There was a short laugh, and then Dave looked serious.
"Was that Dutchman's name Schwitzer?" he asked, innocently.
"Schwitzer? I don't know."
"Did he come from Holland?"
"Of course he must have come from Holland. I——"
"What part of Holland?" went on Dave, calmly.
"Why—er—what has that got to do with it, Porter?"
"Did he come from The Hague, or Amsterdam, or Rotterdam, or——"
"I—I don't know where he came from."
"Are you dead-sure he was a Dutchman? Mightn't he have been a German, or a Swede, or a Norwegian, or——"
"Say, you're poking fun at me!" roared Shadow Hamilton.
"When you tell a tale like that, you ought to be able to verify your statements," continued Dave. "Now about that lake. What latitude and longitude was it located in, and whom was it named after, supposing it had a name? And as to the depth of the water, was it precisely two feet, or two feet and one in——"
"I'll two feet you!" shouted Shadow, and made a pass with one of his oars, but Dave ducked, and
