When Theo awoke the next day the novelty of his surroundings drove
every thought of Greek pottery from his mind. As he peeped out of his
window he could see slanting rifts of early sunlight flecking with
gold the trunks of the great pines. From the chimney of the
cookhouse a spiral of blue smoke was ascending and as it rose it
carried into the air with it a pleasant odor of burning wood and
frying bacon.
Theo did not dally with his dressing, you may be sure; he was far too
hungry, and too eager to attack the program for the day.
"Put on thick boots, son," called Dr. Swift from his room. "The
weather is fine. It is an ideal morning to tramp across Owl's Nest
Carry and fish in the lake beyond there."
"What time is it, Father?" inquired Theo. "I forgot to wind my watch
last night."
"Six o'clock. We shall have a three mile walk, and plenty of time to
get in some fishing before the sun is high. Then we can paddle
up-stream to the camp at the farther end of Owl Lake and cook our
lunch. How does that plan please you?"
"Hurrah!" cried Theo. "Is there a camp like this over there?"
"Oh, no. Just a lean-to which serves as a shelter, if people want to
spend the night and be on hand for early morning fishing. Sometimes,
too, I have gone over in the late afternoon and fished until dark,
afterward turning in on the pine boughs for the night. It is only a
crude little camp, but it is perfectly comfortable. You will like Owl
Lake. It is smaller than this one, but it has a very pretty shore
bordered with a stretch of white sandy beach."
"It must be a great place for swimming."
"It is. Just now, however, the water is too cold. Later in the season
when things get warmed up it is the finest bathing place
imaginable. Are you ready for breakfast now?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you'd better run along. I will join you in a few moments. I must
go first and see Manuel about the lunch."
"All right, sir."
Through the crisp morning air Theo bounded across to the dining-cabin,
where he found Mr. Croyden.
A bright fire burned on the hearth and the table with its heaping
plates of hot johnny-cake looked most inviting.
"Hello, youngster!" called the older man, glancing up with a
smile. "How do you find yourself to-day? All lamed up after your jolt
over the carry?"
"Not a bit, Mr. Croyden," laughed Theo. "I'm not lame at all. I'm just
hungry."
"A perfectly normal condition. So long as you can eat I guess there is
not much the matter with you."
"Oh, I can always eat," grinned Theo. "Mother says my appetite never
goes back on me."
"Well, fall to. It looks as if Franz had prepared for the worst,"
chuckled Mr. Croyden. "What are you and your dad up to to-day?"
"We are going to Owl Lake to fish."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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