“I think we might stay here to-day,” came from Giant.  “It will give us a chance to rest up and to fish.  Remember, we won’t have much fishing after we get to the mountains.”

“We can get brook trout,” answered Whopper.  “But just the same I’m willing to stay here to-day and fish.  Maybe we can get some big maskalonge, same as we did before.”

“And if we can’t get those we can get some pickerel and bass and perch,” added Giant.

Snap had promised to get breakfast ready, and he set in with a will as soon as he was dressed.  While he was working Giant and Whopper walked down to a cove, where the boat had been left, to look over their rods and lines.  The doctor’s son busied himself with a camera, determined to take a few pictures before leaving the lake shore.

Suddenly there came from the cove a hurried shouting that instantly attracted the attention of Snap and Shep.

“What are they saying?” demanded the doctor’s son.

“I don’t know—–­something about the boat,” answered Snap, and dropping the coffee-pot he held he ran toward the lake.  Shep set the camera on a box and followed.

When they arrived at the cove they found Giant and Whopper gazing up and down and across the water in perplexity.  The rowboat, with the larger portion of their outfit, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s the boat?” demanded Snap.

“That’s what we want to know,” answered Giant.

“Didn’t you leave it tied up?”

“Certainly I did—–­to this elderberry bush.”

“Well, where is it now

“Don’t ask me.”

“Did Giant tie the boat?” asked the doctor’s son.  He had not seen the craft since the parting at the rapids.

“Yes, I did—–­and I tied it good and fast, too,” answered the small youth.  “Snap saw me do it.”

“Yes, I saw him tie it up, but I thought maybe he shifted the boat afterward.”

“No, I left it just as it was tied up.”

The boy hunters looked blankly at one another.  All gazed up and down the shore and across the lake.

“Maybe Ham Spink-----” began Snap.

“If he took our boat I’ll—–­I’ll kick him full of holes!” cried Giant.  He had not forgotten how Spink and his cronies had annoyed them in the past.

“I don’t see any footprints around here,” remarked the doctor’s son, looking over the ground carefully.

“Here’s a tree branch broken,” said Whopper.

“They might have come in a boat and towed our craft away,” suggested Snap.

“Boys, I know why Wags barked during the night!” cried Giant.  “He heard somebody at the boat.”

“Yes, and we didn’t know enough to come down here,” added Snap bitterly.  “If we had come we could have caught the boat-stealers redhanded.”

A lively discussion followed, but it did nothing toward enlightening the boy hunters.  The one fact remained that the boat and a large portion of the outfit were gone, and unless the craft could be recovered their outing would come to a premature finish.