h about the disappearance
of his father," replied Dick Prescott.

"I've seen people awfully worried before, and yet it didn't make
madmen of them," snorted Darrin.

"Well---perhaps-----"

Dick hesitated.

"Well----?" Darrin insisted, rather impatiently.

"I'm half inclined to think that Bert Dodge has been leading the
soreheads who sulk and won't play football in the same team with
some of us common fellows," Dick laughed. "If so, the very fact
of my being sent to look into the news side of his father's disappearance
would make Bert feel especially sore at me."

"By George, you've hit the nail right on the head there," cried
Dave. "That's the trouble. Bert has been leading a kick that
was aimed very largely at Dick & Co., and now it almost puts him
out of his head to find that Dick Prescott, of all the fellows
in the school, has been sent by 'The Blade' to gather the facts
concerning Theodore Dodge's mysterious disappearance---or death."

"Mr. Dodge isn't dead," replied Prescott slowly.

"What? And say! Do you realize, Dick, that you're letting the
horse walk?"

"I intended to," returned Dick. "Whoa!"

"There's a boat coming up the river and showing a search-light,"
broke in Dave, pointing.

"I saw it. That's why I stopped the horse. It must be Chief
Coy's launch that he went after. Yes; there it is, putting in
where we first saw Bert Dodge and the officers."

"Well, if you're not going to keep track of the launch, why don't
you hit a fast gait for the office?" queried Darrin.

"There is plenty of time yet," Dick replied, "and we've nothing
to report to the office yet. I'm just waiting for that boat
to take on its passengers and get well away from the spot."

"Oh!" guessed Dave. "Then you're going back and make your own
search of the place?"

"You're clever," nodded Prescott, with a low laugh. "Yes; it
may be that Hemingway and his companion have made a fine search.
Or it may be that they've missed clues that a blind man ought
to see."

So the two High School boys sat there, in the buggy drawn up at
the side of the road, for the next fifteen minutes. In that time
the launch took on the waiting passengers, and the light played
over all that part of the river, then started down stream.

Dick slowly headed the horse about, this time driving much closer
to the river's bank than he had done before.

"There's a lantern under the seat, Dave. I saw it when we started
from 'The Blade' of