It must not be concluded for one moment, that the scheme of eventually leaving the island had been forgotten and that their preparation for planting crops foreboded an indefinite stay.
It will be recalled that the Professor knew what idleness and an unoccupied mind would do to the boys in their situation. He tried in many insidious ways to stimulate the boys to think out and carry forward original work, and in almost every instance he succeeded in doing this in such a way that the boys themselves suggested the work to be done.
Harry was the builder, and the utilizer of the knowledge gained, and George was content at the arrangement which kept him in the workshop with the tools, while he gladly did the most of the outdoor duties.
For two weeks the boys worked without a thought of relaxation, and on this occasion, as on many others, it was incumbent on the Professor to suggest a day of sport. It was the only direction in which he at any time tried to wield the energies of the boys, and from this you may infer how intensely they were interested in the marvelous developments day by day, of which they were the important factors.
"Well," said Harry, "I must confess that I had entirely forgotten our arrangement to devote a day each week to hunting and explorations, and I didn't miss it."
"Nor did I," was George's reply: "I suppose we shall have to go, as I imagine the Professor wants to have some sport," and he laughed at the sly dig which he had given him.
The Professor smiled. "You are right, George, old as I am, I am in for sport, and fun of any kind. Why, I am just as young as you are in feeling and desires, but the difficulty is that getting old is a habit with many people. It gets on their nerves; they get some reminder of old age every day of their lives, and sometimes hourly during the day. When this goes on for three, four, five or ten years, it is too much for the most of humanity. It is taken as an accepted fact that old age means infirmity, and the break comes, not really because the body is weak and worn out, but because the mental state has contributed too much to the idea that they are no longer young and cannot be youthful, and are getting too old to enjoy things that others delight in."
The all-absorbing topic at the evening conference was to determine where the hunting exploits should next take place; whether to the west, where they had witnessed the fight between the bears for the honey tree, or to the other side of the South River, which they called their hunting preserves.
Heretofore, George had been anxious to do all the hunting along the river, but now he kept suggesting the forest to the west, and it eventually turned out that the real reason was on account of the supply of honey giving out; and he had an idea that, as they had not seen any trees with honey indications anywhere else in their wanderings, that would be the proper place to go.
His views prevailed, but it was a two-days' journey, there and back. That was the only objection; and considering that they had not taken a vacation for two weeks, this was not an extraordinary thing to do, notwithstanding the urgent work which they had started on the boat and in the agricultural line.