Part 10 (1/2)

CHAPTER X

THE CASTAWAY

For the next few , and the boys devoted thes heaped before the in the salt air on the open sea had put them in fine fettle and they had enormous appetites

”Well,” said Fred, when at last they were satisfied, ”we have to hand it to you as a cook, Mr Lee You certainly kno to htly by his talent in fixing up the eats,” declared Bill

”A sailor has to learn to turn his hand to anything,” laughed their host ”He gets into lots of places where he has to depend on hiry I've been shi+pwrecked twice in the course of s and to cook the about shi+pwrecks,” he went on, as he filled and lighted his pipe and settled down for an after-dinner smoke, ”reminds me of the fellow you say you picked up yesterday How did he come there? Go ahead and spin your yarn”

”It wasn't exactly a shi+pwreck,” explained Lester ”The boat wasn't sain to-day It was a motor boat----”

”A motor boat!” interrupted Mr Lee, with a sniff He had the distrust felt by most deep-water sailors, of what he called ”these peskywith so,” continued Lester, ”when a big wave caught him and carried him overboard We were near by at the tiot him”

”Yanked him in with a boathook, I suppose,” said his father

”We were too late for that,” answered Lester ”He had gone down, but Fred grabbed a rope and dived over after hied the to do in a storly at Fred

”Ross came to after a while, and we found that the only hurt he had was the water he had sed,” went on Lester ”We couldn't do anything with the ht for Sentinel Cove

This ood as ever”

Mr Lee started slightly as he heard this naht you called hi,” was the reply ”Go ahead with your story”

”There isn't very much more to tell, as far as we're concerned We anchored at the cove for the night, and got away bright and early this ot us all worked up You'd never guess what it was, Dad, in a thousand years”

”I never was ,” smiled Mr Lee, ”so let's have it just as he told it”

Lester started at the beginning and told the story as he had received it froestions froht detail he had overlooked

Mr Lee listened intently, but he asked no questions, and for some minutes after Lester had finished he continued to serly, anxious to knohat he made of it

”Well, Dad,” said Lester, a little i in it?”

”There's a great deal in it,” replied Mr Lee gravely, re his pipe from his mouth ”I believe every word of it is true”

The boys were delighted at this confir by a mind more mature than theirs They had been afraid that Mr Lee would ridicule the story, or throw cold water on their plan to go ahead and try to find the treasure