he tried to make his head feel
easy on one of the seats. "Dis ton't vos so goot like mine ped at
Putnam Hall!"

"Not by a good deal!" answered Songbird. "Dear old Putnam Hall! After
all the pleasures we have had, I shall be glad to get back to that
institution again."

The Rover boys had been through so much excitement during their lives
they did not think the present situation unusual and so all went to
sleep without an effort. Harold Bird remained awake nearly an hour,
thinking of the new friends he had made and of the strange fate of
his father. The young Southerner was of a somewhat retiring disposition,
and it astonished even himself when he realized how he had opened
his heart to the Rovers and their chums.

"I feel as if I had known them for years, instead of hours," he told
himself. "There is a certain attractiveness about Sam, Tom, and Dick
I cannot understand. Yet I do not wonder that they have a host of
friends who are willing to do almost anything for them."

When Tom went on guard he was still sleepy and he did a large amount
of yawning before he could get himself wide-awake. He sat up in the
bow of the launch, the others resting on the cushions on the sides
and stern. All was as silent as a tomb, and the mist was now so thick
that he could not see a distance of six yards in any direction.

"Ugh! what a disagreeable night!" he muttered, as he gave a shiver.
"I'd give as much as a toothpick and a bottle of hair-oil if it was
morning and the sun was shining."

A quarter of an hour went by--to Tom it seemed ten times as long as
that--and then of a sudden the lad heard a movement at the bottom of
the launch. The dog Harold Bird had brought along arose, stretched
himself, and listened intently.

"What is it, Dandy?" asked Tom, patting the animal on the head. "What
do you hear?"

For reply the dog continued to listen. Then the hair on his back
began to rise and he set up a short, sharp bark.

"He certainly hears something," reasoned Tom. "Can any of those men
be in this vicinity?"

The bow of the launch was close to a sprawling tree branch, and to
look beyond the rubber covering, Tom crawled forward and stepped on
the branch. The dog followed to the extreme bow of the boat and gave
another short, sharp bark.

"He hears something, that is certain," mused the boy. "But what it
can be, is a puzzle to me."

Tom tried to pierce the darkness and mist, but it was impossible. He
strained his ears, but al