Stop, I want to talk to you!"

"Not much!" called back Nick Jasniff.

"We don't want to talk to you," answered Link Merwell.

"What have you done with out boat?" questioned Roger.

"That's for you to find out!" returned Nick Jasniff. "Ta ta! Hope you
have a nice time getting back to Oak Hall!"

And then he and Link Merwell and their companions took up their oars and
rowed swiftly away from Bush Island.

CHAPTER X

LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT

"We are certainly in a pickle," remarked Roger, as the Rockville cadets
rounded a point of the island and disappeared from view.

"I wonder what they did with our boat," said Phil. "I don't see it
anywhere on the water."

"Perhaps they took it to the other side of the island," suggested Dave.

"Would they have time to do that?"

"I don't know. This is a total surprise to me, Phil."

"They did the trick on the impulse of the moment," went on Roger. "For
they didn't know we were coming here."

"And we didn't know they were here," added Dave. "Let us take a look
around and see if we can spot the boat."

"All right, I'll go down the shore and you can go up," cried Phil, and
set off at as rapid a gait as the nature of the ground permitted.

A hasty search did not bring the rowboat to light. The boys met on the
other side of the island, and stared wonderingly at each other.

"See anything?"

"Not a thing."

"The boat must be somewhere."

"Maybe they sunk her!" cried the senator's son. "Merwell and Jasniff are
just unprincipled enough to do it."

"If they did that, they must have done it close to where we tied her up.
They wouldn't have time to take her away," returned Dave. "Let us go
back and see if we can find any trail in the mud and sand."

They crossed the island, passing the chestnut trees as they did so.
Under one of the trees Dave picked up a letter. It was addressed to
Nicholas Jasniff, General Delivery, Rockville.

"Jasniff must have dropped this when he was nutting," said Dave, as he
and the others looked at the address.

"What is in it?" asked Phil. "It's open; read it."

"Would that be fair, Phil?"

"I think so. Jasniff is an enemy, not a friend. It may contain some clew
to his doings, and if there is anything underhanded going on we can let
the authorities know."

Dave took out the single sheet that the envelope contained. On it was
written, in a sprawling, heavy hand, the following:

"MY DEAR JASNIFF:

"I got your