"No," he said slowly, "not at all like that. He is very thin, this one, and he is lame."
"Oh dear!" half sobbed Grace. "I was beginning to have such hope!"
"Never mind," consoled Betty. "We will find your brother yet. Come now, we are losing time. Come, Harry," she said gently.
"And the other one, too?" he asked eagerly. "I promised I would help him, and took his money; but I lost it."
"Yes, we will rescue him, too," said Betty. "Come now."
The Loon was satisfied that his friend would be helped, so he sprang into the boat. Betty started the engine and then, with the powerful gas headlight aglow, she turned the wheel over to The Loon.
However simple-minded the poor youth might be, however undecided and timid in the forest, he seemed to be a new person on the water. There was a self-reliance about him, a poise and a certain ability that he seemed to have acquired suddenly. Without a trace of hesitation he guided the boat through the winding course of the creek that flowed into the main stream.
Coming to the turn he took an entirely different direction from that followed by the girls.
"That's where we made our mistake!" exclaimed Mollie.
The Loon did not respond—he was too busy peering ahead at the dark water, which was illuminated only for a comparatively short distance by the searchlight.