.

However, all of them soon realized that Paul had done a clever thing
when he thus coaxed the two clumsy members of the patrol to drop out of
line, and allow those better fitted for coping with the difficulties of
the slippery path to go forward; because it steadily grew worse instead
of better, and neither Eben nor Noodles could have long continued.

Why, even Fritz began to feel timid about pursuing such a treacherous
course, and presently he sought information.

"Don't you think we must be nearly in the heart of the old bog, Paul?
Seems to me we've come a long ways, and when you think that we've got to
go back over the same nasty track again, perhaps carrying a wounded man,
whew! however we are going to do it, beats me."

Paul stopped long enough to give a tree a couple of quick upward and
downward strokes with that handy little tool of his, and then glance at
the resulting gash, as though he wanted to make sure that it could be
seen a decent distance off.

"Well, that's a pretty hard question to answer," he replied, slowly. "In
the first place, we don't know whether the man fell into the heart of
the Black Water, or over by the other side. Fact is, we haven't come on
anything up to now to settle the matter whether he fell at all."

"Great governor! that _would_ be a joke on us now, wouldn't it, if we
made our way all over this beastly place, when there wasn't any aeronaut
to help? We'd feel like a bunch of sillies, that's right!" burst out
Fritz.

"But we acted in good faith," Paul went on to say, positively. "We
weighed the matter, and arrived at the conclusion that he had fallen
somewhere in here; and we agreed, _all of us_, mind you, Fritz, that it
was our duty to make a hunt for Mr. Anderson. And we're here on the
ground, doing our level best."

"Ain't got another word to say, Paul," Fritz observed, hastily, "you
know best; only I sure hope it don't get any worse than we find it right
now. I never did like soft slimy mud. Nearly got smothered in it once,
when I was only a kid, and somehow it seems to give me the creeps every
time I duck my leg in. But go right along; only if you hear me sing out,
stop long enough to give me a pull."

"We're all bound to help each other, don't forget that, Fritz," said
Seth. "It might just as well be me that'll take a slide, and go squash
into that awful mess on the right, or on the left. Don't know whether to
swim, or wade, if that happens; but see there, you can't f