“Perhaps he has a cramp,” put in Sam.  “Tom, are you all right?” he cried.

“Yes, I’m all right,” was the answer, and then Tom swam to his brothers with all speed.  The steamboat was now well on its way down the Ohio.

“What is it?” asked Dick, feeling that something was wrong.  “If you have had even a touch of a cramp you had better get out, Tom.”

“I haven’t any cramp.  Did you see them?”

“Them?  Who?”

“The two fellows at the stern of that boat?”

“No.  What of them?”

“One was Dan Baxter and the other was Lew Flapp.”

CHAPTER XIX

WORDS AND BLOWS

“Baxter and Flapp!”

The cry came from several at once, and all climbed to the deck of the houseboat after Tom.

“Are you certain of this, Tom?” asked Dick.

“Yes, I saw them as plain as day.  They were looking at the houseboat.”

“Did they see you?”

“I think they did, and if so they must have seen the rest of our crowd too.”

“We ought to go after them,” came from Fred.  “The name of that steamboat was the Beaver.”

“Wonder where she will make her first stop?”

For an answer to this question Captain Starr was appealed to, and he said the craft would most likely stop first at a town which we will call Penwick.

“How far is that from here?” asked Sam.

“About six miles.”

“Can we get a train to that place?”

“Yes, but I don’t know when.”

A time-table was consulted, and it was found that no train could be had from Pleasant Hills to Penwick for two hours and three-quarters.

“That is too late for us,” said Dick.  “If they saw Tom they’ll skip the moment the steamboat touches the landing.”

“If you want to catch them why don’t you follow them up in the tug?” suggested Songbird.

“Dot’s the talk!” came from Hans.  “I would like to see you cotch dot Flapp and Paxter mineselluf.”

“I’ll use the tug,” said Dick.

He summoned the captain and explained the situation.  It was found that steam on the tug was low, but Captain Carson said he would get ready to move down the stream with all possible speed.

“I would like you to stay on the houseboat,” said Dick, to Songbird, Fred, and Hans.  “I don’t want to leave Captain Starr in charge all alone.”

So it was agreed; and fifteen minutes later the tug was on the way after the Beaver, with Dick, Tom, and Sam on board.

“Can we catch the steamboat, captain?” questioned Tom, anxiously.

“We can try,” was the answer.  “If I had known you wanted to use the tug again to-night I should have kept steam up.”

“Well, we didn’t know.”

The Beaver was out of sight and they did not see the steamboat again until she was turning in at the Penwick dock.