find, not far from here, some evidences of what explosives
can do in ripping up the ground."

"Now I remember that one of the explosions in the night sent something
whizzing through the air over our heads."

"Pieces of the pasteboard enclosing the mine, bomb or whatever
kind of fireworks it was," Dick suggested. "But let's look for
other debris around here."

That single bit of scorched paper, however, was all that any of
them could find.

Tom discovered a spot where he thought the ground had been blackened,
but Dave thought the blackened appearance due to humus soil, and
so nothing came of the argument.

"I think," yawned Dick, "this search will lead to the same result
that the others did during the night. About all we can do is
to go back to camp."

The sun was up by the time that all six members of Dick & Co.
were once more gathered about the remains of their campfire.

"I don't know what you fellows are going to do," yawned Tom Reade.
"As for me, at present a nap looks better than any shower bath
or breakfast that was ever invented. No matter how much objection
I hear, I'm going to get an hour or two more of sleep."

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 Dick 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

DICK 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," Dick 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 a