“There is a wild goose chase for you!” cried Jack, and he and his chums laughed heartily over the matter. The young major was right—it was indeed a wild goose chase. The row to Hull Island was a hard one, and when the spot was reached the search for the launch in the darkness was difficult. To add to the discomfort of the crowd it commenced to rain, and as they had no covering each of the cadets got wet to the skin. They all spent over an hour looking for the _Emma_, but all in vain. “She must have drifted away, or else she was stolen!” groaned Billy Sabine. “Oh, if we don’t find her, will they really lock us up?” “She couldn’t drift away, for she was tied up,” said Ritter. “I tied her myself, and I did it good, too.” “Nobody was around here when we brought the launch in,” came from Paxton. “I looked around good. And I don’t know how any thieves could locate her.” “Do you know what I am beginning to think?” cried Ritter. “I think they played a trick on us.” “How?” “They got the boat back, but made up a plot to get us out on the hunt.” “We might row down the lake to where they usually keep the launch and find out,” said Paxton. “We better do it. I wouldn’t sleep a wink if I thought I was going to be arrested in the morning.” “Nor I,” added Sabine, with a shiver. “Let’s have a look.” “It’s over three miles from here,” grumbled Ritter. Nevertheless, he was as much disturbed as anyone, and in the end the four took up the oars and commenced the tedious task of rowing down the lake in the rain. It was an hour before they reached the dock where the launch was usually kept. They came in rather awkwardly and bumped loudly against the stringpiece. “Here she is!” cried Ritter, as he made out the _Emma_ tied securely to the dock. “She’s all right, too.” “Then that Ruddy crowd played a trick on us—getting us to look for her in this rain!” grumbled Coulter. “Hi! hi! what does this mean? Who are you?” came a call from the darkness. “Shove off! We don’t want to meet anybody!” said Ritter in a low voice. The rowboat had drifted in and was now between the launch and the dock, and it was hard work to shove the craft out into the lake. They heard footsteps and a man showed himself. “Stop!” he called loudly. “Stop, or I’ll fire!” And now he pointed a pistol at the cadets. “Don’t shoot!” screamed Sabine. “Don’t shoot! We haven’t done anything, mister!” “Then stop,” called the man. He was a watchman, employed by Able Fales and a number of others, to look after the various craft in that vicinity. “It’s all right,” Ritter endeavored to assure the watchman. “We only stopped in here to see if a certain boat was safe.” “Fine time to do it, I must say!” returned the watchman. “It’s half-past one o’clock! What boat were you looking for?” “The—er—the _Emma_,” stammered Coulter, as Ritter paused before replying.