“It is signed Dora Stanhope and Nellie Laning.”

“Give it to me—­I’ll pay you the money,” cried Tom.

“All right, reckon as how I kin trust you-uns,” said the old man.

It was Jake Shaggam, who had received the message the evening before.  He had read it with interest and started out at daylight to find out something about the Rovers and where they might be located.  Good fortune had thrown him directly in our young friends’ way.

“This is really a message from the girls!” cried Tom, reading it hastily.  “It is in Nellie Laning’s handwriting.”

“And Dora Stanhope has signed her name too,” added Dick.  “I know her signature well.”

“Of course you do,” put in Fred, dryly, but nobody paid attention to the sally.

“They are on the houseboat, and the craft is hidden up Shaggam Creek,” put in Sam.  He turned to the captain of the tug.  “Where is Shaggam Creek?”

“This ere is Shaggam Creek, an’ I’m Jake Shaggam,” answered the hermit.  “But you-uns said you’d pay me thet twenty-five dollars.”

“I will,” said Tom, and brought out the amount at once.

“Thank you very much.”

“If you’ll take us to that houseboat without delay I’ll give you another five dollars,” put in Dick.

“I’ll do it.  But I don’t want them fellers on the houseboat to see me.”

“Why not?”

“Cos Pick Loring and Hamp Gouch thinks I am their friend.  Ef they knowed as how I give ’em away they’d plug me full o’ lead.”

“Then the two horse thieves are with Baxter and Flapp,” said Songbird.  “If we bag the lot we’ll be killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.”

“Come on!” cried Paul Livingstone.  “I want to get those two horse thieves by all means.  Why, there is a reward of one thousand dollars for their capture, dead or alive.”

“By golly, I’se out fo’ dat reward!” came from Aleck, and he pulled out a horse pistol which he was carrying.  “Jess let me see dem willains.”  And he flourished the weapon wildly.

The steam tug was led up the creek by Jake Shaggam for a distance of two miles.

“See that air turn yonder?” he said.

“Yes,” said Captain Carson.

“Thet houseboat is behind the trees and bushes around the p’int.  Now whar’s the five dollars?”

“There you are,” said Dick, and paid him.

“Much obliged.  Now I reckon I’ll go home an’ let you-uns fight it out,” added Jake Shaggam, and tying up his rowboat he stalked off, just as if he had accomplished nothing out of the ordinary.

“We had better approach with caution,” said Paul Livingstone.  “Those horse thieves are desperate characters.  They would not be above shooting us down rather than give up to the law.”

In the meantime Baxter and Flapp were much disturbed by the condition of affairs on board the houseboat.  Both Loring and Gouch had been drinking more or less all night and were in far from a sober condition.