"I say, Wolfe, this reminds me of the mess aboard the old Fish Hawk, when we were 'Dorymates' together off Iceland."
"It reminds me," said Glen Elting, "of the jolly mess of the Second Division, when Billy Brackett and Binney and I were 'Campmates' together in New Mexico."
Said Sumner Rankin, "It reminds me of the cabin mess of the Transit, when we went 'Canoemates' together, through the Everglades. Eh, Worth?"
"While I," chimed in Winn Caspar, "am reminded of the happy mess-table of the good ship Venture, on which we 'Raftmates' have just floated for more than a thousand miles down the great river."
[Illustration: A reunion of "mates.">[
"Gentlemen," said Mr. Manton, rising, and holding high a glass filled with amber-colored river-water, "as I seem to have become a shipmate of Dorymates, Campmates, Canoemates, and Raftmates, I am moved to propose a toast. It is, 'Long life and prosperity, health and happiness, now and forever, to all true mates.'"