After that it was easy for them to cross over, though Teddy had to get down and crawl, he being addicted to dizzy spells when at any height, and not in the humor for taking a dip in the cold water of the creek.
The boys were for starting on immediately; first of all, Ned had them shove the friendly log from its mooring ashore, so that it floated on the surface of the creek.
"You see," he went on to explain, "if any of those men happened along here and saw that bridge spanning the creek, they'd know we'd come this way. Now that we've thrown it into the water, it will float off and never give us away, anyhow."
They began to make more satisfactory progress after getting on the western side of the creek. All of them felt much encouraged though the morning remained dull and heavy, and there was always a chance that it might begin to rain.
Many times did they turn curious glances toward the mist-covered bay, as though speculating on what mysteries that fog might conceal.
As a rule it was seldom Teddy who made any discovery; but on this occasion the credit belonged to him. He suddenly drew the attention of the rest to something strange that had attracted his attention.
"I may be off my base, fellows," was the way he put it, "but I'm sure I heard people talking right then. And it came from out there, too, sure it did," with which he pointed straight toward the bay.
Jimmy might have laughed at such a suggestion, but before he could think to do anything like this, all of them plainly heard a human voice well up from the fog.