"I don't know. This is a total surprise to me, Phil."
"They did the trick on the impulse of the moment," went on Roger. "For they didn't know we were coming here."
"And we didn't know they were here," added Dave. "Let us take a look around and see if we can spot the boat."
"All right, I'll go down the shore and you can go up," cried Phil, and set off at as rapid a gait as the nature of the ground permitted.
A hasty search did not bring the rowboat to light. The boys met on the other side of the island, and stared wonderingly at each other.
"See anything?"
"Not a thing."
"The boat must be somewhere."
"Maybe they sunk her!" cried the senator's son. "Merwell and Jasniff are just unprincipled enough to do it."
"If they did that, they must have done it close to where we tied her up. They wouldn't have time to take her away," returned Dave. "Let us go back and see if we can find any trail in the mud and sand."