Certainly
Tom had done his work exceedingly well. The spread was very inviting.

Betty looked all around the little glade on the edge of the river, where
the table was set. There was no sign of their escort. The _Gem_ floated
lazily where she was moored, and the scene was quiet and peaceful
enough. But there was a certain mystery about the disappearance of Tom
Osborne.

"Well, we may as well eat," sighed Betty. "Then we can look about a bit.
There won't be any alligators inland, I guess."

Even the fright the girls had experienced had not taken away their
appetites, and soon they were making merry over the meal, which was a
bountiful one--they could well trust Aunt Hannah for that.

But "between bites," as it were, Betty and the others looked about for a
sign of the young man. He did not appear, however, nor were there any
sounds of his approach. The woods back from the river teemed with bird
and animal life. The latter was not so visible as the former, for the
feathered creatures flitted here and there amid the branches, bursting
into various melodious notes.

The meal went on; it was finished. The girls packed up with a little
sense of disappointment. They felt that their outing had been rather
spoiled. They saved enough for Tom in case he should come back hungry,
which would very likely be the case.

"Well, we may as well put things on board," said Betty, at length. "We
can't stay here much longer. It's getting late."

"But can we--ought we--go back without Tom?" asked Mollie.

"I don't see what else we can do--if he doesn't come," said Betty. "We
can't stay here all night."

The _Gem_ was made ready for the trip back. Then came a time of anxious
waiting as the shadows lengthened. Betty, as well as the others, was
getting nervous.

"We simply must go," said the Little Captain, at length. "He will have
to come back as best he can. I don't see what made him go away. I am
quite sure Mr. Hammond will not like it."

"But if we go, can Tom find his way back?" asked Grace.

"He'll have to. But of course we'll tell Mr. Hammond, and he, and some
of the men, can come for Tom, if they think it necessary."

There seemed nothing else to do, and presently the girls went aboard,
taking the remains of the lunch with them.

"We ought to leave some sort of note for Tom, telling him what happened,
and that we couldn't wait any longer," suggested Mollie, as Betty was
about to start.

"That's so. I didn't think of tha