“Yes. That’s why I came over to tell you.”
“Do you think they came over to this island?” asked Harry.
“Either that or they crossed to the other shore.”
“Tell me exactly how they looked,” went on Joe. “We don’t want to make any mistake.”