"I cannot tell you."

"Don't you know?"

"Did any one ever hear such a pestiferous child!" said Mr. b.u.t.ton, laughing as he spoke. "His questions and his tongue run like a mill-tail."

"What's a mill-tail?" inquired Fred.

"There he goes again!" said Mr. b.u.t.ton, holding up both hands in mock despair.

"But I want to know whether or not you have been up to Cape Vincent to do anything about that bond," demanded Fred.

"The bond isn't registered in my name anyway," answered Mr. b.u.t.ton.

"Probably I couldn't get it if I wanted to."

"But you don't answer my question."

"Go into the house now and get ready for dinner. If you haven't any plans made for to-morrow I may ask you to take me up to Cape Vincent in the Black Growler."

"Of course we'll take you," said Fred. "We should like nothing better."

"Then it's understood that to-morrow we'll go to Cape Vincent."

"But, Grandfather," said Fred before he went upstairs, "Susie Stevens and Mildred think they will want to go with us to-morrow."

"And you told them they might?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I don't see then but what you'll have to keep your promise, though you mark my words, young man, you'll be sorry you took that tomboy along with you. She'll get you into trouble just as sure as the sun rises. You mark my words."

Fred laughed and as he went to his room he had no thought how nearly his grandfather's words were to be fulfilled the following day.

CHAPTER XVIII

A TEST

Early the following morning when the Go Ahead boys went down to the dock, they found that Sam Hodge already had arrived and was busily at work on the Black Growler.

"Good morning, Sam," called Fred, deeply interested in the sight of the investigation which Sam was making.

"'Mornin'," called Sam, without looking up from his task.

"How do you find everything on the boat?"

"I haven't only seen a few things yet," retorted Sam. "I'll tell you later what I think about it."

"Did you bring along any extra legs or arms?" asked George.

"Nothin' much," replied Sam. His manner, however, to the boys seemed to imply that he was holding some information in reserve and this fact at once increased their curiosity.

"What have you got?" asked George.

"I have nothin' much, but an alb.u.minoid rib."

"What kind of a rib?"

"That's what you call it. If it isn't that it's alkali."

"What kind of a rib is an alkali rib?" asked John.

"Why, it's one of those things that's about as light as paper. Here, I'll show it to you," he added as he drew from his inner pocket a metal rib, which he at once handed to Fred.

"That looks like aluminum to me," said Fred quickly.

"That's just what I said," retorted Sam. "I thought I'd bring it along in case anything happened. I'll have some feet and hands comin' later."

"What for?" laughed Fred.

"What do you s'pose they're for? They're for you to wear."

"If you had brought along a head," said Grant solemnly, "it might have been a good thing. I have known Fred to lose his several times."

"We don't furnish brains, we just use them," said Sam as he restored the rib to his pocket. "Now, then," he added, "I'm goin' to give this here boat an overhaulin' from stem to stern."

"There isn't anything wrong, is there?" inquired Fred anxiously.

"I told you I can't say yet," answered Sam. "I don't know until I have investigated. Can't expect much when a lot of harem scarem boys are driving such a machine as this is. Had any more trouble since I left you?"

"We haven't had any," answered Fred. "We helped pull a couple of girls out of the river yesterday."

"What was they doing in the river?" demanded Sam, looking up for the first time since the arrival of the boys.

"What most people usually do when they can't swim," answered Fred.

"What was the trouble?" asked Sam.

"The chief trouble was," said Grant solemnly, "that they did not have any alkali heads. Their heads were made of bone and were solid all the way through."

"The worst of it is," broke in Fred, "that they said we were to blame for spilling them into the river."

"Maybe you were," said Sam. "One never knows. Maybe they saw you trying to steer this boat."

"That's it. That's it exactly," spoke up George quickly. "I hadn't thought before why those girls were spilled out of the canoe. I don't wonder they wanted to drown themselves when they saw the way Fred steered."

"That's all right," retorted Fred as his friends all laughed. "We'll take the Growler out this morning and see how she behaves. That's what Sam wants to do, I know. He can't tell how she runs until he sees her in action. Besides, my grandfather wants to go up to Cape Vincent and we promised to take those girls along."