ight at that." Billy gazed reflectively over the lake. As
he gazed his eyes took on an expression of new interest. "What's that
out there, fellows?" he demanded.

It was some seconds before they discovered that which had attracted his
attention. Then when they did so, they were unable to decide what it
was. They were certain that the object had not been there the night
before.

"That's right where the 'Red Rover' lay," cried Larry Goheen. "Maybe
they have sunk."

The boys with one accord ran for the rowboat. They shoved it off, leaped
in and began rowing at top speed toward the object that had attracted
their attention. Larry began to grin long before they reached the spot.
They finally pulled up alongside the object and stopped.

The boys regarded it solemnly, then looked into each other's eyes. There
followed a shout of laughter.

The object that had been discovered by them was a stick, which had been
thrust down into the soft bottom in shallow water. A lantern had been
tied to the top of the stick. It was this lantern, at the end of a
stick, that Larry Goheen had been watching all night, believing it to be
the anchor light of the "Red Rover." It was plain that the girls had
known that they were to be watched, and that they had taken the easiest
possible way to outwit their friends, by placing the anchor light on a
stick and leaving it at the anchorage while the "Red Rover" slipped away
unobserved under cover of the darkness.

"Stung!" groaned Sam.

"Worse than that," answered George. "There aren't any words in the
language to express what we'd like to say. Wait till I get the lantern."
The lantern was still burning and the chimney was considerably smoked.
George took it aboard and blew out the light. "You didn't see it go out
after all, Sam."

"I--I thought I did."

"I wonder when they left?" mused Billy.

"Larry, what have you to say about that?" demanded George Baker.

"Absolutely nothing."

"They went away during your watch."

"You can't blame him," answered Sam. "Anybody would have been fooled
under the circumstances."

"Don't try to make lame excuses," jeered Billy. "Be a man and own up.
They outwitted you, and that's all there is about it. Now, what are we
going to do?"

"Get out the launch and go on a hunt for them," declared George. "Any
one got a better plan?"

No one had. They had no plans at all, but were too dazed by this last
trick that had been played on them to be able to think at