But he was only ten minutes out of the way at that. The old Indian, Kernertok, in the stern and Jack in the bow made a combination hard to beat. It was hard to tell which one, Kernertok or Sicum, was the more pleased to see Bob. The Indian merely grunted his pleasure as he held out his hand, but the boys both knew just what that particular grunt meant. To be sure Sicum, half collie and the other half, as Kernertok declared, “just dog,” although the boys more than suspected that his father was a timber wolf, was more demonstrative in his greeting, jumping on him with so much force that he was nearly knocked off his feet. But they knew well that in the old Indian and his dog they possessed two friends that could always be depended on.
“Ten minutes late,” Bob told Jack as soon as he had quieted the dog.
“Wind was against us.”
“Um blow heap hard out on lake,” Kernertok backed him up.
“And now what about it?” Jack demanded.
Quickly Bob gave them a full account of the events of the day and Jack’s expression became more and more mystified as he proceeded.
“Now what do you know about that?” he asked as Bob paused. “This thing has more angles to it than Carter has liver pills.”
“Is Sicum’s nose in good shape?” Bob asked the Indian.
“Sicum, him get heap lazy. No get ’nough work an’ heap too much eats, but him nose still heap sharp.”
“And a sharp nose is what we need,” Jack declared.