The three chums pressed close to his side and all four gazed at the spot where the Tag had been tied. She was not there, and a glance down the stream did not disclose her.
“Gone!” exclaimed Jack. “It can’t be possible.”
“But it is possible!” exclaimed Tom. “Can’t you see that she isn’t here?”
“Maybe this isn’t the place where you tied her,” suggested Dick.
“Certainly it is. This is the very old stump that I wound the rope about.”
“Maybe it came untied and the boat drifted away,” was Jack’s contribution.
“The kind of a knot I made doesn’t come loose,” declared Tom, and his chums knew he was seaman enough to make this a certainty.
“Then someone has taken her!” declared Bert. “Someone has stolen your boat, Tom. We’re stranded!”