"I've got it!" exclaimed the boy. Grabbing up his hatchet he darted out towards the lake front.
Finding a birch tree, of which he was in search, Butler peeled off a long, thin sheet of bark, free from either knots or "eyes." From this he constructed a trough-shaped bucket after several clumsy attempts, in which he nearly ruined his material. The folds of this bucket were pinned together with green twigs, below what was to be the water line. This simple affair being completed Tad raked a bed of coals from the fire, placing the bucket on them after he had taken it down to the lake and filled it with water.
The Pony Rider Boy sat squatting in front of the bucket observing it eagerly. His patience was rewarded within five minutes. The water in the bucket began to boil.
"I guess we will have our coffee in the morning," he chuckled triumphantly. "But I forgot; we have no coffee pot. I don't see why I can't make one in the same way." Tad did. It was not a handsome pot, but it was almost worth its weight in gold to the two boys.
Stacy, on getting up that morning, saw the water boiling merrily on a bed of hot coals. He eyed the contrivance curiously.
"What do you call that thing?" he demanded.
"That, sir, is my patent water boiler."
"Oh!"
"What did you think it was?"
"I thought it was a steam engine. I didn't know but you were going to start a sawmill out here. Good place for one, isn't it?"