"Oh, my!" cried Jess. "And if that is so, perhaps he is still here."
"We must find him," said one of the twins, earnestly. "His sister Alice is just about worried to death about him; and the longer he remains in hiding, the worse it will be for him, anyway."
CHAPTER XII
IN THE CAVE
The other boats of the flotilla began to make the cove and soon there was a loudly chattering crowd around the sunken boat.
"Are you sure that's the old rowboat Billy got from Mr. Norman?" asked one of the other boys of Chet.
"Yes, sir! I've been out in it more than once with Short and Long," declared Laura's brother.
"But where can Billy be?" cried Josephine Morse.
"Surely, the poor fellow isn't drowned?" queried Nellie Agnew.