I know, Bob," he cried.

"Know? What d'yer know?"

"Where the boat is."

"Yer do?"

"Yes: that man followed us and took it away."

Bob opened his mouth, and half-closed his eyes to stare at his
companion, as he balanced this idea in his rather muddy brain.

"Don't you see?" cried Dexter excitedly.

"Come arter us and stole it!" said Bob slowly.

"Yes: he must have watched us, and waited till we were asleep."

"Go on with you!"

"He did. I feel as sure as sure," cried Dexter.

There was a pause during which Bob went on balancing the matter in his
mind.

"He has taken it up the river, and he thinks we shall be afraid to go
after it."

"Then he just thinks wrong," said Bob, nodding his head a good deal. "I
thought something o' that kind a bit ago, but you made me so wild I
forgot it again."

"But you see now, Bob."

"See? O' course I do. I'll just let him know--a thief. Here, come on,
and we'll drop on to him with a policeman, and show him what stealing
boats means."

"No, no, Bob, we can't go with a policeman. Let's go ourselves, and
make him give it up."

"But s'pose he won't give it to us!"

"We should have to take it," said Dexter excitedly.

"Come on, then. He's got my fishing-tackle too, and--why just look at
that! Did you put them there?"

He darted to where his bundle and rough fishing-rod lay among the trees.

"No; he must have thrown them out. Let's make haste. We know where the
boat is now!"

The boys started at once, and began to tramp back along the side of the
river in the hope of finding the place where the boat was moored; but
before they had gone far it was to find that floating down with the
stream, or even rowing against the tide, was much easier work than
forcing their way through patches of alder-bushes, swampy meadows,
leaping, and sometimes wading, little inlets and ditches and the like.

Their progress was very slow, the sun very hot, and at least a dozen
times now they came upon spots which struck both as being the muddy bank
off which they had captured the smelts.

It was quite afternoon before they were convinced, for their further
passage was stopped by the muddy inlet up which they had seen the man
row, and not a hundred yards away was the bank under which they had
fished.

"Sure this is the place?" said Bob, as he crouched among some osiers and
looked cautiously round.

"Yes," said Dexter; "I'm certain this is the place. I saw him row up
here.