Canoe Boys and Campfires

A boathouse on the Susquehanna River brings together four boys with very different ideas about outdoor life. Ned Chapman, steady and experienced, has plans for a canoe trip; his impatient friend Randy Moore is eager to get onto the water. Clayton Halsey arrives with Nugent Blundell, known as Nugget, a visitor from New York whose fondness for fine clothes seems poorly suited to rough camping. Their discussion of sleeping on the ground and eating plain food gives this adventure novel its first comic friction.

William Murray Graydon combines the boys' banter with the practical dangers of river travel. In one episode, Randy makes a difficult dive to recover a local man's gun, testing his courage and the confidence of his companions. The scene also challenges a familiar local story about the depth of the water. Readers interested in canoeing stories will find outdoor excitement alongside the tensions of friendship between boys with contrasting tempers, skills and expectations.