"We must get that watch back somehow!" he said. "Isn't there
another boat around here?"

"There is one up to Harrison's farm."

"That is quarter of a mile away."

"I don't think there is any nearer."

"And the river is all of two hundred feet wide here! What shall
we do?"

It was a puzzling question, and all three Of the boys stared
blankly at each other. In the meantime, the thief had picked up a
pair of oars and was using them in a clumsy fashion which showed
plainly that he was not used to handling them.

"If we had a boat we could catch him easily," observed Tom. Then
his eyes fell upon the fallen tree. "I have an idea! Let us try
to get across on that! I won't mind a wetting if only we can get
Dick's watch back."

"Yes, yes; just the thing!" put in his elder brother quickly.

All hands ran down to the fallen tree, which was about a foot in
diameter and not over twenty-five or thirty feet in length. It
lay half in the water already, and it was an easy matter to shove
it off.

"We can't do much without oars or a pole," said Tom. "Wait a