"Such little incidents as we have met with this morning only give us variety. We need something of this kind to add zest to life. Just imagine what life would be if everything turned out just as you wanted it or willed it? You would commit suicide within a week."
The boys smiled, but at the same time their eyelids did double duty in the blinking line for a little while.
George straightened himself out and looked up the hill. "Well, I am going for that flag whether it blows or not," and he started for the hill. Angel, who was in the loft, swung down and made his way out of the door, and before George had gone fifty feet, was at his heels. "And you are going, too? Good boy!" and George actually hugged Angel. He understood.
Arriving at the hill he made an examination, and found that the halliards had been broken and the wind carried away the flag, halliards and all. As the wind came from the sea, the flag must be inland somewhere. Search was made in every direction, but to no purpose. Every rock and lodging place was examined, but it had disappeared. Angel was an interested searcher. He really seemed to divine George's mission. At every bush, or rock, or other possible landing place, he would be the first, and peer around, and look up and down, just as he had seen George do.
The quest kept up for over an hour, and, sadly disappointed, he returned with the news of his failure. The Professor took the loss lightly. "I presume it is intended that we should work out our own rescue. After all, I think that is the proper thing to do. If we depend on others we are sure to meet with disappointment and failure. Cheer up, boys; flag or no flag, let us do our duty."
"I don't mind the loss of the flag so much because it prevents us from having a signal, but I hate to think that we lost so much good time in making and putting it up."
The flag alluded to was sixteen feet long, laboriously made out of ramie fiber, which was woven, and then dyed, and it was a hard task to haul the pole, which was over fifty feet long, from the forest ten miles away, to say nothing of the labor required to raise it.
As soon as the thoroughly drenched material at the boathouse could be brought out and dried in the sun, which now came out bright and warm, the work proceeded with renewed vigor. Late that evening the Professor appeared at the rear of the laboratory, and called loudly to the boys.
When they appeared at the laboratory he was laughing immoderately, and Angel stood on one of the tables with a simian grin.
"What is the matter? Has Angel been experimenting again?"