"Then I'll take him into partnership," Captain Joe, the man, said, "and we'll go out hunting for what you seek. If there is a lost channel anywhere it will go hard if we don't find it!"
A special bunk, the softest and springiest that could be made, was fitted up for Captain Joe in the cabin that night. The old fellow so enjoyed visiting with the boys that it was late before they went to sleep, and so the sun was well up when they left their beds in the morning.
"Now," Clay said, after all had indulged in a short swim in the river, "we're going to celebrate the arrival of Captain Joe by one of Alex's beefsteak breakfasts at a restaurant. Captain Joe has traveled so far to see us that we're not going to take any chances on having him poisoned by Case's cooking."
"Now look here, boys," Captain Joe remonstrated, "I've had a good many restaurant meals along the South Branch since you boys deserted me, and a chef has been cooking for me on the Rutland boat, so I propose that we get breakfast right here, on the _Rambler_. It will be a novelty for me, anyway."
"What would you like, Captain?" asked Alex.
"Well," said Captain Joe almost smacking his lips, "you know the kind of pancakes they serve at the Bismark, Chicago? They're half an inch thick, you know, and as large as the bottom of a milk pan. Cost a quarter apiece, and a fellow doesn't want anything more to eat all day! Now, you go ahead and make pancakes like we used to get at the Bismark."
"And eggs, and ham, and beans, and coffee, and fried potatoes, and canned peaches?" asked Case. "We're sure going to celebrate, Captain Joe."
"Well boys," said the old captain, "if you want to go and make provision tanks of yourselves, you can do it, but for my part, I'm going to be careful in my eating, as I'm getting old! Just rig me up a simple little meal consisting of eight or ten of those twenty-five cent pancakes and half a dozen eggs and three or four cups of coffee, and I'll try to worry through the day."
"I don't see how you can get along with anything less than a dozen pancakes and a gallon of coffee," laughed Clay, "and I'll go on shore and buy a box of the finest cigars to be had in Ogdensburg."
"Now look here, boys," he said, "you know how I used to pull away at that dirty old pipe on the South Branch. I used to be ashamed of myself, smoking up your quarters, so after you left I quit the weed entirely. I haven't smoked a pipe or cigar for a long time," he added, proudly.