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34 "No, I am going after them now," answered Dick, decidedly.

"So am I," added Sam and Tom.

They were going forward as rapidly as the semi-darkness would permit. The ground was more or less uncertain, and once the youngest Rover went into a mud hole, splashing the mud up into Jack Ness' face.

"Hi, stop that!" spluttered the hired man. "Want to put my eye out?"

"Excuse me, Jack, I didn't see the hole," answered Sam.

"It ain't safe to walk here in the dark—somebody might break a leg."

"If you want to go back you can do so," put in Dick. "Give Tom the shotgun."

"Oh—er—I'm goin' if you be," answered Jack Ness. He was ashamed to let them know how much of a coward he really was.

It was quite a distance to Swift River, which at this point ran among a number of stately willows. As the boys gained the water's edge they saw a boat putting out not a hundred feet away.

"There they are!" cried Dick.

"Stop!" yelled Tom. "Stop, unless you want to be shot!"

"We'll do a little shooting ourselves if you are not careful!" came back in a harsh voice.