Mike.”

“Then he wasn’t born in Ireland?” laughed John.

“No, he belongs to the Sunrise Kingdom. He will have something for you to eat very soon. I have been coming here for several years now every summer.”

“Where is your home?” inquired John.

“That’s hard to say. I was born on the ocean when my father and mother were coming from England. My father was French and my mother was Russian. We lived in the States two years after I was born and then we went to Bermuda a year or two and finally we wound up in Brazil. From Brazil we moved to Sweden and then went to Constantinople. After my father and mother died I came to England and then moved to Montreal. Now, if you can tell me where I belong and what I am you’ll do better than I have been able to do for myself.”

“I think you’re a first cousin of the Wandering Jew,” laughed Fred.

“Perhaps I am more like the Man Without a Country,” said the man soberly. “I have come up here from Montreal every summer for the last few years.”

“Why, how do you get here?” inquired Fred.

“I come up the Ottawa River from Montreal and then I leave the river at Mattawa. It is easy going then from Lake Nippising, across the Georgian Bay, and from Georgian Bay into Lake Huron doesn’t take very long. Have you ever been there, boys?”

“Where?” inquired Fred.

“Georgian Bay.”

“No, sir.”

“Then you have missed one of the prettiest spots in America. I never tire—”

The man stopped abruptly as the mate of the Gadabout suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Without waiting for an invitation he at once entered the room and then to the surprise of the two boys extended his hand and received from his host a small package which he quickly thrust into the pocket of his coat.

The action although simple in itself nevertheless was surprising to the boys. It was manifest that the mate already was acquainted with the occupant of the house and also that he was having relations with him. Just what these were neither of the boys understood, but before many days elapsed they both were keenly excited by the recollection of the simple exchange which they had just seen in the kitchen of the old house on the shore of Cockburn Island.

CHAPTER IV
THE COMING OF THE GADABOUT

It was quickly manifest to the two interested boys that the mate and their host were well acquainted with each other. Puzzled as they were to account for the familiar greeting it was not long before John whispered to his companion, “I suppose that man has been coming here so many years that he knows all the men on the lake. That must be the reason why they know each other so well.”

“I guess that’s right,” said Fred, who was watching the men with an interest which he was not entirely able to explain even to himself.

The mate was endeavoring to speak in whispers, but his voice was so penetrating that it carried into the remote corners of the house, although no one was able to distinguish the words which he spoke.

By this time the boys were dry once more and as they prepared to depart, the Japanese servant unexpectedly returned. In his hands he was carrying a tray on which there were numerous tempting viands. Both boys watched the lithe little man as he speedily cleared the table and then deposited upon it the plates and food which he had brought.

“You’re not going now,” said their host to the two boys. “You’re just in time for afternoon tea.”

“We didn’t know that you served anything like that,” laughed Fred. “I think we’ll both be glad to stay and accept your invitation, shan’t we?” he added as he turned to John.

“I’m sure we shall,” replied John, with a sigh which caused the others in the room to smile at his eagerness.

The movements of the little Japanese speedily convinced the boys that he had had long experience in the work he then was doing. Deftly and silently he attended to all the wants of the guests and not many minutes had elapsed before, responding to the influence, both Fred and John were in better spirits.

Turning to the mate, John said, “Don’t you think it is time for us to find out what has become of the other boys?”

“Don’t you worry none about them,” said the mate. “I guess the cap knows how to take care of them.”

“But we don’t know where they are,” suggested Fred. “We don’t know how we are going to get back to Mackinac. We’re sure they’ll be anxious about us and I know we are about them.”

“Don’t you worry none,” retorted the mate. “They’ll be coming this way pretty soon. I can tell the toot of the Gadabout if Gabriel was blowing the whistle. They’ll be here very soon, but I think by and by it may be a good thing for us to go down to the shore and watch a little if we don’t hear the whistle calling pretty soon.”

The entire party still was seated about the table. Relieved by the confidence of the mate in the safety of their friends and of the Gadabout, both John and Fred became more intent listeners to the conversation which was occurring between the men.

“That Mackinac Island,” suggested their host after a time, turning to the boys, “is one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Ever been there before?”

“No, sir,” replied Fred. “This is our first visit.”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Very much. There are no two days alike. We have been up the river, down the shore of Lake Michigan and to-day we came over here to Drummond Island to try the fishing.”

“And pretty nearly had a shipwreck, didn’t you?” asked the mate.

“Yes, if you can call a skiff that was smashed a shipwreck.”

“The skiff isn’t smashed,” drawled the sailor. “She’s just stove in. We’ll have her fixed up in no time and she’ll be as good as ever.”

“I’m fond myself of Mackinac Island,” continued the host. “I go over there some days and shut my eyes and try to imagine what it was like so many years ago when it was first discovered by the French.”

“They didn’t hold it very long,” suggested John.

“No, and we didn’t either.”

“Nor did the British in the War of 1812. They got it away from us just as they got it away from the French years ago. But after that war was ended it came back to us and nobody has been able to lay hands on it since.”

“You stay there all winter?” inquired the host, turning to the mate as he spoke.

“I do that.”

“I guess it’s pretty cold,” suggested Fred.

“You don’t need to ‘guess’ and you don’t need to say ‘pretty.’ It’s just cold. It’s so cold that when you toss an egg up into the air it just freezes and stays there.”

“It couldn’t stay there,” said John.

“Why couldn’t it?” declared the mate. “I guess I know what I am talking about.”

“Why, the attraction of gravitation would pull it to the ground.”

“That’s all right,” roared the mate, “but the attraction of gravitation is frozen too. Yes, I’ve seen with my own eyes eggs staying right up in the air and the air itself all froze up and the attraction of gravitation froze too.”

“That must be a great sight,” laughed Fred.

“It is, and you can’t see it anywhere except on Mackinac Island.”

“What do you do with yourself all winter?” demanded John.

“Get ready for summer.”

“And then when summer comes you work all the