“It was Chub’s scheme in the first place, Dick. He thought of it two months ago when we were down by the river one day. There’s an old boat-house on a raft down there, and Chub said it reminded him of the _Jolly Roger_. I said I didn’t see the resemblance, and he said all you had to do was to turn it around and it would be just like the _Jolly Roger_.” “Turn it around?” asked Dick, mystified. “Sure,” said Chub. “Turn a boat-house around and you have a house-boat. See?” “College hasn’t taught you much sense, Chub, has it?” laughed Dick. “Then what, Roy?” “Oh, then Chub got to talking about what fun Mr. Cole must have in his house-boat and how he’d like to go knocking around in one. And then we remembered that Mr. Cole had told us last summer that the _Jolly Roger_ was for sale. Of course, we knew we couldn’t buy it, but we thought maybe he’d be willing to rent it for the summer. And, finally a week or so ago, we wrote him--” “_We?_” queried Chub. “Well, then, _you_ wrote him, Chubbie my boy; but I supplied the stamp. And yesterday--no, the day before yesterday--we got his note; and to-morrow we’re all going to call at his studio and find out how much he wants for it for the summer.” “Bully!” cried Dick enthusiastically. “And where are we going in it?” “I thought it would be fun to go down Long Island Sound, but Chub wants to go up the river.” “Up the Hudson? That would be great! We could go away up to--to Buffalo--” “Yes, we’d get there about November,” laughed Chub. “The _Jolly Roger_ goes about as fast as--as a mule walks!” “Bet you Dick really thinks Buffalo is on the Hudson,” said Roy. “Isn’t it?” asked Dick in surprise. “I did think it was; honest. Where is it, then?” “It--it’s on--you tell him, Roy.” “It’s on a lake.” “It’s on Niagara Falls,” added Chub knowingly. “Bounded on the north by Canada, on the east by the St. Lawrence River, on the south by the United States of America and on the west by--by water. Its principal exports are buffaloes and--and--” “Oh, dry up!” said Roy. “Anyhow, we could go up as far as Troy--” “And get our laundry done,” suggested Chub. “And we could stop for a while at Ferry Hill and see the school and the Doctor and Mrs. Em and Harry--” “What I want to know--” began Dick. “And we could stay at Fox Island a day or two. It would be like old times.” “You mean Harry’s Island,” corrected Dick. “What I want to know, though, is whether we can take Harry along.” “Chub thinks we can,” answered Roy; “but I don’t see how we could manage it.” “Easy enough,” said Chub. “There’s three rooms we can use for sleeping. Harry and her mother, or whoever came along with her, could have the big room up front or the little room at the rear, the one Mr. Cole used as a studio.” “It’s only as big as a piece of cheese,” said Dick.