ought us through as straight as a die," said Bob, admiringly;
"and just as you say, Thad, that's the same spot we landed on."

"But tell me," broke in Bumpus, "if that's so, where's our boat,
fellows?"

The others stared, and well they might, for although they easily
recognized the pretty little beach, it was now entirely destitute of any
sign of a boat!

CHAPTER XV.

THE BOY FROM THE BLUE RIDGE.

"I expected this, but not so soon!" quavered Bumpus, dropping in a heap
on the ground, and continuing to mop his heated face with that enormous
bandana.

The other two walked forward.

"We must make sure that this is the same place," remarked Thad.
"Because, you see, there might happen to be two little sandy beaches
very much alike."

"No danger of that, suh!" declared Bob, with conviction in his manner.
"I took right good notice of a heap of things, and they all seem to
tally. This is the same place, I give you my word on that."

"Well, here's all the proof we want," said the scout-master, pointing
down at his feet, as they stood close to where the little waves were
running over most of the sandy stretch. "The water has washed out some
of our footprints; but you can still see where Bumpus tripped at the
edge of the rise here, where that root sticks up a little. Remember
that, don't you Bumpus?"

"That, you're IT," replied the fat boy, getting up to come forward, and
stare at the marks he had made, as though they confirmed his worst
fears. "And now fellers, you see the blessed old island _has_ got people
hidin' on it! They came back here and hooked our boat while we were
poking along through the scrub like a bunch of geese. Now, how are we
going to get back home? We'll just starve to death out here. And
Step-hen he c'n turn my bag inside-out while I'm gone, too!"

That last seemed to worry him more than anything else, Thad noticed,
with a little surprise; because he did not believe for a minute that
Bumpus knew anything about the compass which Step-hen accused him of
hiding.

They looked across the wide stretch of water. The waves were indeed
dancing at quite a lively rate now, showing that a fresh breeze had
started up since they started on their little exploring trip.

Thad suddenly conceived an idea. Perhaps it was the wash of the waves
against the bank that gave it to him.

He turned on Bumpus.

"See here, how far up did you pull that boat?" he asked, suddenly.

The fat boy stared, and scratch