“Why so?” asked Tom, with a laugh.
“Because it’s a good deal farther off than it was when we came up.”
“It only seems so,” said Dick. “We’ll soon be there.”
They reached the place where the river flowed into the lake about half an hour later, and their anxious gaze sought the broad expanse for a glimpse of the missing boat.
“Not in sight,” murmured Tom, shading his eyes with his hand, for the rays of the setting sun struck across the surface. “Not a trace of her!”
“Let’s walk along the shore aways,” proposed Bert. “We may see them then.”
“Oh, dear me!” exclaimed Jack. “I don’t believe I can go a step farther—not without a rest, anyhow.”
“Then rest,” said Tom. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do. You stay here, and we’ll go along the shore for a mile or so. If we don’t see ’em, then we’ll come back.”
“You may miss me,” suggested his chum.
“We can’t. We’ve got to follow the lake shore, and we can’t get beyond the river, anyhow.”