"Crinkums!" said Pee-wee. "I'm mighty glad I got him. If it hadn't succeeded I'd have felt cheap, sure; but when you're dealing with a girl, you always want to act as if you're sure of yourself. Do you know why?" "Can't imagine," said Roy. "Break it to us gently." "Because girls are never sure of themselves and they'll never take much stock in what you say unless you seem to be sure of yourself. That's one thing I've noticed. I've made a study of girls, kind of---- And you're more apt to succeed if there's a girl watching you--did you ever notice that?" Roy laughed. "It's so," urged Pee-wee. "And there's another thing about girls, too; they're repulsive." "What?" said Tom. "_What?_" said Roy. "They say the first thing that comes into their heads." "_Im_pulsive, you mean," laughed Roy. "Well, they're all right on good turns," said Tom. "They don't have any good turns in the Camp Fire Girls," said Pee-wee. "A girl might do a good turn and you'd never know anything about it," said Tom, significantly. "Cracky," said Pee-wee, "she was tickled to get that bird back." In a little while they were tramping along the main street of Nyack, heading for the lordly Hudson. It was almost twilight, the shops were shutting their doors, and as they came around the hill which brought them face to face with the river, the first crimson glow of sunset fell upon the rippling current. Across the wide expanse, which seemed the wider for the little winding stream they had so lately followed, the hills were already turning from green to gray and tiny lights were visible upon the rugged heights. A great white steamer with its light already burning was plowing majestically upstream and the little open craft at the shore rocked in the diminishing ripples which it sent across the water, as though bowing in humble obeisance to it. "Gee, it's lonely, isn't it!" said Pee-wee. "Not getting homesick, are you, kiddo?" "No, but it seems kind of lonesome. I'm glad there's three of us. Oh, jiminy, look at those hills." The scene was indeed such as to make the mightiest man feel insignificant. The map showed a road which led to Haverstraw, and this the boys decided to follow until they should find a convenient spot in which to bivouac for the night. It followed the Hudson, sometimes running along the very brink with the mighty highlands rising above it and sometimes running between hills which shut the river from their view. "Hark," said Tom. "What did I tell you! Thunder!" A low, distant rumble sounded, and as they paused in the gathering darkness, listening, a little fitful gust blew Pee-wee's hat off. "We're going to get a good dose of it," said Tom. "I've been smelling it for the last hour; look at those trees." The leaves were blowing this way and that. "We should worry," said Roy. "Didn't I tell you we might have to get our feet wet? This is a risky bus----" "Shut up!" said Pee-wee.