“Well, I presume that means me,” Alex replied. “If I’ve got to catch a fish for breakfast, you’ve got to get out of this boat. How can I get a fish with all you people on board?”
“But we haven’t read the writing yet,” urged Jule.
“That can wait for a time. Rube will be crying his eyes out in a minute! Anyway, the writing will keep.”
“No, it won’t,” Buck cut in. “If you’re ever going to read it, it strikes me that now’s the time.”
“All right!” declared Alex, “if you want to delay the fish breakfast, give me a knife, and I’ll cut the letters out.”
“Better use a saw,” advised Buck.
“Happy thought!” said Alex. “But where’s your saw? Do you happen to have one in your pocket?”
Case clambered to the deck of the motor boat and soon returned with a saw from the tool-chest.
Buck took the tool and fell to work so vigorously that the rim of the boat, where the writing was, soon lay in his hand.
“Now you can order your fish breakfast as soon as you like,” he said, putting the piece of wood he had removed into a pocket ... “I suspect that Rube will be referring to it until he gets fed.”