noon
Three of the boys wandered along the shore , fishing . Paul had seen them pull in several good-sized bass , and began to make up his mind that after all they were going to have a fish dinner , if the luck held . He was even debating whether he dared leave camp for a while , and taking his jointed rod , joined the trio who had wandered around the bend of the eastern shore of the island ; for Paul certainly did love to feel a lively fish at the end of his line , and could not think of leaving Lake Tokala without giving its finny inhabitants a chance to get acquainted with him . Just as he had about decided that he could be spared for the hour that still remained until noon , Paul thought he heard a shout . Now , the scouts had more than a few times given tongue during the morning , when engaged in some boisterous game ; but it struck Paul , whose nerves were always on the alert for such things , while this responsibility rested on his shoulders , that there was certainly a note , as of alarm , about this particular outcry . It seemed to come from around that bend , too , where he had seen the three boys disappear . Even as he looked in that direction , he saw something come in sight among the rocks that lay so thickly around .