"Well, don't forget that we stopped for a nap," answered Whopper.
"Perhaps we'll get there before it gets dark."

Having passed the rocks, they found the stream broadening out once
more. The bottom was now muddy, and here and there grew large clumps
of reeds and cattails.

"This seems to be more of a swamp than a lake," was the comment of
the doctor's son. "From what Jed Sanborn said I thought it was a
narrow stream all the way to the lake."

"So did I," added Giant. "I begin to feel that we have made a
mistake."

"If we have, you're to blame," grumbled Whopper.

"Oh, you were willing enough to come this direction," answered Giant
sharply. "If we are wrong, you needn't blame me."

"It's your fault!"

"Oh, don't quarrel about it," interposed Snap. "We were all willing
to come this way. If we have made a mistake---" He did not finish.

"Don't croak until you are sure we are mistaken," said Shep.

A silence followed, and they moved on, the stream growing broader
as they advanced. It was a lonely spot, and as it grew darker the
loneliness seemed to increase. On all sides were the immense trees
and dense brushwood, while the stream was dotted with little