“Humph!  Funny surveyor’s stake, isn’t it?” grunted the Canadian officer, “Methinks we shan’t go much farther to prove this fellow a fabricator of fairy tales.  So that’s the international boundary line, is it?” he asked, eyeing the prisoner keenly.

“I was told it was; that’s all I know about it,” the latter replied sullenly.

“Well that was a lucky reply if you intend to persist in your policy of evasion,” Mr. Buckley declared.  “I was about to denounce you as an illustrious liar.  The boundary line between the United States and Canada along here, my dear sir, doesn’t cut islands in two.  If you will examine a map or chart of the Lake of the Thousand Islands, you will see that the boundary line winds like a snake, dodging the islands through its entire course in this part of the St. Lawrence river.”

“It was foolish of me to swallow such a yarn as that,” said Mr. Baker.  “But I called his bluff good and strong.  However, I’m much relieved to discover that my credulity was imposed upon; otherwise I might be accused of trying to drag the United States and Canada into war.”

All of his auditors, except the prisoner, smiled at this remark.  The boys, who had just finished washing the dishes, joined the inquisition group in time to hear Mr. Buckley’s last statement and Mr. Baker’s “confession of folly.”

“I think we have got as much out of this man as we may hope to get at the present time,” the officer announced a moment later.  “I think I had better take him back with me and you had better come along, Mr. Baker, and swear out a warrant charging him with kidnapping.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do if my son is not returned to me to-night or early in the morning,” answered the man thus addressed.  “I suppose you have no objection to remaining here over night.”

“Oh, no; it’ll be easier to take care of the prisoner here over night than to work overtime, going back at night, and jail him.  But we’ll have to keep careful watch over him to-night and see that he doesn’t escape.”

“Maybe we’d better lock him up in one of the staterooms of the yacht,” Mr. Perry suggested.

“Yes, and keep a good watch over him all night,” Cub put in.  “We want to make sure those three friends of his don’t come back after dark and let ’im out”

“I’ll watch with Mr. Buckley,” Mr. Baker volunteered.  “We’re both armed and I don’t think there’s any chance of our being taken by surprise.”

“We’ll watch in two-hour shifts,” Mr. Buckley proposed.  “In that way we’ll keep fresh and on the alert, so that there’ll be less danger of being taken by surprise.”

“Very well, that’s agreed upon, if it’s satisfactory to Mr. Perry,” the officer announced.

Further attempts to get information out of the prisoner, bearing on the whereabouts of the place of concealment of Mr. Baker’s son, were unavailing, and at last they separated into two parties for the night, Mr. Buckley and Mr. Baker taking charge of the prisoner on board the Catwhisker and Mr. Perry and the boys distributing the sleeping quarters among themselves in the camp.