"I knew there was a creek here somewhere, but I didn't
suppose we had reached it yet."
"Well, we have; and, unless I am very much mistaken, you will find the
bridge right before you. Shall we try to cross it now? It will be a
slippery job."
The "bridge" that Frank referred to was simply a large tree that the
boys had felled across the creek, and stripped of its branches. It
could easily be crossed in the day-time, but in a dark, stormy night
it was a difficult task to undertake. The boys could scarcely see
their hands before them; and Frank had accomplished something worth
boasting of in being able to conduct his cousin directly to the
bridge.
"It will require the skill of a rope-dancer to cross that bridge now,"
said Archie; "and, if we should happen to slip off into the water, we
would be in a nice fix."
"Besides," said Frank, "if we did succeed in crossing, we could not go
far in the dark, on account of the swamp; so, I think, we had better
wait."
The boys stood under the tree, talking in low tones, when Frank
suddenly exclaimed,
"We're all right.
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