Where is Winn?" Here the old man paused, quite out of
breath, but still questioning his companion with anxious eyes.
"I haven't seen anything of Winn since we all left the boat," replied
Billy Brackett, who could hardly comprehend the startling information
just given him. "Do you mean to say that the _Whatnot_ has been
stolen? Great Scott! I wonder if those fellows can have had a hand in
it?"
"What fellows?"
Then Billy Brackett told of his fleeting glimpse of Plater, and of his
consequent belief that the raft and all three of the "river-traders"
must be in that vicinity.
"There's a raft, with three men aboard it, who call themselves
'river-traders,' moored at the edge of that timber, just below the
city," volunteered one of the by-standers, who had overheard the young
man's remarks.
"Will you go with me and point it out?" asked Billy Brackett, eagerly.
"Yes, I don't mind, seeing that this weather makes a bit of slack
time," replied the man.
So requesting Cap'n Cod to wait there until his return, and promising
to be back as quickly as possible, the young engineer and his guide,
followed by several curiosity-seekers, started in search of the raft.
It is needless to say that they failed to find it, though another hour
elapsed before Billy Brackett returned. He was disappointed, but was
possessed of a theory.
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