“I’m going to take it easy for a while. Would you like to look about the grounds?”
Tom and his chum strolled about. They found it a delightful country place, covering some forty acres. There was a large stable, a carriage house and a garage which contained a big touring car. There were greenhouses, a poultry place and a small power house that supplied electric light to the buildings and grounds.
“It looks like the place of a man who has enough money, but who doesn’t care about making a big splurge,” commented Joe.
“It also looks like the place of an easy-going man,” replied Halstead. “I wonder how a man like Mr. Dunstan came to get the motor-boat craze?”
“Oh, I imagine he likes to live out on this beautiful old island, and merely keeps the boat as a means of reaching business,” suggested Dawson.
After an hour or more they returned to the house to find Mr. Dunstan placidly asleep in the same porch chair. So the boys helped themselves to seats, kept quiet and waited. They were still in doubt as to whether their employer wanted to use the boat later in the day. Theirs was a long wait, but at last Mr. Dunstan awoke, glanced at his watch and looked at the boys.
“Becoming bored?” he smiled.
“Oh, no,” Tom assured him, “but I’ve had hard work to keep from falling sound asleep.”
“Have you seen Master Ted lately?”
“Not since we first met him down by the pier.”