"Oh, Neale! have you found them!" cried Agnes.

"Of course he hasn't. Do not be so impatient, Aggie," admonished Ruth.

"I have an idea," proclaimed Neale, as he stepped into the car and
turned the starting switch.

"A trace of the children?" Cecile asked.

"It's worth looking into," said Neale with much more confidence than he
really felt. "We'll run up to the first lock and see if the lock-keeper
noticed anybody save the captain and his little girl on that barge that
went through this afternoon. Maybe Dot got friendly with the girl and
she and Sammy went along for a ride on the _Nancy Hanks_. They say this
Bill Quigg that owns that canalboat isn't any brighter than the law
allows, and he might not think of the kids' folks being scared."

"Oh! it doesn't seem reasonable," Ruth said, shaking her head.

But she did not forbid Neale to make the journey to the lock. The road
was good all the way to Durginville and it was a highway the Corner
House girls had not traveled in their automobile. At another time they
would have all enjoyed the trip immensely in the cool of the evening.
And Neale drove just as fast as the law allowed--if not a little faster.

Agnes loved to ride fast in the auto; but this was one occasion when she
was too worried to enjoy the motion. As they rushed on over the road,
and through the pleasant countryside, they were all rather silent. Every
passing minute added to the burden of anxiety upon the minds of the two
sisters and Neale; nor were the visitors lacking in sympathy.

After all, little folk like Sammy and Dot are in great danger when out
in the world alone, away from the shelter of home. So many, many
accidents may happen.

Therefore it was a very serious party indeed that finally stopped at
Bumstead Lock to ask if the lock-keeper or his wife, who lived in a tiny
cottage and cultivated a small plot of ground near by, had noticed any
passengers upon Cap'n Bill Quigg's barge.

"On the _Nancy Hanks_?" repeated the lock-keeper. "I should say 'no'!
young lady," shaking his head emphatically at Ruth's question. "Why, who
ever would sail as a passenger on that old ramshackle thing? I reckon
it'll fall to pieces some day soon and block traffic on the canal."

Ruth, disappointed, would not have persevered. But Luke Shepard asked:

"Is there much traffic on the canal?"

"Well, sometimes there is and sometimes there ain't. But I see all that
goes through here, you may believe."

"How man