nd soon took his leave. Up and down the
lake for the rest of the day he cruised, looking in vain for a sight of
Andy Foger in the RED STREAK, but the racing boat appeared to be well
hidden.

"If I only could find where they've taken mine," mused Tom. "Hang it
all, this is rotten luck!" and for the first time he began to feel
discouraged.

"Maybe you'd better notify the police," suggested Mr. Jackson when Tom
returned to the Swift house that night. "They might help locate it."

"I think I can do as well as the police," answered the youth. "If the
boat is anywhere it's on the lake, and the police have no craft in
which to make a search."

"That's so," agreed the engineer. "I wish I could help you, but I
don't believe it would be wise for me to leave the house, especially
since those men have been about lately."

"No, you must stay here," was Tom's opinion. "I'll take another day or
two to search. By this time Andy and his gang will return, I'm sure,
and I can tackle them."

"Suppose they don't?"

"Well, then I'll make a tour of the lake in my sailboat and I'll run up
to Sandport and tell dad, for he will wonder what's keeping me. I'll
know better next time than to leave my boat at the dock without taking
out the connection at the spark coil, so no one can start the motor. I
should have done that at first, but you always think of those things
afterward."

The lad began his search again the next morning and cruised about in
little bays and gulfs looking for a sight of the RED STREAK or the
ARROW, but he saw neither, and a call at Andy's house showed that the
red-haired youth had not returned. Mrs. Foger was quite nervous over
her son's continued absence, but Mr. Foger thought it was all right.

Another day passed without any results and the young inventor was
getting so nervous, partly with worrying over the loss of his boat and
partly on his father's account, that he did not know what to do.

"I can't stand it any longer," he announced to Mrs. Baggert the night
of the third day, after a telephone message had been received from Mr.
Swift. The inventor wanted to know why his son did not return to the
hotel to join him and Ned. "Well, what will you do?" asked the
housekeeper.

"If I don't find my boat to-morrow, I'll sail to Sandport, bring home
dad and Ned and we three will go all over the lake. My boat must be on
it somewhere, but Lake Carlopa is so cut up that it could easily be
hidden."

"It'