Nelson laughed and agreed. So they pulled up the anchor, started the engine, and went slowly downstream until a point of woods hid them from the cove. Here they let down the anchor again and had breakfast. They were intensely hungry and spent the better part of half an hour at table. “We’ll keep something hot for Tommy,” said Bob. “I’d just like to see his face when he wakes up and finds us gone!” “So would I!” said Dan with a chuckle. “Poor old Tommy! Won’t he be fine and damp?” “Don’t suppose he will catch cold and have rheumatism, do you?” asked Nelson doubtfully. “Tommy? Catch anything? He’d never move fast enough,” laughed Dan. “I wonder what he will do, though, when he finds the launch gone.” “Hope he doesn’t go hunting upstream instead of down,” said Nelson. “Thunder! That would be awkward,” said Dan. “I say, maybe we’d better go back, eh? He ought to be awake by this time, and looking for us. And if he gets it into his silly head that we’ve gone up the river instead of down——!” “I don’t believe he’s awake yet,” said Bob. “If he was we’d have heard him yelling for us.” “I don’t know about that,” answered Nelson. “We must have come a good third of a mile downstream.” “Anyway,” insisted Dan uneasily, “I think we’d ought to go back.” “All right,” said Nelson. “Come on and we’ll hoist anchor. It seems to me we don’t do anything else nowadays; I’m getting a crick in my back over it.” They went across the engine room and stepped out into the cockpit. Then they stared about them in surprise. There was nothing to be seen. The fog had crept up since they had gone below and was now stealing silently past them, blown landward before a tiny southeast breeze. Nelson and Dan looked at each other inquiringly. “Isn’t this the dickens?” asked Dan. “It surely is,” was the reply. “O Bob! Come out here!” Bob appeared. After a moment of surprise he asked: “Where’s the shore?” Nelson pointed off to starboard. “Sure?” asked Bob. “Yes, pretty certain. The tide’s still running in and so we can’t have swung around.” “Hang these old fogs, anyhow!” growled Dan. “What are we going to do now?” “Go back for Tommy,” answered Nelson. Bob looked doubtful. “Can we do it?” he asked. “Aren’t you afraid of running into something?” “No, I guess not. We’ll keep the whistle going, you can take the wheel, I’ll stand at the engine, and Dan can keep a lookout from the bow. We don’t draw much water and there weren’t any shallows as far as I could see coming down here. Besides, we ought to be able to see the shore at least ten feet away. If Dan keeps a good lookout and yells quickly, and you pass the word on down to me we’ll manage all right, I guess. Let’s get the mud-hook up.”