“Sault St. Marie.”
“Be honest, Fred. This is no time for joking. Where did you come from?”
“I’m not joking and I’m telling you the truth. We started from Sault St. Marie.”
“How long have you been here?”
“About two hours.”
“Why did you come to Cockburn Island?”
“Because our skipper said he had to come here before he could take us to Mackinac.”
“What did he want to come here for?”
“Don’t talk any more now,” said Fred. “Wait until we get back and we’ll tell you all about it and there are some things worth hearing, too.”
When the boys and the strange skipper returned to the shore and it was discovered that there were two motor-boats there, John quickly said to Rufus, “Our friends are going back to Mackinac and we can go with them so you won’t have to go out of your course. You can go right back to Sault St. Marie.”