! then, if that's the case I reckon we'd better not be making quite
so much racket as we go along," said Mark.

"I was just going to remark about that," the patrol leader added. "If
all of a sudden we found the boat, and had been talking loud, or
laughing, the chances are the game would give us the slip. So after
this whoever is doing the pushing try not to splash more than you can
help; and when you talk do it in whispers."

Perhaps all this mystery added to the pleasure of such a fellow as Lil
Artha; at least his eyes were sparkling much more than their wont as he
continued to ply his pole with the air of a Venetian gondolier along
the Grand Canal.

Once, however, he must have rammed it too hard into the yielding ooze,
for when he tried to pull it out there was considerable resistance.
Lil Artha managed to stop the moving skiff in time to save himself;
even then he might have been pulled overboard only that watchful Mark,
anticipating something of the sort, threw his arms around the long legs
of the pusher, and held on grimly until the pole could be extricated.

An hour, two of them had slipped by since parting from Johnny Spreen.
They were now in the heart of the swamp. All around them lay a solemn
silence broken only by the splash of a bullfrog leaping from a bank,
the gurgle of some water snake or the solemn croak of a bittern fishing
near by, followed by the flap of its wings as it flew away, alarmed by
their approach.

All of the boys were more or less impressed by this strange silence.
It seemed as though some heavy weight were pressing down upon them.
Toby even whispered to one of his mates that it could hardly be worse
if they were passing through a country graveyard at midnight.

At the same time, all of them being bright, wide-awake fellows, there
were plenty of interesting things continually cropping up to arouse
their interest as scouts. Every minute or so someone was calling
attention to this or that thing, though never forgetting the need of
caution.

If at any time a voice was raised more than Elmer deemed wise, a single
"hist" from his lips caused the speaker to moderate his tones instantly.

By now they were not so much concerned about where they went as the
possibility of finding the missing skiff. Eager eyes were ever on the
alert. A number of times Lil Artha, or it might be Toby or Chatz, felt
a sudden thrill as some object caught their attention ahead, which at
first glance seemed t