and Aunt Clara; second week, Mr. and Mrs. Evans; third week, Katherine and the Captain; fourth week, Hinpoha and Slim; fifth week, Gladys and the Bottomless Pitt; sixth 26 week, Sahwah and the Monkey; seventh week, Migwan and Peter Jenkins; eighth week, Nakwisi and Dan Porter.

As soon as the Chiefs for that week were established, Uncle Teddy was immediately besieged with questions in regard to the Principal Diversion. “It’s a–oh, my gracious!” said Uncle Teddy, catching himself hastily and winking mysteriously at Mr. Evans. “It’s a secret!” And not another word would he say.

Soon afterward he and Mr. Evans prepared to take a trip in the launch.

“Where are you going?” casually inquired the Captain, who had followed them down the hill.

“Oh, just over to St. Pierre to get some supplies,” replied Uncle Teddy in an offhand manner.

“Want any help?” asked the Captain wistfully. He was just in the mood for a ride across the lake this morning with his two adored friends.

“Not at all, thank you,” said Uncle Teddy, hurriedly starting the engine and backing the launch away from the shore. “You look after the camp in our absence.” And the launch leapt forward and carried them out of speaking distance.

It was nearly dinner time and the men had not yet returned. The potatoes were done, the corn chowder had been taken from the fire, and the cooks and hungry campers sat on the edge of the high bluff 27 looking toward St. Pierre to see if the launch were in sight.

“There’s something coming now,” said the Captain, who was the most far-sighted of the group, “but it doesn’t look like a launch; it looks like a sailing vessel. That can’t be our men.”

“There’s a launch just ahead of it,” said Sahwah a moment later.

“There is,” agreed the Captain, “and, sure enough, it’s towing the other thing, the sailing vessel. That is our launch, see the Stars and Stripes floating over the bow and the girls’ green flag at the back? Oh, mercy, what are they bringing us?”

“I’m going down on the landing,” said Sahwah, unable to restrain herself any longer. She raced down the path, followed closely by the girls and boys and at a more dignified pace by Mrs. Evans and Aunt Clara.

“Look what it is!” cried Gladys to her mother when she arrived on the scene. The launch was just heading in toward the pier. “It’s a war canoe!”

“With sails!” echoed Sahwah, nearly falling off the pier in her excitement.

It was, indeed, a war canoe, a beautiful, dark-green body some twenty-five feet long and about three feet at the widest part through the center. The three sails were of the removable kind. Just now they were set and filled out tight with the 28 breeze. The sun glinted on the shining varnish of the cross seats and the paddles lying under them.

There was one great shout of “Oh-h!” from the girls and boys, and then a silence born of ecstasy.

“Here’s the man-of-war!” called Mr. Evans, enjoying to the utmost the pleasure caused by the arrival of the big canoe, “now, where’s the crew?”

“Here, here!” they all cried, tumbling over each other in their haste to get to the landing and into the boat.

“All aboard, my hearties,” cried Uncle Teddy, cutting the canoe loose from the launch and holding it steady against the pier.

“But dinner’s ready,” protested Aunt Clara. “Can’t you wait until afterwards for your ride?”

“Not one minute,” her husband solemnly assured her. “Not one of us will be able to eat a mouthful until we have had a ride on the new hobby horse. Dinners will keep, but new war canoes won’t.”

“You’re as bad as the boys and girls,” said Aunt Clara, shaking her finger at him knowingly. “I believe you want to go worse than any of them.”

“I surely do,” replied Uncle Teddy. “It was all I could do on the way over to keep from climbing over the back of the launch into the canoe and coming home in her.”

“I’m going to be bow paddler,” cried Sahwah, hastily scrambling into the front seat and getting her paddle ready for action.

29“We won’t need much in the paddling line with those sails,” said Uncle Teddy, “but we can be ready in case we become becalmed.”

“‘Become becalmed,’” said Migwan mischievously, “doesn’t that sound as if you had your mouth full of something sticky?”

Uncle Teddy wrinkled up his nose in a comical grimace and ordered her to take her seat in the canoe without any more impudence.

As most of the seats were wide enough for two to sit on there was plenty of room for all sixteen of them. Mrs. Evans hung back at first, but at Aunt Clara’s urging ventured to sit beside her. Uncle Teddy took up the stern paddle and shoved out into the lake; the wind caught the sails, and away went the canoe like a bird. It was wonderful going with the wind, but when they decided it was time to turn around and come home they found that the sails absolutely refused to work backward, so they lowered them and paddled. As the canoe leaped forward under the steady, even strokes, the Winnebagos began to sing:

30They landed reluctantly and ate the long-delayed dinner, discussing all the while what they should name the war canoe.

“Let’s call it the Nyoda,” said Hinpoha. “That would surely please Nyoda. Besides, it’s a fine name for a boat.”

They agreed unanimously that the war canoe should be named Nyoda, and Mr. Evans promised to take it to St. Pierre the next day to have the name painted on her bow. As soon as dinner was over they were out in her again with the sails up, until the ever-stiffening wind made the lake too rough for pleasure. They could hardly land when at last they reached the shore, the canoe plunged so, and Uncle Teddy jumped out and stood in the water up to his waist holding her steady.

“In for a bit of weather, eh?” said Mr. Evans, helping to pull the Nyoda far up on the beach out of harm’s way. The wind was whistling around the corner of the bluffs.

“Just a puff of wind,” replied Uncle Teddy, “but I would advise you all to batten down the hatches, I mean, tie your tent flaps.” As he spoke a white towel came fluttering over the bluff from one of the tents above and went sailing off over the lake. At that they all scattered to make their possessions secure.

All through the afternoon the storm raged. There was no rain, just a steady northwest wind increasing 31 in violence until it had reached the proportions of a gale. High as the cliffs were on three sides of the island, the spray was dashing over the top. When supper time came Aunt Clara called to Uncle Teddy: “Where are the eggs and bread and milk you brought from St. Pierre this morning?”

Uncle Teddy and Mr. Evans both jumped from the comfortable rock on the sheltered beach where they had been sitting watching the storm and blushed guiltily. “We never brought them!” they both exclaimed together. “We were so completely taken up with the business of getting the war canoe from the steamer dock that we forgot all about the supplies.”

“Well, we’ll just have to do without them, but we can’t have the supper we planned,” returned Aunt Clara. “A great Chief you are! Can only think of one thing at a time! I could have brought in a dozen war canoes and never forgotten the affairs