"That's just what we're wondering," he said. "They all reached the old mill, you see, but Nat seems to have disappeared in a mighty queer way!"
CHAPTER III.
THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF NAT.
"Oh!"
Chatz was the only one who gave utterance to a sound after Elmer had made this surprising, as well as alarming, admission.
The others were looking, first at Elmer, then at each of his three companions as well; and finally out upon the dismal pond that assumed much the appearance of a lake, it stretched so far up the valley, almost a quarter of a mile, in fact.
Just then the only sound they heard was the noisy scolding of the water as it went over the spill or apron of the stout dam that had stood all these long years, defying floods and the ravages of time.
And somehow, there was something chilling in the very lonesome character of their surroundings.
Of the ten scouts present, Chatz seemed to be the only one who did not look solemn. There was an eager glow in the Southern boy's dark eyes, as though the situation appealed to that element of superstition in his nature.