"Why set this boat adrift?" he reasoned. "It is too good a boat to
treat that way, and, besides, it will make a good place for me to
spend the rest of the night. I've got to stay around here until
morning, and then I'll see if I can't get help. I'll just
appropriate this boat for my own use. They have dad's model, and
I'll take their boat."
Softly he got into the craft, and with an oar which was kept in it
to propel it in case the engine gave out, he poled it along the
shore of the lake until he was some distance away from the dock.
That afternoon he had seen a secluded place along the shore, a spot
where overhanging bushes made a good hiding place, and for this he
headed the craft. A little later it was completely out of sight, and
Tom stretched out on the cushioned seats, pulling a tarpaulin over
him. There he prepared to spend the rest of the night.
"They can't get away except through the woods now, which I don't
believe they'll do," he thought, "and this is better for me than
staying out under a tree. I'm glad I thought of it."
The youth, naturally, did not pass a very comfortable night, though
his bed was not a half bad one. He fell into uneasy dozes, only to
arouse, thinking the men in the old mansion were trying to escape.
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