Big owl jolly when de little bird singin’;
’Possum’s gwine to climb whar de ripe ’simmons swingin’;
Nigger mighty happy, ef he aint wuf a dollah,
When he startin’ out a courtin’ wid a tall standin’ collah!”
sang Hopkins, as he stood in the door of the lodge; and when he shouted out the last line he shook his head at Don in a way that made the latter’s face turn as red as a beet. Hopkins evidently knew where Don’s thoughts were.
“Come down from there, you two,” he exclaimed. “The bacon is done cooked.”
The cool, invigorating morning air, laden as it was with the health-giving odors of the balsam and the pine, had bestowed upon the boys an appetite that would not permit them to disregard this invitation. They hastened down the bluff, and when they entered the lodge, they found the cooks putting breakfast on the table. They sat down with the rest, and while they ate, Curtis, who was the acknowledged leader of the party, laid out a programme for the day. There were three canoes which would accommodate two boys each (they could be made to carry four, but with so many in them there would not be much elbow-room for those who wanted to fish) and two Falstaffs to be provided for. One of them was Hopkins and the other was Hutton, the boy who caught the big salmon in Canada. He would have to go, of course, for he knew all the best places in the pond, and he was certain to bring luck to the boy who went with him. Curtis thought he and Bert would look well together, while Hopkins and Farwell—the latter a light-weight Dalton boy and a clever fly-fisher—would make another good team. Don and Egan could have the other canoe to themselves.
“But we don’t know where to go or what to do,” said Egan. “You go in my place, and let me stay behind as one of the camp-keepers.”
“I am laying out this programme,” replied Curtis, speaking in the pompous tone that Professor Odenheimer always assumed when he wanted to say something impressive.
“I know it, but I can’t be of any use to them,” continued Egan. “Some rioter, on the evening of the 23d of last July, put it out of my power to handle a paddle or a rod for some time to come.”