That idea met with rather a hearty reception. Within three minutes all six high school boys were lying between blankets again, composed for sleep.
No more explosions came to disturb their slumbers, which were deep and broken only when at last d.i.c.k Prescott called out:
"Fellows, we"re regular Rip Van Winkles! It"s half-past nine o"clock!"
"And we"ve that lake mystery to solve today!" uttered Greg Holmes, leaping up.
CHAPTER XII
d.i.c.k MAKES A FIND
"Now, I don"t know how it is going to hit the rest of you," remarked Tom Reade, as he put down his coffee cup at the end of the hasty breakfast, "but I"ll confess that I"m not wholly keen about solving the puzzle of the lake mystery."
"Why not?" challenged Dave in astonishment.
"It"s just like this," Tom went on. "Solving human riddles is all right in the daytime, but it"s likely to spoil our rest at night. I can"t help feeling that last night"s Sploderite function was a mark of displeasure over our unwelcome interest in the lake mystery."
"Suppose we grant that," d.i.c.k answered, "yet how would last night"s rascals expect us to connect the bang concert with Tom and Dan"s canoe trip and discovery yesterday afternoon?"
"There"s something in that idea," Reade admitted. "The unknowns might hardly expect us to show as much human reasoning power as all that. Yet I"m of the opinion that we"ll continue to rest badly at night as long as we continue to feel any unhealthy curiosity about the lake mystery. In other words, my belief is that our interest in the affairs of perfect strangers is regarded by the unknowns as rudeness that must be rebuked."
"I don"t care a hang about the lake mystery, anyway," gaped Dan, who was giving forth a series of yawns, his mouth only partially hidden by his right hand.
"There"s just one strong point to the other side of the question,"
d.i.c.k argued. "There"s a very fair amount of reason to believe that a man may have been drowned late yesterday afternoon, and that Tom and Dan saw him go down for the last time. That probability existing, I believe we are bound, as good citizens, to see if we can find any trace of a drowned man. If we can, then as good citizens it is clearly our further duty to report the matter to the authorities. If we can"t find the remains of the drowned man, then I am under the impression that, at the least, Tom and Dan must report to some county officer just what they did see, and the county can then take up the question in any way it pleases.
First of all, however, we ought to look for the body of a drowned man."
This view prevailing, Tom and Dan launched the canoe, d.i.c.k entering as pa.s.senger, while the other two handled the paddles.
Some brisk work took the canoe over, as nearly as Tom could judge, to the spot where the haunting face had been seen so briefly on the afternoon before.
Under the bright morning sun the waters were clear here, though the bottom could not be seen.
"Paddle half a mile up the lake, then down," d.i.c.k ordered.
This was done, Prescott and the paddlers keeping a sharp lookout.
No body of a drowned man was seen, however, either on the surface or under the water.
"I don"t believe anyone was drowned," re marked d.i.c.k at last.
"There is no wind today, and hardly any such thing as current on this placid water. Whoever the man was, he got ash.o.r.e."
"That"s my belief," agreed Reade.
"Where"s that brush arrangement?" asked Dan suddenly. "That frame all trimmed with green boughs."
Nor was this to be seen, either, though an object of that size would have been visible at any point on the water within half a mile.
"The man got ash.o.r.e, all right, and he took care of the bush-trimmed frame as well," was Prescott"s conclusion. "Whoever the man was, whatever happened, I don"t believe that anything tragic happened in the water. For that matter, fellows, isn"t it possible that, in the gathering gloom, and with the sky somewhat overcast, you were deceived about the ghastly, haunted look in that face? Isn"t it likely that the look you thought you saw in the man"s face was merely an effect of the unusual light of late yesterday afternoon?"
Tom shook his head emphatically.
"Why don"t you ask us," demanded Dan ironically, "if it weren"t just imagination on our part that we saw the face at all?"
"I don"t doubt your having seen the face," d.i.c.k replied. "That wasn"t anything that the light supplied."
"Then where is the man?" quizzed Dalzell.
"Safe on sh.o.r.e somewhere, beyond a doubt," d.i.c.k answered
"Then the chase takes us ash.o.r.e, doesn"t it?" asked Dan.
"Yes; if we"re going to follow up the matter any further," d.i.c.k replied.
"We ought to follow it up," Reade insisted.
"Why?" asked Prescott.
"For one thing," smiled Tom, "it will give us something interesting to do."
"Should we find our interest in meddling with other folks" business?"
wondered their leader.
"We"ve a right to, when those people come around and spoil our night"s rest for us," Tom retorted.
"It was a bit like a challenge, wasn"t it?" d.i.c.k laughed.
"Besides," Dan urged, "we certainly saw enough yesterday afternoon to show us that there is something tragic in the air around this sleepy old lake. If anyone is in trouble we ought to try to help that one out of trouble. And there was real, aching trouble in that face if ever I saw evidences of trouble."
"I guess we"ll put in part of the day looking into the matter,"
d.i.c.k a.s.sented.
"Where shall we land?" asked Dalzell.
"As nearly as possible opposite the exact spot where you saw the man"s head," Prescott made answer.
"Over there where that bent birch shows between the two chestnut trees," announced Reade, pointing with his paddle.
"Pull for that place," d.i.c.k ordered.
In a few minutes the canoe was drawn up along the sh.o.r.e so that d.i.c.k could step on land.
"You"d better come with me, Tom," said Prescott.
"And I"m the nifty little boat-tender who stays here and dozes in the shade?" asked Danny Grin, with a grimace.