opinion of a boy who persisted in sleeping at that late hour of the day,
the noise was too much for even Reddy's drowsy sensibilities.

[Illustration: Fig. 65. Off to the Island.]

[Illustration: The Ledge below the Goblins' Platform.]

[Illustration: The Camp at Willow Clump Island.]



The Trip to the Island.

Our scow was not large enough to carry all the things we had to take with
us, but as Mr. Schreiner was going to take Uncle Ed up in his wagon, we
left the rest of our luggage for him to bring along. We boys walked the
eleven miles up the canal to Lumberville, towing the barge. It was a
tiresome task; but we divided the work into two-mile shifts, two boys
towing at a time and then each taking a mile ride as steersman in the
boat. It was about noon when we arrived at Lumberville, and then we had to
unload our boat before we could haul it out of the canal and down to the
river. The river on the Jersey side of the island was so shallow that we
waded across, pushing the boat ahead of us. The current was too swift to
permit of rowing, and it was rather hard for us to keep our footing. But
we managed to reach our destination finally without any mishap. The island
was thickly wooded, except for a small clearing where we landed. The first
thing we did was to unpack our eatables, and Jack, the cook, soon had an
appetizing pan of bacon and eggs sputtering on the kerosene stove.

[Illustration: Fig. 66. Dragging the Scow over to the Island.]