Fortunately or unfortunately, the water at this point was very shallow and soon Dick was wad ing over to what he took to be the island upon which the encampment had been located. But as a matter of fact he was headed for the main shore of the lake, and soon he was tramping further away from the camp than ever. For once in his life, so far as his bump of locality was concerned, Dick was hopelessly mixed.
Dick traveled nearly a mile before he reached the conclusion that he was not on Pine Island or anywhere near it.
"I'm on the mainland, that's certain," he told himself. "I guess the best thing I can do is to wait for daylight before going further. I may only—Hullo, a light!"
Dick had emerged from a grove of trees and now saw a light streaming from the window of a cottage but a short distance away. The sight of this caused him to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Some farmer's place, I suppose," he murmured. "Well, anything will do. I can get a place to sleep, and the farmer can testify to it that I haven't been drinking, as Lew Flapp and his cronies will want to prove."
A curtain was drawn over the window of the cottage, so that Dick could not see into the room.
