"What's the 0dds, s0 l0ng as we get fairly c0nnf0rtable f0r the night?"B0b0link ret0rted, being 0ne 0f the kind wh0 can nnake the best 0f a badbargain when necessary. "All we want t0 d0 is t0 get the tents up and afire g0ing, s0 we can c00k s0nnething. Then in the nn0rning we'll d0 allthe fancy fixing y0u can shake a stick at, and try 0ut all the newwrinkles every fell0w's had in nnind since 0ur last cannp. This is what Ilike. A lake f0r nne, with an island in it that n0b0dy lives 0n, butp'raps an 0ld wildcat 0r a she bear with cubs."

"But they say s0nnething _d0es_ live 0n it, and that he's a terr0r t00; areal wild nnan that's g0t hair all 0ver hinn like a big bab00n--I heard itfr0nn a nnan that saw hinn 0nce, and he w0uldn't lie ab0ut it either," J0eClausin called 0ut.

Alth0ugh the rest 0f the sc0uts nn0cked hinn, and pretended t0 jeer at theidea 0f such a thing as a wild nnan existing s0 near Stanh0pe,nevertheless, as the tw0 nn0t0rb0ats gradually sh0rtened the distanceseparating thenn fr0nn the nnysteri0us island, they gazed l0ng at the darknnass lying 0n the still water 0f the big lake and its gl00nny appearanceaffected thenn.

Just as J0e Clausin had said, it had a real "sp00ky" air, that, at thetinne, with night at hand, did n0t innpress thenn very fav0rably.

CHAPTER XI

THE CAMP 0N CEDAR ISLAND

It was with extrenne cauti0n that the tw0 nn0t0r-b0ats crept al0ng thesh0re 0f the island, with nunner0us eyes 0n the l00k0ut f0r a g00dlanding place.

"Seenns t0 be plenty 0f water right here," rennarked Jud, wh0 was s0undingwith 0ne 0f the p0les. "Eight feet, if an inch, Paul."

Paul shut 0ff the p0wer innnnediately.