In a short time he came in sight not of the man, but of his boat, tied up at the bank, the man having disappeared.

“Well, I have my boat at any rate,” laughed Jack rather ruefully, “and that is something I suppose.  I wanted the man, but I shall have to be satisfied with what I can get.”

He got into his own boat, and towed the other out of the creek and down the river, disappointed, of course, but, on the whole, glad that it was no worse, and that he had not lost his boat.

He met Percival and some of the boys on his way back, the boys questioning him excitedly as they came up.

“Did you get him, Jack?”

“You have got your own boat back anyhow.  Did you catch him?”

“How did he get away, Jack?” asked Percival.  “Did he put up a fight?”

“No, he ran into the kill, and as soon as he got out of sight around a bend tied up my boat and skipped out,” said Jack in a tone of disgust.

“That’s too bad.  I hoped that you would catch him”

“Young J.W. will think all the more of his boat after this,” said Billy Manners.  “You made it go, Jack.”

“Haven’t I told him that he could get speed out of a canal-boat?” Percival retorted with a laugh.

“No one will want to race with Jesse W. after this,” remarked Arthur.  “They won’t make fun of his boat now, nor of him either.”

“Well, he got away from me,” said Jack, as the boys turned and went back with him, “and now I suppose he will be harder than ever to find.  He has not got the watch anyhow.”

When the boys reached camp supper had already started, but Bucephalus looked after them, and the doctor readily excused them on account of the importance of their errand.

“He got away from me, Doctor,” said Jack, “but I recovered my boat and that is something.”

“Percival told me of the conversation you heard this afternoon, and so I readily, understood why you were so anxious to apprehend the man.  I was prepared to turn the watch over to him, being convinced that he was the owner, and your accusation came as a great surprise, therefore.”

After supper Jack suggested to Percival that they go up to the Van der Donk house and see the nurse, as they might learn more about the man who had claimed the watch.

“It is a good idea, Jack,” said Dick, “but I guess you will need to be careful how you proceed with that excitable creature, who is ready to go up in the air at the slightest notice.”

“Yes, it will be necessary to observe caution if we wish to learn anything.  These foreigners are very excitable, especially the women, and one has to be cautious in dealing with them.”

Early in the evening the two boys went up to the Van der Donk house, being met by Margaret, who seemed very glad to see them, and said: 

“We have been busy putting things to rights, and if it does not look very tidy here you must excuse it.  Gabrielle has gone away, no one knows why or where.”