"Better drop over here, please!" came the reply.
"He's in some sort of trouble," suggested Frank, judging from the half apologetic tone of his chum.
"Yes, and I expect stuck in the ooze of the marsh, worse luck!" grunted Bones.
CHAPTER XIV
THE DANGERS OF THE MUCK HOLE
"Where are you?" called Bones, as he and Frank pushed forward in the gathering dusk.
"Here! Be mighty careful, fellows, or you'll get in too!" came the answer, not far away.
"Told you so," remarked the doctor's son, with a little laugh; "poor Ralph; I pity him, because I've been there myself. When I come alone out here I always carry a short rope along. If I get stuck it helps me out."
"A rope? How under the sun can that help?" demanded a voice close by; showing that they were very near the boy who was stuck in the ooze, and also that he was alive to the inconvenience of his position.