Beaufort Chums

The Mississippi River swells with spring floodwaters, and for two boys named Ned and Hal, that means adventure. When rising waters threaten homes along the riverbank, the boys see opportunity in the chaos. Their explorations take them to Eagle Island, a wild place transformed by the flood, where they discover a dog left trapped in a flooded barn. What follows is a rescue that forges an instant bond between the boys and the grateful animal they name Bob. Edwin L. Sabin captures the particular magic of boyhood: the freedom of summer days spent on the water, the thrill of discovering something unknown, and the weight of responsibility that comes when creatures depend on you. This is adventure without pretension, a story that understands the Mississippi as both playground and proving ground, and that sees in the friendship between two boys and their new dog the most honest kind of loyalty.