“That is exactly what I am going to do, my dear Emma. Just watch my smoke.”
The Overland Riders were puzzled to know what Hippy had in mind. First, he cut several tough lodge poles, then selecting a boulder half as high as himself, Hippy easily pried it from its resting place with a pole and started it down the slope. The boulder soon began to roll, gaining momentum with the seconds, striking fire as now and then it came into contact with sharp projections of rock.
The boulder finally hit the shelving slabs of granite at the edge of the cliff with a mighty crash and leaped out into the air. The party watched its projectile-like flight with fascinated gaze.
Then came the splash into the lake. The Overlanders did not hear the splash but they saw the water spurt up into the air like a miniature geyser, and fall in a silver shower over a wide area.
“Hurrah!” shouted Stacy, tossing his hat into the air.
Tom Gray was excited, and so were his companions. Stacy Brown was already prying at a boulder with a pole, while Hippy had run to another one and was digging an opening into which to insert his lever, using a flat stone for a fulcrum. Many of the boulders lay resting on the slope and thus were easily thrown out of balance.
“Wait!” cried Elfreda. “We will have a game of bowling.”
“Yes, and the highest one that was ever played,” exclaimed Grace.
“And I’ll be Rip Van Winkle. Show me a soft place to lie down and sleep,” cried Stacy.
“Where are the ninepins?” demanded Emma. “One cannot bowl without having something to bowl at.”