[THE CREATURE WAS LASHING ABOUT IN A DEATH STRUGGLE]

THE MOTOR BOYS IN
STRANGE WATERS

Or

Lost in a Floating Forest

BY

CLARENCE YOUNG

Author of
“The Racer Boys Series” and “The Jack Ranger Series.”

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

BOOKS BY CLARENCE YOUNG

THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES

(Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of.)

12mo. Illustrated

THE MOTOR BOYS
Or Chums Through Thick and Thin

THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND
Or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune

THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO
Or The Secret of the Buried City

THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS
Or The Hermit of Lost Lake

THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT
Or The Stirring Cruise of the Dartaway

THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC
Or The Mystery of the Lighthouse

THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
Or Lost in a Floating Forest

THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC
Or The Young Derelict Hunters

THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS
Or A Trip for Fame and Fortune

THE JACK RANGER SERIES

12mo. Finely Illustrated

JACK RANGER’S SCHOOLDAYS
Or The Rivals of Washington Hall

JACK RANGER’S WESTERN TRIP
Or From Boarding School to Ranch and Range

JACK RANGER’S SCHOOL VICTORIES
Or Track, Gridiron and Diamond

JACK RANGER’S OCEAN CRUISE
Or The Wreck of the Polly Ann

JACK RANGER’S GUN CLUB
Or From Schoolroom to Camp and Trail

Copyright, 1909, by
Cupples & Leon Company

The Motor Boys in Strange Waters

Printed in U. S. A.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

[THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS]

[CHAPTER I]
NODDY’S COCOANUT PLANTATION

“Shut your eyes,” called Bob Baker to his friend Jerry Hopkins, as the two boys sat in the library of Bob’s home.

“What for?”

“Never mind. Just shut ’em; that’s all.”

“No tricks now. I don’t want a mouthful of salt, or find that I’m all tangled up in a folding chair.”

“No, this is something on my own account. Shut your eyes.”

“All right. Here goes.”

Jerry accommodatingly closed his eyelids. He opened them almost immediately as he heard a loud thump in the room.

“What was that?” he asked.

“That was yours truly,” explained Bob.

“What doing?”

“I threw my Latin grammar and my algebra over there behind the bookcase.”

“What in the world did you do that for?”

“Because I don’t want to see ’em again until after vacation, and I didn’t want to see where they fell for fear I’d be tempted to do some studying to work off my conditions. And I didn’t want you to see where they went to for fear you’d tell me. So I just shut my eyes and let ’em go. They’re safe, and when they clean house in the fall they’ll find ’em. It’ll be time enough then to begin studying. Vacation’s here! Hurrah for a good time with nothing to do but have fun!”

“That’s so; to-day is the last one for school for more than two months,” remarked Jerry.

“As if you’d forgotten it!”

“Well, I wasn’t thinking of it, though I’m glad we don’t have to do any more studying for a while. There’ll only be the closing exercises this afternoon and then—”

“Yes, then what?” asked Bob. “What are we going to do with ourselves this vacation?”

“Go somewhere in our motor boat I guess,” replied Jerry. “But isn’t that a Latin grammar I see sticking out under the edge of the bookcase?” and he pretended to start to pull forth the volume.

“Don’t you dare touch it!” cried Bob. “Shut your eyes so you can’t see it!”

Jerry, however, dodging Bob’s outstretched arms, reached for the book.

“It’s a sea story!” he exclaimed. “Looks like a good one, too, from the pictures.”

“Give it to me! I was looking all over for that. Guess I must have dislodged it when I threw my school books back there. It is a corking good yarn.”

“Well, Chunky,” went on Jerry (giving Bob the nickname fastened on him because of his overabundance of flesh), “are the adventures in that anything like those we had last summer down at Harmon Beach?”

“Couldn’t touch ’em! Those were ‘adventures as were adventures,’ as Salt-Water Sam would say,” remarked Bob, giving his trousers a nautical hitch in memory of the odd character to which he referred. “I only hope we are as lucky in striking a good time this summer as we were on the Atlantic coast.”

“We generally have been pretty fortunate in that respect,” said Jerry. “I haven’t thought much about it this year. I studied rather hard to win the prize scholarship.”

“Yes, and you got it, which is more to the point, Jerry. As for me, the harder I bone away the less I seem to know. I don’t want to hear school mentioned again for three months. What do you say to having something to eat?”

“Just had my breakfast. Besides it’s most time to go to—Oh, I forgot, you don’t want me to mention school. Well, I’ll call it the place of learning.”

“Nobody will be on time this last day,” responded Bob. “I had breakfast myself, but it was an early one, and I can eat again.”

“Never saw the time when you couldn’t,” observed Jerry, taking care to get beyond the reach of Bob’s fist.

“Have a glass of milk, Jerry.”

“Well, I don’t mind that.”

“I’m going to have some and a bit of bread and jam,” went on Bob, as he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

He came back presently with what looked like enough for a substantial meal for two hungry boys. Jerry said nothing, as he was familiar with the eating capacity of his chum.

“Here comes Ned!” exclaimed Jerry as he finished his glass of milk. “Better get some more jam, Bob.”

“I will,” and before Jerry could stop him Bob had hurried off again. He returned with more refreshments just as Ned Slade came in.

“Are you fellows going to school to-day?” asked the newcomer. “It’s almost nine o’clock.”

“Breakfast is now being served in the dining car!” cried Jerry, imitating the porters on the Pullman coaches. “It’s Bob’s second attempt,” he explained.

“You did your share,” retorted Bob. “Have some, Ned?”

“No, thanks. Three meals a day are enough for me,” and Ned sat down in a chair to watch Bob eat.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jerry. “You look excited.”

“I met Noddy Nixon, on my way here.”

“You don’t mean it! So he’s back in town again. Did you have a quarrel with him?”

“Not exactly,—but we had a discussion. I can’t stand him. He makes me mad every time I meet him, and when I thought of how he and Bill Berry tried to wreck that vessel down on the coast,—though I guess Noddy didn’t realize what a game Bill was playing—why I feel as though I wanted to thrash Noddy.”

“Don’t blame you,” said Bob, finishing the last of the jam and bread and butter. “What did he have to say?”

“Oh, a lot of things, but principally that he was going down to Florida to take possession of a cocoanut plantation he’s purchased, or which he thinks he’s bought. I think it’s all in his mind.”

“Cocoanut plantation!” exclaimed Bob.

“Down in Florida?” inquired Jerry.

“Yes. This is how he happened to mention it,” went on Ned. “I was going past him on the street without speaking, though I was so surprised at seeing him that I wanted to ask where he came from. However, he saved me the trouble. He hailed me and, in that sneering way of his, he said he had something that was better than the gold mine in which we own shares. I didn’t ask him what it was, but he told me. Said he had bought a cocoanut grove or farm, or whatever they call ’em, and was going to get rich. He said he was going down in a week or so to live on the land and be a wealthy man.”

“Do you s’pose he meant it?” asked Bob. “I’m very fond of cocoanut pie.”

“Go ahead,” remarked Jerry with a laugh. “You’ve got Chunky interested, Ned, as soon as you mention something good to eat.”

“I guess Noddy was in earnest all right,” went on Ned. “He insisted on showing me a lot of papers. It appears he bought the land through seeing an advertisement in a magazine. You pay so much down and so much a month, and the advertisement says you can make enough raising cocoanuts to meet all your monthly installments. Noddy said he had secured a big tract down there.”

“Where’d he get the money?” asked Bob.

“From his father, I s’pose. Mr. Nixon is rich, and Noddy is the only child. That’s what makes him spoiled.”

“When’s he going down to the land of the everglades?” inquired Jerry.

“He starts in a week.”

“In what part of Florida is his cocoanut plantation located?” asked Bob.

“Near Lake Okeechobee.”

“I’d like to go to Florida,” observed Bob. “It’s a nice place to read about. Lovely climate, nothing to do but gather oranges, bananas and cocoanuts, watch the manatees and turtles, lie in the shade and—and—”

“Get eaten up with sand fleas,” put in Jerry. “They have ’em down there as big as sparrows.”

“I guess if we’re going anywhere we’d better be starting for school!” exclaimed Ned. “It’s after nine o’clock.”

The three chums left Bob’s house and strolled along the street in the direction of the academy they attended. Ned continued his recital of his encounter with Noddy, the town bully who, on more than one occasion, had proved himself the enemy of the three friends.

“Oh, he talked a lot about how rich he was going to be,” went on Ned. “He thinks his cocoanut grove is going to put our gold mine in the shade. Says he’ll buy us out in a few months. He was so excited that I guess he forgot all about how he acted down at Harmon Beach last summer until I asked him if he calculated to wreck any steamers on the Florida coast. That made him mad and we had quite a discussion. That’s what ruffled me up. I left him spouting about what he expected to do with his cocoanuts.”

“I guess all the cocoanuts he’ll raise wouldn’t make enough pies to satisfy Bob’s appetite,” remarked Jerry. “But we’d better hurry, if we want to get to school before noon.”

None of the chums realized what a part Noddy and his cocoanut plantation were to play in their experiences that summer, nor in what an unexpected manner they were to render the bully a service.

[CHAPTER II]
PROFESSOR SNODGRASS ARRIVES

The three chums quickened their pace and were soon at the academy, where they were greeted by a number of boy friends.

“Where are you fellows going this vacation? Out west, down to Mexico or the North Pole? Lots of fun—never say die—right side up with care—automobiles—motor boats—flying machines—don’t stop—red flag—danger—never mind—go on—whoop!”

“Let up, Andy Rush!” exclaimed Jerry, laughing. “Give us a chance to catch our breath, please,” and he looked at a small boy who, in the stress of excitement, (which was the state he was continually in), was trying to talk to the three chums at once.

“But I want to know,” insisted Andy.

“We don’t know ourselves,” replied Bob. “Go get a drink of ice water, Andy. Your windpipe must be hot after all that.”

There was a general laugh at the small boy’s expense, and then the pupils went inside. While they are thus off the stage for a brief period opportunity will be afforded to make the reader better acquainted with them.

The three chums, who, because of their long association with each other, and the part an automobile and motor boat had played in their adventures, had come to be known as the “Motor Boys,” lived in the town of Cresville, not far from Boston. They were Jerry Hopkins, son of a widow who was well-to-do, Ned Slade, whose father owned a large department store, and Bob Baker, the offspring of a rich banker.

In the first volume of this series, entitled “The Motor Boys,” was related how the chums became possessed of motor cycles and how, by taking part in races, they won a large touring car. Their adventures on the motor cycles were more than equalled by those that happened to them when they had their auto, as was told in the second book, “The Motor Boys Overland.” They conducted a successful search for a gold mine in Nevada, and aided an old prospector in securing it, though Noddy Nixon and his crony Bill Berry tried to get it away from them. It was on this trip that the boys became acquainted with Professor Uriah Snodgrass, a learned man whose hobby was collecting bugs and butterflies.

In recognition of their aid the boys were given shares in the gold mine, which paid well. It was this mine to which Noddy referred when he boasted to Ned of his cocoanut grove.

At the suggestion of Professor Snodgrass the boys decided to take another trip, as described in the third volume of this series, “The Motor Boys in Mexico.” In this they discovered a buried ancient city, had fights with the Mexicans, and Bob was kidnapped but escaped.

Deciding to visit their mine on their way back to the United States, the three chums had rather a hard time of it. Their doings and the things that happened to them are told in the fourth book of the series, “The Motor Boys Across the Plains.” They rescued a small boy from the hands of a bad gang of men, and this boy proved to be the son of a queer hermit, who lived on the shores of a lake.

The boys reached home safely, and with quite a sum of money to their credit. With part of this they purchased a fine, large motor boat, called the Dartaway. In her they had a series of adventures on river and lake, as related in “The Motor Boys Afloat.” They took part in races, won a prize, discovered the mystery of a strange schooner and cleared up the robbery of Mr. Slade’s department store.

But more exciting times awaited them. Their next vacation (for all their fun was had during the summers when there was no school) was spent at Harmon Beach, on the Atlantic coast, as recorded by me in “The Motor Boys on the Atlantic.” There they made the acquaintance of “Salt-Water Sam,” an old sailor and whaler, and with him made a successful chase after a whale and a shark. They also uncovered a plot to change the signals in a lighthouse, so that a steamer might be lured on the rocks, foiling the men, and aiding the aged keeper and his niece Jess.

Noddy Nixon, as the partner of Bill Berry (though Noddy claimed he did not know of the enormity of the offense) had a hand in the lighthouse plot. As soon as it failed Bill Berry disappeared and Noddy was not to be found for some time. Then, as there was no charge against him, Noddy returned to his home. His father would believe nothing wrong concerning him, and the bully was soon as bold as before. Being well supplied with money he had spent some of it in buying land in Florida, as Ned has already related. Bill Berry did not come back to Cresville, which fact made the three chums rejoice, for they did not wish to see that rascal again.

“Closing exercises this afternoon, which will be short and sweet,” observed Bob, as he and his friends came from the academy at noon, “and then to map out a summer campaign.”

“Yes, we want to get busy,” said Ned. “No use wasting time. You fellows come to my house to-night and we’ll look over some maps and plan a cruise. The motor boat is better than ever with the improvements we put on her last fall.”

“I’ll be there,” called Jerry, as he left his two chums. “I’ve got to go on an errand for my mother now, but I’ll be on hand after supper.”

“So will I,” added Bob. “I may be a little late though, because—”

“Because he has to eat so much supper; eh, Chunky?” and Jerry laughed as he shot that parting shaft.

“I promise to provide a light lunch at ten o’clock if you’ll stay that late,” called Ned. “So long!”

The afternoon exercises passed off successfully, and with farewells from their teachers the three chums, as well as all the lads in the academy, bade good-bye to the place of learning and scattered for the long summer vacation. The motor boys, who were all in the same class, walked down the street, arm in arm, as three fine lads as one could wish for,—tall, strong, full of recourse in times of danger, brave and fearless—excellent types of the American Boy.

“Let’s each think of some plan for a trip,” proposed Ned, as they parted to go to their several homes. “We can talk ’em all over to-night.”

A few hours later the three chums were at Ned’s house. On the library table he had spread out a number of geographies, guide books and maps, and the boys were soon pouring over them. They talked a perfect babble, the only things that could be distinguished now and then being such expressions as:

“How about a trip to Maine?”

“What’s the matter with doing the Gulf of Mexico?”

“We could go to Cuba if the weather kept good.”

“The Bermudas aren’t so very far off.”

“Say, we’ll never settle anything this way,” called Ned after an hour had been spent in fruitless discussion. “I’ve got a plan.”

“What is it?” asked Jerry.

“Let each one write on a slip of paper the place he’d like to go to. We’ll drop the slips in a hat and one of us, blindfolded, can pull a slip out. We’ll go wherever the slip says.”

“Suits me,” exclaimed Bob, and Jerry nodded assent.

Pencils and paper were provided, and the boys were about to write down their choices when there came a knock on the library door. A moment later the portal opened and Mr. Slade was looking in on the chums.

“A visitor to see you,” he announced.

“To see who?” asked Ned.

“All three of you. Let me present Professor Uriah Snodgrass.”

“Professor Snodgrass!” exclaimed the three boys in a surprised chorus. “Where did he come from?”

“I just arrived,” announced a little man with very large spectacles, as he stepped past Mr. Slade and bowed to the boys. “I reached town this afternoon, and inquired for Mr. Slade’s store, as I had some business to transact. He heard my name, and remembered me. He invited me to call this evening, and—here I am.”

“Yes, and just in time, too,” cried Ned.

“How is that? Have you just captured a rare specimen of a mosquito or a June bug for me?” and the professor was ready at once to mount his hobby and start off on a scientific discussion.

“Not exactly,” answered Ned, “but we are trying to decide where to go in our motor boat for our vacation. Perhaps you can help us out.”

“I’m afraid not,” the professor replied. “I never took a vacation in my life, and I do not know where would be a good place to spend one. I know where I am going this summer.”

“Where?” asked Jerry.

“I am going to Florida, to search for a very rare butterfly. It is pink, with blue and gold wings, and a certain museum has offered me five thousand dollars for a perfect specimen. It is to be found in Florida only, and I am off for the everglades next week.”

“That’s a lot of money for a butterfly,” remarked Ned.

“Yes, but the museum can afford it,” went on the scientist. “No other scientific place in the world has this kind of a butterfly and the museum I speak of will be the envy of all the others. But it is not only for the money that would come to me that I would like to get that butterfly.

“If I succeed I hope to get a position with the museum. A sort of commission to travel for them into all parts of the world after curious bugs and relics. That is my ambition, and that is why I am going to try for this butterfly. It means a great deal to me, as, all my life, I have wanted to be on the staff of some good museum, in order to search for curiosities for it. So you see it is not only the five thousand dollars I am after, though, of course that sum will be very acceptable.”

“Do you think you can find the butterfly?” asked Mr. Slade, much interested.

“I hope so,” replied Uriah Snodgrass. “As I have said, it is very rare, and very difficult to catch. I have read of a number of specimens being found but they were in poor condition, or discolored, and it is for the rare coloring of this species that it is desired by the museum.”

“I hope you are successful,” answered Ned’s father. “I have often wondered, when looking at the collection of insects in a museum, how they got so many different kinds. Now I understand. It is due to the efforts of such men as you.”

Jerry arose from his chair. The light of excitement gleamed in his eyes.

“I have it, fellows,” he cried.

“What! Not that rare pink butterfly?” cried the professor, showing great interest.

“No, but a plan. Let’s go to Florida in the Dartaway. It will be a fine trip. We’ll take you with us, Professor. There’s lots of room.”

For a moment no one spoke. Jerry stood up looking from his chums to the professor, and then to Mr. Slade.

“I would like nothing better than to go with you boys,” Mr. Snodgrass answered. “When can you start?”

“To-morrow!” cried Ned. “That’s a fine idea, Jerry! That beats drawing papers from a hat. Florida it is! What do you say, Bob?”

“Couldn’t be better. I always was fond of oranges and cocoanuts.”

“Then we’re off for the everglades!” exclaimed Ned, beginning to do a dance around the room. “Can we go, father?”

“Well, I presume it’s no use saying no, so I may as well consent,” answered Mr. Slade. “But I guess it will take you longer than until to-morrow to get ready.”

“We can start next week,” put in Jerry. “That will suit the professor.”

“Excellent,” spoke the scientist, as he began creeping up on an unsuspecting June bug that was crawling on the table.

“That settles it!” remarked Ned. “Now let’s get a geography and lay out a line of march.”

“Is my son here?” asked a woman’s voice, and the boys looked up to see Jerry’s mother and Mrs. Slade standing in the library door.

“Here I am,” replied Jerry. “What is it, mother?”

“I was calling in this neighborhood,” went on Mrs. Hopkins. “I knew you were here and I thought I’d step in and ask you to take me home.”

“Of course I will, mother. We were just planning another cruise.”

“You’re always doing that,” said Mrs. Hopkins with a sigh. “I can’t see why you boys don’t stay home one vacation.”

“We want to see the world,” declared Ned. “This time we are going to Florida.”

“Florida?” asked Mrs. Hopkins as if surprised.

“Why not, mother?” asked Jerry.

“Oh, I suppose that place is as safe as any. I was just thinking of something,” Mrs. Hopkins went on. “I once bought some land in Florida, but after I got the deed I received word that the property was practically worthless and I never did anything about it. I have the old deed home now.”

“Where is this land, mother?” asked Jerry. “I never heard you speak of it.”

“No, because I was sorry I lost the money I paid for it. The land is somewhere in the central part of the state I believe. I’ll show you the deed when we get home.”

“Yes, and if we get to Florida we’ll look up this property,” went on the widow’s son. “Perhaps it has increased in value. This gives us another reason for going to the everglades,” and he laughed.

Once more the three boys began scanning the maps and guide books, while Mrs. Hopkins and Mrs. Slade conversed about household matters. A little later Jerry escorted his mother home and she showed him the old deed, of which he took possession.

“Who knows but what it may prove valuable,” he said.

“I hope it does,” remarked Mrs. Hopkins. “I would like to get my money back.”

Jerry returned to Ned’s house, promising his mother to come home again as soon as more details of the proposed trip were settled.

“Don’t lose that deed,” cautioned Mrs. Hopkins.

Jerry, with a laugh, promised to keep it safely. He found his chums still discussing the best means of getting to the land of the everglades. They little realized what lay before them, nor what was to happen before they reached Cresville again.

[CHAPTER III]
OFF FOR FLORIDA

At first the boys had an idea they could go down the Atlantic coast in their motor boat, and so reach the beautiful land for which they were bound. But the professor pointed out the terrors of Cape Hatteras, which is a menace to even big vessels, so the chums decided on another plan. They would ship the boat from Cresville to St. Augustine and travel there themselves by rail. From St. Augustine they could start down the coast, and go up the Indian river.

“Can’t we stop there a while?” asked Bob at this point.

“What for?” inquired Jerry.

“Why that’s where the best oranges in the world grow,” explained Bob, as if that was reason enough. “Indian river oranges are fine!”

“You can stay there,” said Jerry. “We’ll go on to the everglades.”

“I’m not going to stay all alone,” remonstrated Bob. “You might wait while a fellow gathered a few oranges, though,” and he assumed an injured air.

“The trouble is your idea of a ‘few’ would mean a boat load,” came from Ned. “But I guess we can gather some as we sail along.”

“Where do you plan to go from Indian River?” asked Mr. Slade.

“We’ll land at Titusville,” replied Jerry, running his finger along the map, “and then—”

He was interrupted by a sudden movement on the part of Professor Snodgrass, who had ceased to take part in the conversation, and an instant later the room was in darkness.

“I’ve got him!” cried the scientist eagerly. “He’s in my hand on the table, but I’m tangled up in the gas lamp hose. I must have touched the stop-cock and turned off the light. Don’t move, please, any of you. Some one strike a light so I can see to put my prize safely away.”

“What is it?” asked Mr. Slade as he ignited one of the gas jets of the chandelier.

“One of the rarest specimens of June bugs,” was the professor’s answer. “I saw him crawling on the table and I made a grab for him. He was right under the gas hose hanging down from the chandelier to the table lamp, but I didn’t think of that. I hope I didn’t hurt any one.”

“No, you only scared Bob out of his appetite,” said Ned.

“No, you didn’t!” exclaimed Bob. “I’m as hungry as—I thought you said you were going to give us a lunch, Ned? I’m ready—” Then he stopped, in confusion, for the others burst out into a laugh at him.

“Don’t worry, Chunky. You’ll get your lunch in time,” spoke Ned. “But let’s get this trip settled first. Have you ever traveled in Florida, Professor?”

“I caught some of the finest snakes there you ever saw,” replied the scientist. “I have been over a considerable part of the state, and I’ll be glad to renew my acquaintance with it again.”

“Then you can tell us if our plan is a good one,” went on Ned, informing Mr. Snodgrass of what the boys proposed to do. From Titusville, Ned explained, they would go by rail, with their boat, to Lake Tohopekaliga, through the canal connecting that body of water with Lake Hatchenana, across the latter lake, and again by canal to Lake Kissimmee. From there they would go by the Kissimmee river to Lake Okeechobee.

“That will give you plenty of opportunity for testing your motor boat,” said the professor. “I think the route is a good one. The lower part of Lake Okeechobee is wild enough to suit any one, and I may be able to find there the rare butterfly for which I am searching. I will be very glad to go with you, and I’ll be ready to start any time you boys fix.”

Having given that much attention to the proposed trip, the scientist devoted himself to the June bug, which was struggling to escape from his hand. Mr. Snodgrass produced a small box, with a perforated cover, and in it shut the protesting captive.

That done he jotted down in his note book certain facts about the bug, its size, date of capture and the circumstances under which the catch was made. The professor was nothing if not methodical.

“Then the first thing to be done,” observed Ned, when he and his chums had once more gone over the map to see if they had selected the best route, “is to get the boat ready for the trip by rail. I fancy the Dartaway doesn’t like being shipped on a car. She likes the water too well.”

“No help for it,” remarked Jerry. “Some day we’ll have a big enough boat to sail half way round the world in, and we’ll not have to depend on trains.”

“I wonder if we’ll meet Noddy when we get to Florida,” mused Bob. “Where did he say his cocoanut grove was, Ned?”

“He didn’t say, exactly, except that it wasn’t far from Lake Okeechobee, and I didn’t care enough to ask him. It’s somewhere in the lower part, I believe. But I hardly think we’ll meet him. Hope we don’t, for we always have bad luck as soon as he or Bill Berry turns up.”

“I guess Bill will keep out of sight for some time to come,” remarked Mr. Slade, who was listening to the talk of the boys. “I understand the United States government is after him for his part in the lighthouse plot, and when Uncle Sam wants a man he generally gets him. So I think Bill will not trouble you this trip. Well, have you settled everything?”

“Pretty nearly,” answered Ned. “All except that I’ll have to have some money for my share of the expenses.”

“I expected that!” exclaimed Mr. Slade with a laugh. “It takes money, as well as gasoline, to make a motor boat go. Well I don’t mind, as long as you boys take care of yourselves and don’t get into mischief.”

As the parents of the boys were well off there was no difficulty on the score of funds, though, for that matter, the lads’ shares in the gold mine were more than sufficient to pay their way on the various trips they made.

They discussed their plans in detail, now and then appealing to Professor Snodgrass for his opinion, but the scientist was busy looking for a specimen of a black snapping bug which had flown in through a hole in the screen to get at the light, so he paid little attention to what the boys were saying.

“Well, I guess that’s all,” announced Ned, as he closed the big geography. “We’ll start getting the boat crated up to-morrow.”

“Is that all?” asked Bob, with rather a blank look.

“Yes, what else is there to discuss?” inquired Ned.

“Chunky would like to discuss that lunch you promised,” said Jerry with a laugh. “Eh, Chunky?”

“Well—” began Bob, looking somewhat sheepishly at Mr. Slade.

“Don’t mind me,” put in that gentleman. “Go ahead with whatever you had planned. The professor and I will go out on the porch. I’ll smoke a cigar to drive the mosquitoes over to Mr. Snodgrass so he can catch ’em and sell ’em to a museum,” and he laughed.

The boys had their lunch, and, in justice to Bob it must be said that Ned and Jerry ate almost as much as he did. They talked, between bites, of their trip, and indulged in all sorts of conjectures as to what adventures might lie before them. They imagined strange enough ones, but they were as nothing to what really befell them when they got to the land of the everglades.

The little party broke up about midnight, with mutual promises on the part of the chums to meet early the next morning and get the Dartaway in shape for the long trip.

They met at the river dock, where their boat was kept, and gave the craft a good overhauling. Some changes had been made in the craft since the trip on the Atlantic coast. The boat was more powerful, and was so arranged that they could sleep on board, for it had a portable awning and side curtains that could completely enclose the craft. Larger bunkers for the stowing away of provisions and water had been put in, the machinery had been overhauled and, save for a few minor changes, the Dartaway was ready for a long trip. These changes were made during the next two days, and then the boat was enclosed in a stout cradle. It was put aboard a flat car and, at the end of the week, had started on the journey to St. Augustine.

As the boys were walking up the street from the depot they met a man with a small gray moustache, who looked sharply at them.

“Excuse me,” he said, “but can you tell me where I can find a Mr. Noddy Nixon? I’m a stranger in town, and I want to see him on business.”

“We can show you where he lives,” replied Jerry, “but he isn’t home.”

“Where has he gone?” and the man looked surprised at the news.

“He told me he was going to Florida, to look at a cocoanut grove he had purchased,” interposed Ned.

“What part, if I may ask?”

“Near Lake Okeechobee.”

“That’s where we’re going,” put in Bob, who was rather impetuous.

“Indeed! Are you friends of his?”

“Not exactly,” replied Ned, stiffly.

“Then you’re not going together?”

“No, he has already started. We’re going from St. Augustine in our motor boat,” came from Bob.

“Do you expect to see young Nixon there?”

“I don’t believe we will,” remarked Jerry, wondering at the man’s questions.

“If you do I wish you would hand him this paper—no, I think perhaps I had better try and send it through the regular channels,” and the man seemed in doubt. “Would you give him a message if you saw him?” he asked.

“We’d be glad to do you a favor,” said Ned. “What’s it about?”

“Just tell him to come home at once,” was the answer, and the man seemed very much in earnest. “It is very important. I can’t tell you just what, but say to him that if he does not come voluntarily we will have to—. No, perhaps you had better not say that. It might frighten him, and we don’t want to do that. Just tell him to come home to attend to a matter of which he has already received official notice,” and the man returned a bundle of papers to his pocket.

“We’ll do it,” spoke up Ned, “though we’re not sure of seeing him.”

“I understand. It’s only a chance, but I will be glad to take advantage of it, and I will appreciate it very much if you can get that message to him.”

The man moved off up the street, leaving the three boys somewhat puzzled.

“I wonder who he was?” asked Bob.

“Don’t you know?” inquired Jerry.

“No; who was he?”

“One of the government inspectors of lighthouses. I saw him down at Harmon Beach after Noddy and Bill, and the others in the gang, tried to wreck the steamer by showing false lights.”

“Then he’s after Noddy for his part in that!” exclaimed Ned. “But I thought they weren’t going to prosecute Noddy?”

“Maybe they want him for a witness against Bill Berry,” suggested Jerry. “At any rate we’ll give him the message if we see him. He’s to come home to attend to a matter of which he has already received official notice. Probably he’s been subpœnaed and has skipped out for fear of arrest. Maybe that’s why he said he was going to his cocoanut grove. Say, boys, I’ll wager Noddy has gone to Florida to hide!”

“But why doesn’t the government attend to its own affairs and not ask us to tell Noddy to come back?” inquired Ned. “That’s a queer way of doing business.”

“Perhaps they haven’t any officials down near Lake Okeechobee,” replied Jerry. “It’s rather desolate down there, I guess, and it would be hard work to hunt around for an unknown cocoanut plantation and locate Noddy. Maybe the matter is not of much importance, and that man may think we’ll do to deliver the message. Anyway I believe I’m right and that Noddy has fled from Cresville because he’s afraid of something in connection with the attempt to wreck the steamer, and his part in the attack on Mr. Hardack, the lighthouse keeper.”

“I’d like to see Noddy get his desserts,” interposed Bob. “He’s done us a lot of mean turns, but, somehow or other he always manages to sneak out of the consequences. If I get a chance I’ll scare him with this message. I’ll tell him the government detectives are after him with a pack of bloodhounds.”

“Better wait until we find him,” advised Jerry. “Lake Okeechobee is a big place and there’s a slim chance that we will meet Noddy.”

“I thought there was something more than a new cocoanut plantation that made him want to hurry out of town,” spoke Ned. “I remember now he acted, while he was talking to me, as if he was afraid of some one.”

“That was your imagination,” said Jerry with a laugh. “But come on; let’s go home and get ready for the trip, and let Noddy’s affairs take care of themselves.”

The boys packed their belongings, bade their friends good-bye and, on Wednesday of the following week, were ready to start on their trip to the quaint old city of St. Augustine.

“I hope the boat is there, waiting for us,” remarked Bob.

“Yes. It wouldn’t be much of a joke if it went astray,” agreed Jerry.

“All ready?” asked Professor Snodgrass, as he came down to the depot.

“All ready,” replied Ned.

The scientist seemed to have suddenly increased in size, for he bulged out on all sides.

“What is it?” asked Jerry, looking in wonder at his learned friend.

“What? Oh, those are specimen boxes I put in my pockets. I had no room for them in my trunks,” Mr. Snodgrass answered. “I also have a portable net for capturing insects with. I must lose no opportunities. I may see some valuable insects on my way down.”

“Here comes the train!” exclaimed Bob, as a whistle sounded in the distance. “Get your baggage together!”

There was a confused scramble, as there always is at the last minute, no matter what preliminary preparations have been made. The boys and the professor gathered up their grips, for their trunks had been checked. The train rolled into the station. They scrambled up the steps, and got seats together. Just as the train was pulling out of the depot the boys heard some one yelling at them.

“Hold on! Wait a minute! Stop! I want to speak to you!” was the cry.

[CHAPTER IV]
THE GIANT TURTLE

The three chums thrust their heads from the windows nearest them.

“It’s Andy Rush!” exclaimed Jerry, as he caught sight of the boyish figure running down the station platform. “Wonder what he wants?”

By this time Andy was under the windows on the side of the car where the boys sat. The train had not yet gathered much headway.