crowd and acquaint them with the news. He found them at one of the stores, where Mrs. Stanhope was buying some embroidery silk.
"Have you got tired of waiting for us, Sam?" asked Grace Laning, who was the first to see the youngest Rover.
"Oh, I've got bad news, Grace." And then he told the girl of what had occurred, in the midst of which the others came up.
"Missing again!" ejaculated Songbird Powell. "Too bad! What's to be done?"
"We don't know yet."
The ladies were much alarmed and so were the girls. Sam did what he could to quiet their fears, yet he felt unhappy himself.
"I did not like the looks of that plants at all," declared Dora Stanhope. "He had the face of a sneak, I was going to speak to Dick about it, and I am sorry now that I didn't."
"I presume we shall have to remain here until you find the houseboat," came from Mrs. Laning.
"Either here or at the sugar plantation," answered Sam.
"What will you do?"
"I don't know yet—probably go down the river and look for the Dora. She is so large they can't hide her very well."
"Maybe the current of the river carried her away and the planter got scared and left," sug-
