"Yes."
"Where?"
"He was sitting on that pile of boards in the rear. As soon as he saw me, he slid out of sight."
"Are you sure it was Baxter?" questioned Songbird Powell.
"If it wasn't him, it was his double."
"If it was Baxter, we ought to try to catch him," suggested Fred.
"I don't see how we are going to catch anybody just now," sighed Dick. "We are stuck hard and fast."
"Oh, Dick, are we really aground?" questioned Dora.
"We are that," said Captain Starr.
"Is there any danger?" asked Nellie Laning, who had joined the others, accompanied by her sister Grace.
"No immediate danger, miss. It depends on whether we can get off or not."
"We'll have to get off," said Tom decidedly.
"Rub a dub dub!
We're stuck in the mud
As hard as hard can be!
Shall we ever,
Or shall we never,
Set the houseboat free?"
came softly from Songbird Powell.
