bottom of
the swamp is very sticky, and once a person gets in he sinks down and
under."

"What shall we do?" questioned Tom.

"We can go ahead, but we want to be mighty careful. Don't take a step
until you are sure of your footing. If you find yourself sinking, grab
hold of some tree or bush."

Mr. Laning led the way and the boys followed, until they had covered a
distance of fifty or sixty feet. Here the ground was so soft they had to
leap from one tree root or clump of bushes to another. As they moved
forward they listened intently for some further sound from Merrick, but
none came.

"Hullo, what's this?" cried Dick, presently, and moved to one side,
close to a pool of dark and treacherous-looking water. "A man's hat!"

He picked it up and turned it over. On the inside were the initials, S.
A. M.

"It must be Merrick's," he went on. "Can he have gone down here?"

The others came at his call and all looked at the hat, which had been
lying in the mud at the side of the pool. Then a match was struck, and
all gazed around and into the pool while this faint illumination lasted.
No other trace of the missing man was to be seen.

"Merrick, where are you?" called out Dick. "If you need help, say so,
and we'll try to get you out."

"Do you think he'd answer that call?" asked Fred.

"I think he'd rather go to prison than die in this swamp," was the
reply.

The students and Mr. Laning moved cautiously around the edge of the
swamp for half an hour and then returned to the roadway. To mark the
spot where the hat had been found Dick hung the head covering on a tree
limb.

"We can come back in the daylight and make another search," said he.
"And we can notify the authorities, too."

When they got back to the Stanhope cottage they found the others
anxiously awaiting their return.

"Did you catch him?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, we didn't catch him, and nobody is hurt," answered Mr. Laning. "We
lost him in the swamp, and there is no telling where he is now."

"I want to get hold of him for two reasons--that is, if he is alive,"
said Dick. "I want to get back those bonds and I want to know what
brought him to this cottage."

"Maybe he came here to rob the Stanhopes," whispered Tom. "But I
shouldn't tell them, for it will frighten them too much."

"No, don't say a word, Tom. If you do, Mrs. Stanhope will be just as
nervous as she ever was."

"I and my family are going to stay here to-night," announced Mr. Lani