all, and they set to work without delay. It had been after four o'clock when they got back to the cabin and it was dark by the time the raft was ready for use. It was a clumsy affair, made of rough logs, spliced together with grapevine shoots, and it was barely large enough to carry the four boys. They took off their coats and shoes and socks, and rolled their trousers up to the knees.
"Talk about a life on the ocean wave!" sang out Whopper. "This steam yacht would take the first prize at any cattle show, eh?" And this quaint remark caused a general laugh.
In the center of the raft a small log was set upright, not as a mast but as a support for their guns, for they did not wish the weapons or their ammunition to get wet. Nobody thought of crossing the lake without the firearms.
"We may have to fight to get our things back," was the way Snap expressed himself. "And our guns may come in mighty handy."
"Let us try to reach a point some distance below where Shep thought he saw the boat," suggested Snap. "Then we can land and not let the others know what we are doing. We don't want to rush in on any crowd that is too large for us. That would simply make more trouble for us."
Snap's proposal was considered a wise one.
