It was a run of about ten miles to the cottage, as it was at the extreme upper end of the lake, but Bob was a fast driver, and in about thirty minutes their destination hove in sight.
"Well, byes, here we are, right side up wid care, bejabers," shouted Mike, tumbling out of the machine as it came to a stop. "Sure and I thought I'd break ivery blessed Irish bone in me body bumping round wid all that truck."
"I guess Irish bones must be pretty strong," laughed Jack, as he unlocked the door of the boathouse.
It was but a few minutes' work to unload, and soon all three were in the boathouse busily engaged taking the old engine out of the Sprite and so rapidly did they work, stopping only for a cold bite at noon, that by 6 o'clock it was all apart and out of the boat.
"Now, Jack, while Mike and I are packing this stuff away suppose you take the canoe and see if you can get a few perch for supper," proposed Bob. "You will find some worms in that pail in the corner."
"Right you are, son, perch is my middle name," replied Jack, and in almost less time than it takes to tell it, he had the little canoe in the water and was paddling across toward a little cove, the best fishing ground on the lake.
"Guess I'll try trolling first," he said to himself, and baiting a hook, he let out about forty feet of line and began rowing at a rate just sufficient to keep the canoe in motion. The fish bit well, and in less than a half hour he had a dozen fine perch flopping about in the bottom of the boat.
"No use in catching more than we can use," he thought, as he reeled in his line and started for the other shore. Hardly had he taken up the oars however, when, looking up, he saw a new motorboat coming rapidly up the pond, and only a short distance away. "That's the Jenkins boys in their new boat, the Winner, and she sure is some boat," thought Jack.
"Hello there, sonny, how they biting?" shouted Will Jenkins, as soon as they were within hearing distance.
"Fair," replied Jack as shortly as possible, for he did not relish being called "sonny" by them.