If they had not all been so absorbed in the fate and recovery of
the _Follow Me_ they would have enjoyed that journey down the Squam
River immensely, for it was a beautiful stream, quiet and tranquil in
the morning sunlight. Summer camps and cottages dotted the shores and
green hills hemmed it in. They had breakfast on the way, eating it for
the most part on deck. Now and then the _Adventurer_ paused while they
examined a motor-boat moored in some cove.
"There's one thing certain," said Steve. "Those folks couldn't have
brought the _Follow Me_ through here in the dark. If they did come
through that cut last night they anchored and waited for light. Keep a
watch for gasoline stations, fellows."
They found the first one at Annisquam, near where the yacht club pier
stuck out into the channel. Steve sidled the _Adventurer_ up to a
landing and, while Han held her with the hook, made inquiry of a
grizzled man in faded blue jumpers.
"We're looking for a motor-boat called the _Follow Me_," he explained.
"Have you seen her?"
The man shook his head. "What was she like?" he asked.
Steve described her, aided by Harry Corwin, and the man pushed his old
straw hat back, and rubbed his forehead reflectively.
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