It was an hour before sunrise in a morning in July. The conversation which has been recorded occurred on board a beautiful little motor-boat named the _Gadabout_. Assisting the captain and owner in the management of the fleet little craft was a young man, whose name sounded to the boys very much like Eph, when they heard the owner of the boat address him. On board the motor-boat were four boys among whom conversation did not lag. The one who had perhaps the most to say was Fred Button. He was a tiny, little fellow, though his round face and rounder body gave him the appearance, as one of his friends described it, of a young bantam. He was familiarly known among his companions sometimes by the nick-name of Stub, or more often was called Peewee, or Pygmy, the last appellation sometimes being affectionately shortened into pyggie, or even pyg. Seated next to him was John Clemens, a boy already six feet three inches tall, though he had not yet attained his eighteenth birthday. Familiarly he was known as String and frequently, when he and Fred Button, who were warm friends, were together they were referred to as the "long and short of it." On the opposite seat was Grant Jones, a clear headed, self-contained boy of the same age as his companions. A leader in his class in school and active on the athletic field, he had won for himself the nickname of Socrates, which frequently was shortened to Soc. The fourth member of the group was George Washington Sanders, a boy whose good-nature and witty remarks had made him a favorite among his friends. In honor of the name which he bore he sometimes had been referred to as the father of his country, which distinction was occasionally shortened to Papa, or even to Pop. The owner and captain of the swift little craft was an elderly man, whose whiskers and hair formed an unbroken circle about his tanned face. Both he and Eph, when occasion required, served as oarsmen in the two skiffs which the swift _Gadabout_ was towing. The light little boats were far astern, each being held in its place by a long rope made fast to the _Gadabout_. "Whew!" said Fred Button, rising and stretching himself, "I hope we'll get some fish to-day. How far do we have to go?" he added, addressing the captain as he spoke. "It depends a little upon where you want to go to," drawled the captain in response, without turning his head as he replied. "I thought it was understood," continued Fred, "that we were going to the channel between Drummond Island and Cockburn Island." "Ye'll have to show your papers, if you fish over on the Canadian side," growled the captain. "We shan't fish on the Canadian side," spoke up Grant Jones. "We'll leave it to you to keep us in American waters." "That's right," added John. "If we get caught on the Canadian side, Captain, we'll hold you responsible for it." "Humph," growled the captain, "we'll see what we'll see."