"Got any passengers on board?"

"No."

"What's your tow?"

"A houseboat."

"Who is on board?"

"I don't know exactly. What do you want to know for?"

"We are looking for a couple of horse thieves who ran away from Kepples
about two hours ago."

"I haven't seen anything of any horse thieves."

The second launch now came up to the houseboat. As may be surmised Dan
Baxter and Lew Flapp had listened to the talk with keen interest.

"Those chaps are horse thieves," muttered Flapp.

"Yes,--but don't open your mouth, Flapp," answered the leader of the
evil-doers.

"Houseboat, ahoy!" was the call.

"Hullo, the launch," answered Baxter.

"Seen anything of any strangers within the past two hours?"

"Strangers?" repeated Baxter. "Yes, I did."

"Where?"

"About a mile back. Two men in a small sailboat, beating up the
river."

"How were they dressed?"

"In raincoats. One was a tall fellow with a heavy beard."

"That's our game, Curly!" was the exclamation on the second launch.
"About a mile up the river, you say?"

"About that--or maybe a mile and a half," replied Dan Baxter.

"Thank you. We'll get after them now!" And in a moment more the second
launch sheered off and started up the Ohio through the mist and rain.

As soon as it was out of sight the men in the cabin of the _Dora_ came
out again.

"That was well done, kid," cried he called Pick. "And it was well you
did it that way. If you had said we were aboard you might have got a
dose of lead in your head."

"I always keep my word," replied Baxter.

"You're a game young rooster, and I reckon I can't call you kid no
more. What's your handle?"

"What's yours?"

"Pick Loring."

"You're a horse thief, it seems."

"I don't deny it."

"My name is Dan Baxter, and this is my friend, Lew Flapp."

"Glad to know you. This is my pard in business, Hamp Gouch. We had to
quit in a hurry, but I reckon we fell in the right hands," and Pick
Loring closed one eye suggestively and questioningly.

"You're safe with us, Loring,--if you'll give us a lift."

"I always stick to them as sticks to me."

"If you want to stay on this houseboat for a while you can do it."

"We'll have to stay on this craft. It's about the only place we'll be
safe--for a day or two at least."

"You can stay a couple of weeks, if you want to--all providing you'll
lend us your assistance."

"It's a go. Now what's your game? You must have one, or you wouldn't
act in this style," said Pick Loring.




CHAPTER XXV

PLOTTING AGAINST DORA AND NELLIE


"In the first place," said Dan Baxter, "perhaps we had better give
some directions to that man on the launch."

"What kind of directions?"

"We want to go straight down the river for the present."

"He'll take you down. I told him not to go near either shore."

"Is he to be trusted?"

"Sure. He'll do anything I tell him to."

"Very well, then, that is settled. In the second place, tell me if
I am right. You are both wanted for stealing sixteen horses over at
a place called Kepples."

"Who told you we took sixteen horses?"

"I read about it in the papers a couple of days ago."

"Well, the report is true. I don't deny it."

"You were fleeing from the officers of the law."

"That's as straight as shooting," came from Hamp Gouch.

"If we help you to escape, will you stick by us in a little game we
are trying to put through?"

"I will," answered Pick Loring, promptly.

"So will I," added Hamp Gouch. "No game too daring for me either."

"Well, it's this way," continued Dan Baxter. "Supposing I told you
I had a game on that beats horse stealing all to bits. Would you go
in for half of what was in it?"

"Sure."

"Trust me," added Gouch. "Say," he went on. "Got any liquor aboard?
This rain is beastly."

"I guess there is some liquor. We'll hunt around and see."

"Ha!" exclaimed Pick Loring. "Say, perhaps you don't know much more
about this houseboat than we did about them horses we took."

"As you just said, I don't deny it."

"You and your pard are running off with the boat?" queried Hamp Gouch.

"Yes."

"Good enough. We claim a half-interest in the boat. Don't that go?"

"That's pretty cheeky," returned Lew Flapp.

"Let it go at that, Flapp," came from Baxter. "Yes, you can have a
half-interest. But that isn't our game."

"What is the game?"

"On board of this houseboat are two girls who are mighty anxious to
get back to their families and friends."

"Run off with 'em, did you?" cried Pick Loring, and now it must be
confessed that he was really astonished.

"We carried them off, yes. And we don't expect to let them get back
home unless we can make considerable money out of it," continued Dan
Baxter.

"Are they rich?"

"They are fairly well-to-do, and they have close personal friends
who, I feel sure, would pay a good price to see the girls get home
again unharmed."

"You're putty young to be runnin' a game like this," came from Hamp
Gouch.

"Maybe, but I know just what I am doing."

They walked into the living room, and Lew Flapp made an inspection
of the pantry and then of Captain Starr's private apartment. As it
happened, the captain used liquor, and several bottles were brought
out, much to the satisfaction of the horse thieves.

"This makes me feel more like talking," said Hamp Gouch, after
swallowing a goodly portion of the stuff.

"Perhaps you had better give us the whole game straight from start
to now," said Pick Loring. "Then we can make up our minds just what
we can do."

Sitting down, Dan Baxter told as much of himself and Lew Flapp as he
deemed necessary, and told about the trip on the houseboat which the
Rovers, Stanhopes, and the Lanings had been taking. Then he told how
Dora and Nellie had been abducted and how the voyage down the Ohio
had been started in the mist and the darkness.

"You're a putty bold pair for your years," said Pick Loring. "Hang
me if I don't admire you!" And he smiled in his coarse way.

"Of course you can see the possibilities in this," went on Dan Baxter.
"Supposing we can make the Stanhopes and Lanings and Rovers pay over
fifty or sixty thousand dollars for the return of the girls. That
means a nice sum for each of us."

"Right you are," came from Hamp Gouch. "As you say, it beats horse
stealing."

"Have they got the money?" asked the other Kentuckian.

"They have a good deal more than that between them. The Rovers are
very rich."

"But they are only friends?"

"More than that. Dick Rover is very sweet on Dora Stanhope, and Tom
Rover thinks the world of Nellie Laning."

"Then of course they'll help pay up--especially if they hear the
girls are likely to suffer. We can write to 'em and say we'll starve
the girls to death if the money don't come our way."

"Exactly. But we've got to find some place to hide first. We can't
stay on the river any great length of time. They'll send word about
the houseboat from one town to another and the authorities will be
on the lookout for us."

"I know where you can take this houseboat," put in Hamp Gouch. "Up
Shaggam Creek. There is a dandy hiding place there and nobody around
but old Jake Shaggam, and we can easily 'buy him off, so as he won't
open his mouth."

"How far is that creek from here?"

"About thirty-five miles."

The matter was talked over for fully an hour, and it was at last
decided that the houseboat should go up Shaggam Creek, at least for
the time being. If that place got too hot to hold them they could
move further down the river during the nights to follow.

The man on the launch was called up and matters were explained to
him by Pick Loring.

"Sculley is a good fellow," said Loring to Baxter. "He will do whatever
I say and take whatever I give him,--and keep his mouth shut."

"That's the kind of a follower to have," was Baxter's answer.

The horse thieves were hungry, and a fire was started in the galley
of the houseboat. The men cooked themselves something to eat and
Baxter and Flapp did the same. It must be confessed that Flapp did
not like the newcomers and hated to have anything to do with them.
But he was too much of a coward to speak up, and so did as Baxter
dictated. Thus is one rascal held under the thumb of another. It was
only when Lew Flapp was among those who were smaller and weaker than
himself that he dared to play the part of the bully.

Dora and Nellie heard the loud talking after the crashing of the
launch into the houseboat and also heard part of what followed. Both
wanted to cry out for assistance, but did not dare, fearing that
something still worse might happen to them.

"They might bind and gag us," said Nellie. "That Dan Baxter is bad
enough to do almost anything."

"Yes, and from the way Lew Flapp treated Dick, I should think he was
almost as wicked as Baxter," answered her cousin.

The girls wondered who the newcomers on board could be, but had no
means of finding out. Nobody came near them, and at last tired nature
asserted itself and both dropped into a troublous doze.

When they awoke it was still dark. A steam whistle had aroused them.
They looked out of the stateroom window. It had stopped raining, but
the mist was just as thick as ever.

"Oh, if only it would clear up!" sighed Dora. "Nobody will be able
to follow the houseboat in such a mist as this."

"Where do you think they will take us, Dora?" questioned Nellie.

"Goodness only knows. Perhaps down the Mississippi, or maybe to the
Gulf of Mexico."

"Oh, Dora, would they dare to do that?" And Nellie's face grew pale.

Dora shrugged her shoulders by way of reply, and for the time being
the cousins relapsed into silence. Both were thinking of their mothers
and of the Rovers. What had the others said to their strange
disappearance?

"It is perfectly dreadful!" cried Nellie, at last, and burst into
tears, and Dora followed. The crying appeared to do them some good
and after half an hour they became more at ease.

"We must escape if we possibly can, Nellie," said Dora. "We cannot
afford to remain a moment longer on this houseboat than is necessary."

"But how are we going to escape? It looks to me as if we were out in
the middle of the river."

"That is true. But both of us can row, and there is a small rowboat
on board. If we could launch that and get away we might escape."

"Well, I am willing to try it, if you think it can be done. But we
must get out of this stateroom first."

The two girls listened, but nobody appeared to be anywhere near them.

"I can hear them talking in the kitchen," said Nellie. "More than
likely they are getting something to eat."

"I could eat something myself."

"So could I. But I'd rather get away."

Both looked for some means of getting out of the stateroom and suddenly
Dora uttered a cry of delight.

"Oh, why didn't I think of it before!"

"Think of what?"

"That key on the hook over there. It fits the door."

"Then we can get out!"

"If that other key isn't on the outside."

Dora got down and looked through the keyhole. It was clear and she
quickly inserted the key taken from the hook. It fitted perfectly,
and in a second more the door was unlocked.

"Wait,--until I make sure that nobody is around!" whispered Dora.
She was so agitated she could scarcely speak.

She opened the door cautiously and looked out. Not a soul was in
sight. From the galley came a steady hum of voices and a rattle of
pots and dishes.

"They are too busy to watch us just now--the way is clear," she
whispered. "Come on."

"Let us lock the door behind us, and stuff the keyhole," answered
Nellie. "Then they will think we are inside and won't answer."

This was done, and with their hearts beating wildly the two girls
stole to the end of the houseboat, where lay the small rowboat Dora
had mentioned.




CHAPTER XXVI

THE SEARCH ON THE RIVER


As may be surmised, the news which Dick and Tom had to tell to the
others at the stock farm produced great excitement.

"Dora and Nellie gone!" gasped Mrs. Stanhope. "Oh, Dick, what has
become of them?"

"They must have gotten into some trouble!" cried Mrs. Laning. "You
found no trace of them?"

"We did not," said Tom. "But we tried hard enough, I can assure you."

"Oh, what shall we do?" wailed Mrs. Stanhope, and then she fainted
away, and it was a good quarter of an hour before she could be restored.

All the boys were highly excited, and Sam was for making a search
for the missing houseboat without delay.

"They may have gone on board and Captain Starr may have sailed off
with them," said the youngest Rover. "Remember, he is a queer stick,
to say the least."

"That doesn't explain the screams I heard," said Tom.

"I dink me dot Paxter got somedings to do mit dis," said Hans. "He
vos a rascals from his hair to his doenails alretty!"

"The only thing to do is to make a search," came from Songbird Powell.
"I'm ready to go out, rain or no rain."

They were all ready, and in the end it was decided that all of the
boys should prosecute the hunt, leaving Mrs. Stanhope, Mrs. Laning,
and Grace with the wife of the proprietor of the stock farm. The
proprietor himself, a Kentuckian named Paul Livingstone, said he
would go with them.

"If there has been foul play of any sort I will aid you to have
justice done," said Paul Livingstone. "To me this whole thing looks
mightily crooked."

"One thing is certain,--if the houseboat was stolen, the mist and
rain will aid the thieves to get away with her," said Dick.

It was a rather silent crowd that rode into Skemport an hour and a
half later. Here a doctor was roused up and sent to the stock farm,
to see if Mrs. Stanhope needed him, for she was weak and might collapse
completely when least expected.

Once at the spot where the _Dora_ had been tied up, another search was
begun for the girls and the houseboat. Some went up the shore and
others down, each with a lantern which had been provided to dispel
the gloom.

   "Oh, where? Oh, where?
   In dire despair
     We search the shore in vain!"

came lowly from Songbird, but then he felt too heavy-hearted to finish
the verse and heaved a sigh instead. "This is simply heart-rending,"
he said.

"That's what it is," answered Dick.

Hans was not far off, shambling along in his own peculiar fashion.
He held up his lantern and by the dim rays made out a building some
distance away.

"I yonder vot is in dare?" he said to himself. "Maype I go und look,
hey? It ton't cost me noddings."

Through the mist and rain he approached the building and walked around
to the door, which was closed. He flung it open and held up his
lantern to see inside.

"_Du meine Zeit!_ Vot is dis?" he gasped. "Cabtain Starr, or I vos
treaming! Hi, Cabtain, vot you vos doing here, alretty?" he called out.

"Is that--that you, Mueller?" asked the captain, in a trembling voice.

"Sure it vos me. Vot you did here, tole me dot?"

"I--the rascals tied me fast. They said they'd come and give me a
hundred dollars in the morning, but I don't think they'll do it."

"Py chimanatics! Vait a minute." Hans ran outside and waved his
lantern. "Come here!" he bawled. "Come here, kvick, eferybody!"

His cry summoned the others, and they quickly gathered at the stable
and released the captain. While they were doing this, they made the
simple-minded fellow tell his story.

"Describe those two fellows," said Dick, and Captain Starr did so.
The description was perfect.

"Dan Baxter and Lew Flapp!" cried Tom.

"Of course, you didn't send that message?" asked the captain, of Dick.

"I did not, captain. It was a trick to get you away from the _Dora_
and steal the houseboat."

"Is the craft stolen?"

"Yes."

"Oh, dear!" Captain Starr wrung his hands. "Please don't blame me!"

"I don't know as I can blame you, exactly. But you want to have your
wits about you after this."

When Captain Starr heard about the disappearance of the two girls he
was more interested than ever.

"I heard them scream," he said.

"Where was that?"

"I think they must have been right in front of where the _Dora_ was
tied up."

"When was this?" asked Sam.

"Not very long after the villains made me their prisoner."

"It's as clear as day!" cried Fred Garrison. "Baxter and Flapp first
stole the houseboat and then they abducted Dora and Nellie."

"It's a wretched piece of business," came from Dick. "Oh, if I can
only lay my hands on them they shall suffer for it!"

"We must chase the houseboat, that's all I know to do," put in Tom.
"And the quicker we begin the better."

"That's easily said, Tom. How are we going to locate the craft in
this mist? She may have gone up the stream and she may have gone down."

"More than likely she went down with the current. They hadn't any
steam tug handy to pull her."

Paul Livingstone was appealed to and told them where they could find
the coal docks at which their own tug was lying. All hurried to the
place and called up Captain Carson.

"I'll get up steam just as soon as I can," said the tug captain, and
hustled out his engineer and fireman. Soon the black smoke was pouring
from the tug's stack and in less than half an hour they were ready
to move.

"This seems like a wild-goose chase," remarked Sam. "But it is better
than standing around with one's hands in his pockets."

"I wish I had dat Dan Baxter heah!" said Aleck Pop. "I'd duck him in
the ribber an' hold him undah 'bout ten minutes!"

All were soon on the steam tug, which was crowded by the party. The
lanterns were lit, and they moved down the Ohio slowly and cautiously.

"We had better move from side to side of the river," suggested Dick.
"Then we won't be so liable to pass the houseboat without seeing her."

As all of the party were wet, they took turns in drying and warming
themselves in the engine-room of the tug. Those on the lookout did
what they could to pierce the gloom, but with small satisfaction.

Half an hour later they passed a small river steamer and hailed the
craft.

"What's wanted?" shouted somebody through a megaphone.

"Seen anything of a houseboat around here?"

"No," was the prompt answer.

"All right; thanks!" And then they allowed the river steamer to pass
them.

"Dis night vos so vet like neffer vos!" remarked Hans.

"Well, we have got to make the best of it," answered Dick. "I don't
care how wet I get, if only we are successful in our chase."

"I am mit you on dot," returned the German cadet, quickly.

Two hours passed and they saw no other craft. They had passed several
settlements of more or less importance, but not a sign of the missing
houseboat appeared.

"Here comes something!" cried Tom, presently, as they heard a distant
puff-puff.

"Steer in the direction of that sound," said Dick, to Captain Carson,
and this was done.

Out of the mist appeared the light of a long launch, having on board
several officers of the law.

"Steam tug, ahoy!" was the cry.

"Ahoy!" shouted back Captain Carson.

"Seen anything of another launch around here?"

"No."

"See anything of a small sailboat?"

"No."

"Confound the luck!" came in another voice from the launch.

"What's the matter?" asked Paul Livingstone.

"Hullo, Mr. Livingstone, is that you?" called out one of the officers
of the law on the launch.

"It is, Captain Dixon. What's the trouble?"

"We are looking for those two horse thieves, Pick Loring and Hamp
Gouch. I suppose you know they escaped."

"So I heard. Well, I hope you get them," answered the owner of the
stock farm. "They took four of my horses once."

"So I understand. What are you doing out here this time of night?"

"We are looking for a houseboat that was stolen. Seen anything of
such a craft?"

"Certainly we did."

"You did!" burst from Dick and several of the others. "Where?"

"Down the river four or five miles. The fellows on board told us that
they had seen a sailboat with two men in it beating up the river,
and from the description we took the men to be Loring and Gouch."

"How did the houseboat look?" asked Tom.

One of the officers of the law gave a brief description of the _Dora_
and told what he could of Baxter and Flapp.

"It's our houseboat beyond a doubt," said Sam. "And those two fellows
were Flapp and Baxter."

"Did you see anybody else on the houseboat?" questioned Dick.

"Not a soul. So the houseboat was stolen?" went on the police officer,
curiously.

"Yes, and, worse than that, two girls have been abducted."

"Creation! That's serious."

"It will be serious for those rascals if we catch them!" muttered
Tom. "Where did the houseboat go to?"

"It was heading straight down the river when we saw it last."

"Then come!" cried Dick. "Let us go after the craft and lose no time."

A moment later the steam tug parted company with the launch, and the
chase after the _Dora_ was resumed.




CHAPTER XXVII

CAUGHT ONCE MORE


The two girls hardly dared to breathe as they stood at the rear of
the houseboat, trying to untie the small rowboat which lay on the deck.

"Oh, Dora, supposing they find us out?" gasped Nellie.

"I don't think we'll be any worse off than we were," answered her cousin.

"Do you think we can launch the rowboat and get into it without
upsetting?"

"We can try."

The small craft was soon unfastened and they dragged it to the edge
of the houseboat. There was a small slide, on hinges, and they had
seen the boys use this more than once, and knew how it worked. Down
went the rowboat with a slight splash, and they hauled the craft up
close by aid of the rope attached to the bow.

"Now the oars!" whispered Dora.

They were at hand, in a rack at the back of the dining room, and
soon she had secured two pairs.

"You drop in first, Nellie," went on Dora. "Be quick, but don't fall
overboard."

Nellie obeyed, trembling in every limb. She landed safely and in a
few seconds Dora followed. Just as this was done a man appeared on
the deck of the houseboat, followed by another.

"Oh, Dora--" began Nellie, when her cousin silenced her. Then the
rope was untied, and the rowboat was allowed to drift astern of the
larger craft.

"Hullo, there!" came suddenly out of the darkness. "What's up back
there?"

"Who are you calling to, Hamp?" came from the galley.

"Something doing back here," answered Hamp Gouch. "Somebody just cut
loose from our stern."

"What's that?" burst out Dan Baxter, and tumbled out on deck, followed
by the others.

"I said somebody just cut loose from this houseboat. There they go,"
and the horse thief pointed with his hand.

"It can't be the girls!" cried Flapp.

"Run to the stateroom and see," answered Baxter. "I'll get the big
lantern."

Lew Flapp hurried to the door of the state-room, taking with him the
key Baxter handed over.

"Hullo, in there!" he shouted. "Are you awake?"

Receiving no answer he knocked loudly on the door.

"I say, why don't you answer?" he went on. "I'm coming in."

Still receiving no reply, he started to put the key in the lock and
found that he could not do so.

"It won't do any good to block the lock," he called out. "Answer me,
or I'll break down the door."

Still nothing but silence, and in perplexity he ran back to Baxter.

"I can't get a sound out of them, and the keyhole is stuffed," he said.

"We'll break in the door," said the leader of the evil-doers.

It took but a minute to execute this threat, for the door was thin
and frail. Both gave a hasty look around.

"Gone!"

"They must have taken the rowboat and rowed away," said Lew Flapp.

Both went back to where they had left Pick Loring and Hamp Gouch.

"The girls are gone," said Baxter. "They must have skipped in that
rowboat."

"We can soon fix 'em," muttered Loring. "We'll get Sculley to go
after them."

The launch ahead was signaled and soon came up alongside.

"What's wanted now?"

"Take me aboard and I'll tell you," answered Baxter, and he and Pick
Loring boarded the launch.

In the meantime the two girls had placed the oars into the rowlocks
and were rowing off as fast as their strength would permit.

"Oh, Dora, do you think we can get away!" gasped Nellie.

"We must! Do your best, and keep time with me."

"But which way are we going?"

"I don't know, yet. The best we can do is to keep away from the lights
of the houseboat."

Stroke after stroke was taken in dire desperation, and after a while
they had the satisfaction of seeing the lights of the houseboat fading
away in the distance.

All was gloom and mist around them and they stopped rowing, not
knowing in which direction to turn next.

"We are lost on the river," said Nellie.

"Yes, but that is better than being in the hands of our enemies,"
was Dora's answer.

"Yes, Dora, ten times over. But what shall we do next?"

"Let us try to row crosswise with the current. That is sure to bring
us to shore sooner or later."

This they set out to do, and after a while felt certain that they
were drawing close to the river bank on the north.

"We are getting there!" cried Nellie. "Oh, Dora, aren't you glad?"

Scarcely had she spoken when they saw a light behind them, and a long
launch came unexpectedly into view. In the bow stood Dan Baxter with
a lantern.

"I thought I heard their oars," cried that rascal. "Here they are!"

"Pull, pull, Nellie!" cried Dora. "Pull, or we shall be captured!"

Both of the girls rowed with all their strength, but before they
could gain the shore, which was now less than two rods away, the
launch came up and made fast to the rowboat.

"Might as well give it up," said Dan Baxter, sarcastically. "It's no
use, as you can see."

"Oh, Mr. Baxter, do let us go!" pleaded Nellie, more terrorized than
ever before.

"Not much! You have got to go back to the houseboat."

At this Nellie gave a loud scream, and Dora immediately followed with
a prolonged call for help.

"Shut them up!" came from Pick Loring. "There are a whole lot of
people living around here."

Without answering, Dan Baxter leaped into the rowboat and took Dora
by the arm roughly.

"If you don't shut up, I'll gag you!" he cried.

"Let me go!" she said, and struck at him feebly. While this was going
on Pick Loring came over and took hold of Nellie.

"Tow us along, Sculley!" called the horse thief. "Get back to the
houseboat as soon as you can."

"What's the matter out there?" came in an unexpected call from the
shore. The speaker could not be seen.

"Help us!" shrieked Dora. "We are two girls and some men are carrying
us off."

"You don't say so!" ejaculated the speaker on shore.

"Tell the Rover boys!" called out Nellie. "Dan Baxter is taking us
down the river on the houseboat."

"Save us, and we will pay you well," added Dora, and then Baxter's
not over cleanly hand was clapped over her mouth, and she could say
no more. Loring's hand was likewise placed over Nellie's mouth, and
then the launch began to tow the rowboat back into midstream once more.

The poor girls were utterly disheartened and dropped back on the
seats in something close to a faint.

"This is a mess," growled Dan Baxter. "Have you any idea who that
was that called from the shore?"

"Some kind of a watchman," answered Loring. "We have got to get out
of this neighborhood in railroad time or the jig's up," he added.

"Well, I'm willing."

It did not take long to catch up to the houseboat, which was drifting
down the river in the fashion it had pursued before being towed by
the Lunch. Flapp and Hamp Gouch were waiting impatiently on the deck.

"Got 'em?" asked Lew Flapp.

"Yes, but we had no time to spare," returned Dan Baxter. "Two minutes
more and they would have been ashore."

"After this maybe we had better stand guard over them, Baxter."

"Just what I have been thinking."

Once alongside of the houseboat, the two girls were forced on board
once more and taken to the stateroom next to that which they had
before occupied.

The window was locked up and nailed and after the girls were inside,
Dan Baxter placed a strong bolt outside.

"Now if you try to escape again you may get hurt," he called out,
after the job was done.

"Mr. Baxter, you shall suffer for this!" answered Dora, as spiritedly
as she could.

"Oh, don't think you can scare me."

"The Rovers will get on your track soon."

"I am not afraid of them."

"You said that before, but you've always been glad enough to hide
from them."

"It's false!" cried Baxter, in a passion. "I never hid from them."

"You are hiding now. You dare not face them openly."

"Oh, give us a rest. I am doing this for the money that is in it."

"Money?"

"Yes, money."

"I do not understand you."

"Well, you'll understand to-morrow or the day after."

"We haven't any money to give you," put in Nellie.

"No, but maybe your folks have."

"Are you going to make them pay you for releasing us?"

"That's it."

"Perhaps they won't pay," said Dora.

"If they don't, so much the worse for you. But I know they'll pay--and
so will the Rovers pay," chuckled Baxter.

"What have the Rovers to do with it? Or perhaps you want them to pay
you for giving back the houseboat."

"They'll pay for both--for the houseboat and for releasing you. I
know Dick and Tom Rover won't want to see you remain in the power of
me and Flapp and our friends."

"Dan Baxter, you are a villain!" burst out both girls.

"Thank you for the compliment," returned the rascal, coolly. "I hope
you'll enjoy your stay in that stateroom."

"You ought to be in prison!" went on Dora.

"If you talk that way you'll get no breakfast in the morning."

"I don't want any of your breakfast!" and Dora stamped her foot to
show she meant it.

"Oh, you'll sing a different tune when you get good and hungry,"
growled Dan Baxter, and he walked away, leaving the girls once more
to themselves.




CHAPTER XXVIII

A MESSSAGE FOR THE ROVERS


Morning found the Rovers and their friends still on the steam launch,
looking in all directions for the houseboat.

The rain had ceased and there was every indication that the mist
would blow away by noon, but at present it was hard to see a hundred
feet in any direction.

"Nature has assisted them to escape," said Dick, bitterly.

"Oh, we'll find them sooner or later," answered Sam.

"Perhaps, Sam. But think of how the girls may be suffering in the
meantime."

"I know; and Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs. Laning are suffering too."

The steam tug carried only a small stock of provisions, and it was
decided to go ashore at a small place called Gridley's for breakfast.
Here there was a country hotel at which they obtained a breakfast
which put all in a slightly better physical condition.

The proprietor of the hotel was a bit curious to learn the cause of
their unexpected appearance and became interested when Dick told him
about the missing houseboat.

"Wonder if that had anything to do with a story Bill Daws told me an
hour ago," said he. "Bill works at the mill clown by the river. Last
night, in the dark and mist, he heard somebody in a rowboat and a
launch having a row. Two gals screamed for help, and somebody said
something about a houseboat and tell somebody something--he couldn't
tell exactly what. I thought Bill had 'em on, but maybe he didn't."

"Where is this Bill Daws now?" asked Dick.

"Gone home. He works nights and sleeps in the daytime."

"Where does he live?"

"Just up that street over yonder--in the square stone house with the
red barn back of it."

Waiting to hear no more, Dick set off for the house mentioned, taking
Tom with him. They rapped loudly on the door and an elderly woman
answered their summons.

"Is Mr. Bill Daws in?" asked Dick.

"Yes, sir, but he has gone to bed."

"I must speak to him a minute. Tell him it's about the talking he
heard on the river in the dark."

"Oh, is that so! He told me something about it," answered the woman.

She went off and coming back invited them into the house. Soon Bill
Daws appeared, having slipped on part of his clothing.

"I can't tell ye a great deal," said the watchman. "I heard two gals
cry out and some men was trying to shet 'em up. One gal said something
about a houseboat and about telling somebody about it."

"Did she say to tell the Rovers?"

"Thet's it! Thet's it! I couldn't think o' thet name nohow, but now
you hev struck it fust clip."

"The girls were trying to escape in the rowboat?"

"I reckon so, and the men in the launch were after 'em."

"Where did they go?"

"Out into the river, and thet's the last I see or heard o' 'em."

"Thank you," answered Dick, and seeing that Bill Daws was poor he
gave the fellow two dollars, for which the watchman was profoundly
grateful.

"It proves one thing," said Tom, when the brothers were coming away.
"We are on the right track."

"Right you are, Tom. I hope we stay on the trail until we run down
our quarry."

Not long after this the entire party was on the steam launch once
more. They took with them provisions enough to last a couple of days
and also an extra cask of drinking water.

By one o'clock in the afternoon the sun burst through the mist and
an hour later the entire river was clear, so that they could see
steamboats and sailboats a long distance off. The captain of the tug
brought forth his spyglass and they took turns in looking through
the instrument.

"Nothing like a houseboat in sight," said Sam, disconsolately. "It
beats the nation where they have gone to."

"They may be hiding around some point or in some cove," suggested
Fred. "They must know that we will follow them."

"I think you ought to telegraph up and down the river," put in Songbird.

"Dot's der dalk," came from Hans. "Let eferypody know vot rascals da
vos alretty!"

In the middle of the afternoon they made a stop at a town called
Smuggs' Landing and from this point Dick sent messages in various
directions. One message was sent to a city ten miles further down
the river and an answer came back in half an hour stating that, so
far as the authorities could find out, nothing had been seen of the _Dora_.

"Now the question is, has she gone past that town, or is she between
there and this point?" said Dick.

"Persackly," came from Aleck. "An' I dun gib two dollahs to know de
answer to dat cojumdrum."

"All we can do is to continue the search," said Tom. "But I must say
it is getting a good deal like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Vot for you looks for a needle py a haystack?" questioned Hans,
innocently. "Needles ton't vos goot for noddings in hay. A hoss vot
schwallows a needle vould die kvick, I tole you dot!" And his innocence
brought forth a short laugh.

"I move we make a swift run down the river for a distance of twenty
or thirty miles," came from Tom. "We can go down on one side and come
up the other, and keep the spyglass handy, so that nothing that can
be seen escapes us."

The matter was discussed a few minutes and it was decided to follow
Tom's suggestion. Additional coal had been taken on and soon the
steam tug was flying down the river under a full head of steam,
causing not a little spray to fly over the forward deck.

"Say, dot pow ist like a fountain," was Hans' comment, after he had
received an unexpected ducking. "I shall sit py der pack deck after
dis;" and he did.

So far Captain Starr had said but little during the pursuit, but now
he began to show signs of interest.

"Let me lay my hands on the villains who tied me fast in that stable
and I shall teach them a lesson they will not forget in a hurry,"
said he, bitterly. "They made a fool of me."

"That's what they did, captain," said Sam. "Still, they might have
imposed upon anybody."

"I've been thinking of something. You'll remember about those two
horse thieves?" went on the captain of the houseboat.

"To be sure."

"Couldn't it be possible that they got on the _Dora_ too?"

"It's possible." Sam mused for a moment. "That sailboat story might
have been a fake."

He called Dick and Mr. Livingstone to him and repeated what Captain
Starr had said.

"Such a thing is possible," said Dick. "But we have no proofs."

"If we can catch those thieves as well as Baxter and Flapp it will
be a good job done," said the owner of the stock farm. And from that
moment he took a greater interest in the pursuit than ever.

Night came on and still they saw nothing of the houseboat. They had
gone down the river a distance of twenty miles and were now on their
way back.

"We've missed them," said Dick, soberly.

"It certainly looks like it," returned Tom. Every bit of fun had gone
out of him. "It's rough, isn't it?"

"I'm thinking of what to telegraph to Mrs. Stanhope and Mrs. Laning,"
went on the eldest Rover. "I hate to send bad news."

"Tell them you are still following the houseboat and that you know
Dora and Nellie are on board. It's the best we can do." And when they
landed a message was sent to that effect. Soon a message came back,
which read as follows:

"Bring them back safe and sound, no matter what the cost."

"We will, if it can be done," muttered Dick, and clenched his fists
with a determination that meant a great deal.

The night was spent at a hotel in one of the small towns, and at
daylight the search for the missing houseboat was renewed. It had
been decided to drop down the Ohio further than ever, and look into
every smaller stream they came to by the way.

Thus several hours passed, when they found themselves on the south
side of the river, not far from the entrance to a good-sized creek.

Down the stream came a worn and battered rowboat in which was seated
an old man dressed in rags. As he approached the steam tug he stopped
rowing.

"Say," he drawled. "Kin you-uns tell me whar to find a party called
the Rovers?"

"That's our party right here," replied Dick, and he added, excitedly:
"What do you want to know for?"

"So you-uns are really the Rovers?"

"Yes."

"Searching fer somebody?"

"Yes,--two young ladies."

"Good 'nough. Got a message for ye."

And the old man rowed toward the steam launch once more.




CHAPTER XXIX

JAKE SHAGGAM, OF SHAGGAM CREEK


"They will watch us more closely than ever now," said Dora, after
she and her cousin were left to themselves in the stateroom on board
of the houseboat.

"I presume that is true," answered Nellie, gloomily.

"They expect to make money by carrying us off, Nellie."

"I don't see how they can do it. Papa hasn't much money to pay over
to them, and won't have, unless he sells the farm."

"Mamma has quite some money of mine," went on Dora. "Perhaps they
will make her pay over that. And then they are going to try to get
something out of the Rovers too."

"It's a shame!"

"They ought not to have a cent!"

The girls sat down and talked the matter over until daylight. At
about nine o'clock Lew Flapp approached the stateroom door.

"Don't you want something to eat?" he asked, civilly.

"I want a drink," answered Nellie, promptly, for she was exceedingly
thirsty.

"I've got a pitcher of ice water for you and some breakfast, too.
You might as well eat it as not. There's no sense in starving
yourselves."

"I suppose that is true," whispered Nellie to her cousin. She was
hungry as well as thirsty, having had no supper the night before.

The door was opened and Lew Flapp passed the food and drink into
them. Then he stood in the doorway eyeing them curiously.

"It's too bad you won't be friends with us," said he, with a grin.
"It would be much pleasanter to be friends."

"Thank you, but I don't want you for a friend, Mr. Flapp," said Dora,
frigidly.

"I ain't so bad as you think I am."

"You are bad enough."

"I ain't bad at all. Dick Rover got me in a scrape at school, and
ever since that time he's been spreading evil reports about me."

"You robbed that jewelry store."

"No, I didn't, and I can prove it. The Rovers were the real thieves."

"You cannot make us believe such .a tale. We know the Rovers too
well," said Dora, warmly.

"They are as honest as any boys can be," added Nellie.

"Bah! You do not know what you are talking about. They are crafty,
that is all,--and half the cadets at Putnam Hall know it."

To this neither of the girls would reply. They wished to close the
stateroom door, but Lew Flapp held it open.

"I think you might give me a kiss for bringing you the eating," he
said, with another grin.

"I'll give you--this!" answered Dora, and pushed the door shut in
his face. There happened to be a bolt on the inside and she quickly
shoved it into place.

"Just you wait--I'll get square on you!" growled Lew Flapp, from the
outside, and then they heard him stamp off, very much out of sorts.

Fortunately for the girls, the breakfast brought to them was quite
fair and there was plenty of it. They ate sparingly, resolved to save
what was left until later in the day.

"He may not bring us anything more," said Dora. "Perhaps I did wrong
to shut the door on his nose."

"You did just right, Dora," answered her cousin, promptly. "I think
he and Baxter are horrid!"

"But they have us in their power, and have some men to aid them, too!"

"I wonder who those men can be?"

"I do not know, but they are very rough. I suppose they would do
almost anything for money. They smell strongly of liquor."

Slowly the time went by. They tried to look out of the stateroom
window, but Dan Baxter had placed a bit of canvas outside in such a
position that they could see nothing.

"They do not want us to find out where they are taking us," said
Dora, and her surmise was correct.

Night was coming on once more when they felt a sudden jar of the
houseboat, followed by several other jars. Then they heard a scraping
and a scratching.

"We have struck the bottom and are scraping along some trees and
bushes," said Nellie. "Where can we be?"

"Here is a fine shelter!" they heard Pick Loring exclaim. "They'll
never spot the houseboat in such a cove as this."

"I believe you," answered Dan Baxter. "It is certainly a dandy hiding
place."

"Those girls can't very well get ashore neither," said Hamp Gouch.
"If they tried it they would get into mud up to their waists."

"Is this Shaggam Creek--the place you spoke about?" asked Lew Flapp.

"Yes."

"You said there was an old man around here named Jake Shaggam."

"Yes, he lives in that tumble-down shanty over the hill. I don't
think he will bother us."

"Does he live there alone?"

"Yes. He is a bachelor and don't like to go down to the village."

The girls heard this talk quite plainly, but presently Baxter, Flapp,
and the two horse thieves withdrew to another part of the houseboat
and they heard no more.

"We are at a place called Shaggam Creek," said Dora. "That is worth
remembering."

"If only we could get some sort of a message to the Rover boys and
the others," sighed Nellie. "Dora, can't we manage it somehow?"

"Perhaps we can--anyway, it won't do any harm to write out a message
or two, so as to have them ready to send off if the opportunity shows
itself."

Paper and pencils were handy, and the cousins set to work to write
out half a dozen messages.

"We can set them floating on the river if nothing more," said Nellie.
"Somebody might pick one up and act on it."

The hours slipped by, and from the quietness on board the girls
guessed that some of their abductors had left the houseboat.

This was true. Baxter and Flapp had gone off, in company with Pick
Loring, to send a message to Mrs. Stanhope and to Mrs. Laning, stating
that Dora and Nellie were well and that they would be returned unharmed
to their parents providing the sum of sixty thousand dollars be
forwarded to a certain small place in the mountain inside of ten days.

"If you do not send the money the girls will suffer," the message
concluded. "Beware of false dealings, or it may cost them their lives!"

"That ought to fetch the money," said Dan Baxter, after the business
was concluded.

"If they can raise that amount," answered Loring. "Of course you know
more about how they are fixed than I do."

"They can raise it--if they get the Rovers to aid them."

The prospects looked bright to the two horse thieves, and as soon as
Loring returned to the houseboat he and Hamp Gouch applied themselves
arduously to the liquor taken from Captain Starr's private locker.

"Those fellows mean to get drunk," whispered Lew FIapp, in alarm.

"I'm afraid so," answered Baxter. "But it can't be helped."

Late in the evening, much to their surprise, an old man in a dilapidated
rowboat came up to the houseboat. It was Jake Shaggam, the hermit,
who had been out fishing.

"How are ye, Shaggam!" shouted Pick Loring, who, on account of the
liquor taken, felt extra sociable. "Come on board, old feller!"

Against the wishes of Baxter and Flapp, Jake Shaggam was allowed on
board the houseboat and taken to the living room. Here he was given
something to eat and drink and some tobacco.

"You're a good fellow, Jake," said Hamp Gouch. "Mighty good fellow.
Show you something," and he took the old man to where the girls were
locked in.

"Better stop this," said Flapp, in increased alarm.

"Oh, it's all right, you can trust Jake Shaggam," replied Gouch, with
a swagger. Liquor had deprived him of all his natural shrewdness.

He insisted upon talking about the girls and tried to open the door.
Failing in this he took the hermit around to the window.

"Nice old chap this is, gals," he said. "Finest old chap in old
Kentucky. Think a sight o' him, I do. Shake hands with him."

"What are these yere gals doin' here?" asked Shaggam, with interest.

"Got 'em prisoners. Tell ye all 'bout it ter-morrow," answered Gouch,
thickly. "Big deal on--better'n stealin' hosses.''

"They seem to be very nice girls," answered Jake Shaggam. He was a
harmless kind of an individual with a face that was far from repugnant.

Watching her chance Dora drew close to the old man.

"Take this, please do!" she whispered, and gave him one of the notes,
folded in a dollar bill.

"Thank you," answered Jake Shaggam.

"Say nothing,--look at it as soon as you get away," added Dora.

The old hermit nodded, and in a few minutes more he followed Gouch
to another part of the boat.

"Do you think he will deliver that message?" asked Nellie.

"Let us pray Heaven that he does," answered her cousin.




CHAPTER XXX

THE RESCUE--CONCLUSION


The Rovers and the others on the steam tug could scarcely wait for
the old man in the dilapidated rowboat to come up alongside.

"You have a message for us?" said Dick. "Hand it over, quick."

"The message says as how you-uns will pay me twenty-five dollars fer
delivering of it in twenty-four hours," said the old man, cautiously.

"Who is it from?"

"It is signed Dora Stanhope and Nellie Laning."

"Give it to me--I'll pay you the money," cried Tom.

"All right, reckon as how I kin trust you-uns," said the old man.

It was Jake Shaggam, who had received the message the evening before.
He had read it with interest and started out at daylight to find out
something about the Rovers and where they might be located. Good
fortune had thrown him directly in our young friends' way.

"This is really a message from the girls!" cried Tom, reading it
hastily. "It is in Nellie Laning's handwriting."

"And Dora Stanhope has signed her name too," added Dick. "I know her
signature well."

"Of course you do," put in Fred, dryly, but nobody paid attention to
the sally.

"They are on the houseboat, and the craft is hidden up Shaggam Creek,"
put in Sam. He turned to the captain of the tug. "Where is Shaggam
Creek?"

"This ere is Shaggam Creek, an' I'm Jake Shaggam," answered the
hermit. "But you-uns said you'd pay me thet twenty-five dollars."

"I will," said Tom, and brought out the amount at once.

"Thank you very much."

"If you'll take us to that houseboat without delay I'll give you
another five dollars," put in Dick.

"I'll do it. But I don't want them fellers on the houseboat to see me."

"Why not?"

"Cos Pick Loring and Hamp Gouch thinks I am their friend. Ef they
knowed as how I give 'em away they'd plug me full o' lead."

"Then the two horse thieves are with Baxter and Flapp," said Songbird.
"If we bag the lot we'll be killing two birds with one stone, as the
saying goes."

"Come on!" cried Paul Livingstone. "I want to get those two horse
thieves by all means. Why, there is a reward of one thousand dollars
for their capture, dead or alive."

"By golly, I'se out fo' dat reward!" came from Aleck, and he pulled
out a horse pistol which he was carrying. "Jess let me see dem
willains." And he flourished the weapon wildly.

The steam tug was led up the creek by Jake Shaggam for a distance of
two miles.

"See that air turn yonder?" he said.

"Yes," said Captain Carson.

"Thet houseboat is behind the trees and bushes around the p'int. Now
whar's the five dollars?"

"There you are," said Dick, and paid him.

"Much obliged. Now I reckon I'll go home an' let you-uns fight it
out," added Jake Shaggam, and tying up his rowboat he stalked off,
just as if he had accomplished nothing out of the ordinary.

"We had better approach with caution," said Paul Livingstone. "Those
horse thieves are desperate characters. They would not be above
shooting us down rather than give up to the law."

In the meantime Baxter and Flapp were much disturbed by the condition
of affairs on board the houseboat. Both Loring and Gouch had been
drinking more or less all night and were in far from a sober condition.

"I don't mind a drink myself, but those chaps make me sick," growled
Dan Baxter.

"I guess we made a mistake to take them into our scheme," said Lew
Flapp. "Look how Gouch blabbed to that old man last night."

"Where are they now?"

"In the captain's stateroom opening a new bottle of liquor. Neither
of them can stand up straight."

"For two pins I'd pitch them overboard. Where is Sculley?"

"He is with them, drinking hard, too."

"If we only knew how to run that launch we could leave them behind
and sail out of here."

"Perhaps we'll have to do that--if the three keep on drinking."

Baxter and Flapp were on deck. They had had their breakfast, but had
given nothing more to the girls.

"I'm going to tame 'em," grumbled Flapp, who had not forgotten how
the door had been slammed in his face.

"That's right, we'll make 'em come to terms," added Baxter. "We'll
have 'em on their knees to us before we get through."

Presently both walked to the window of the stateroom Dora and Nellie
occupied.

"Well, how do you feel--pretty hungry?" questioned Baxter.

"Not so very hungry?" said Dora, as lightly as she could.

"Don't you want a nice hot breakfast?"