ten o'clock
In anticipation of the trip , Roger had had the paid chauffeur of the family go over the four-passenger touring-car with care , to see that everything was in shape for the run to Lake Sargola . The lake was a beautiful sheet of water , some eight miles long and half a mile wide , and at the upper end were located several fine hotels and numerous private residences . The boys had decided to go to the lake by a roundabout way , covering a distance of about forty miles . They left at a little after ten o'clock , calculating to get to the lake in time for lunch . They would attend the afternoon concert , take Roger 's chum out for a short ride around the lake road , and then return to Hemson in time for the evening meal . Roger was at the wheel and it was decided that Dave and Phil should ride on the back seat , so as to be company for each other . Mrs. Morr came out on the veranda of the mansion to wave them a farewell .