CHAPTER XIX

TREASURE ISLE AT LAST

"So this is the work of that new deck hand, eh?" cried Captain Barforth, grimly. "A fine piece of business to be in, I must say!"

"Let us see what is on the other side?" suggested Dick.

This was done, and they brought up another wire, to the end of which were attached two small anchors and some pieces of scrap steel from the tool room.

"He put those overboard for drag anchors," explained the master of the steam yacht. "He did it to delay the Rainbow."

"Yes, and that was done so the Josephine could get ahead of us," added Dick.

"In that case he must be in league with Sid Merrick," came from Sam.

"Perhaps he met Merrick at Nassau and was hired for this work," said Dick.

"That is possible, Dick. I'll have the truth out of him, if I have to put him in irons and on bread and water to do it," added Captain Barforth.

He at once sent for Walt Wingate. The deck hand who went after the man came back five minutes later to report that the fellow could not be located.

"He must be found!" cried Captain Barforth. "He can't skulk out of this!"

A search was instituted, in which all of the boys, Mr. Rover and Aleck joined. But though the steam yacht was searched from stem to stern, the missing deck hand was not located. Some of the men even went down into the hold, but with no success.

"Do you think he jumped overboard?" asked Fred.

"He might, but it would be a foolish thing to do," answered the captain. "We are at least ten miles from any island."

"He may have had a small boat," said Songbird.

"No, the small boats are all here. He is on this vessel, but where is the question."

To stimulate them in their search, the captain offered a reward of ten dollars to any one of his crew who should bring Wingate to light. But this brought no success, and for a very good reason as we shall learn later.

How much the drags had hampered the progress of the Rainbow there was no telling, but freed of them, the steam yacht made good time. All of the machinery was carefully inspected, including the propeller, to which some wire was found twisted. But this had thus far done no damage and was easily pulled out.

"He is certainly in league with Merrick and his crowd," said Anderson Rover, "and that being so, we must be on constant guard against him."

The ladies and the girls were much alarmed to think that such a character as Wingate might be roaming around the vessel in secret, and at night they locked every stateroom door with care. The boys and Mr. Rover were also on the alert, and some of them slept with loaded pistols near at hand. Had Wingate shown himself unexpectedly he might have met with a warm reception.

"That feller's disappearance puts me in mind o' something that happened aboard the Nancy Belden, bound from the Congo to New York, jest eight years ago this summer," said Bahama Bill, who had searched as hard as anybody for the missing man. "We had on board a lot o' wild animals fer a circus man, an' amongst 'em, was an orang outang, big an' fierce, I can tell you. Well, this orang outang got out o' his cage one night, an' in the mornin' he couldn't be found. We hunted an' hunted, an' the next night nobody wanted to go to sleep fer fear he'd wake up dead. The cap'n had his family aboard and the wife she was 'most scart stiff an' wouldn't hardly leave her room."

"And did you find the orang outang?" asked Songbird, with interest.

"We did an' we didn't. The fifth night after he was missing we heard a fearful noise right in a cage wot had a lion in it. We run to the place with shootin' irons an' spears and capstan bars, thinkin' the lion was loose. When we got there we found the orang outang had twisted one o' the bars o' the cage loose an' got inside and disturbed Mr. Lion's best nap. Mr. Lion didn't like it, an' he gets up, and in about two minutes he makes mince meat o' the orang outang. When we got there all we see was bits o' skin, an' the feet an' head o' the orang outang, yes, sir. We was glad he was gone—especially the cap'n wife —but the circus men was mad to lose sech a valerable beast," concluded Bahama Bill.

"That was a pretty good one," was Tom's comment. "Too good to be spoiled," and at this remark the others laughed.

"Vell, it's someding like ven dot snake got loose py Putnam Hall," was Hans' comment. "Dot Vingate vos noddings put a snake, hey?"

"You hit it that time, Hans," answered Dirk, "A snake and of the worst kind."

According to Bahama Bill's reckoning they were now less than two days' sailing from Treasure Isle, and all on board who were in the secret were filled with expectancy. So far nothing had been seen of the Josephine, and they Wondered if the tramp steamer was ahead of them, or if they had passed her in the darkness.

"Of course, she may have come by a different route," said Captain Barforth. "While we passed to the east and south of some of the little islands she may have gone to the north and west of them. One route would be about as good as the other."

That night it grew foggy, and as a consequence they had to slow down, which filled the boys with vexation for, as Tom declared, "they wanted to find that island and the treasure right away."

"Well, you'll have to be patient," said Nellie,

"Aren't you anxious, Nellie?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, Tom; but I don't want to see anybody hurt, or the yacht sunk."

Twenty four hours later the fog rolled away and on the following morning Captain Barforth announced they were in the locality where Treasure Isle was supposed to be located. The boys stationed themselves in various parts of the steam yacht, and Dick and Tom went aloft with a good pair of marine glasses.

"I see an island!" cried Tom, half an hour later.

This announcement thrilled all on board, but an hour later it was discovered that the island was only a small affair and Bahama Bill promptly said it was not that for which they were seeking.

"Come aloft and look through the glass," said Dick to the old tar, and Bahama Bill readily accepted the invitation. Thus two hours more went by, and the course of the steam yacht was changed to a wide circle.

"More land!" cried Dick, presently. "What do you make of that?" he asked and handed the marine glasses to Bahama Bill.

The old tar looked through the glasses for a long time and then put them down with much satisfaction.

"That's the place, or I'll forfeit a month's wages," he said.

"Is it Treasure Isle?" burst out Tom.

"Yes."

"Hurrah!" shouted Tom, running down the ratlines to the deck. "We've found the island!" he shouted. "Hurrah!"

"Where?" asked half a dozen at once.

"Over in that direction. You can't see it with the naked eye, but it's there just the same. Hurrah!" And in his high spirits Tom did a few steps of a fancy jig.

Without delay the bow of the steam yacht was pointed in the direction of the land that had been discovered, and after awhile all made it out, a mere speck on the blue water. But as they approached, the speck grew larger and larger, and they saw it was a beautiful tropical isle, with waving palms reaching down almost to the water's edge.

"We can't land on this side," announced Bahama Bill. "The sea is too dangerous here, We'll have to sail around to the south shore and lay to beyond the reef, and then take small boats to the inside of the horseshoe."

Again the course of the Rainbow was changed, and they skirted the eastern shore of the island, which was truly shaped like a horseshoe, with the opening on the south side. To the north, the east and the west were smaller islands and reefs, sticking out, "like horseshoe nails," as Sam said. Sailing was dangerous here, and they had to go slow and make frequent soundings, so that they did not reach the south side of Treasure Isle until almost nightfall.

"The same old place!" murmured Bahama Bill.

"An' we anchored right out here when we took that treasure ashore! I remember it as well if it was yesterday!" And he nodded over and over again.

"And where is the cave from here?" asked Mr. Rover, who was as anxious as anybody to locate the treasure.

"You can't see it, because it's behind the trees an' rocks," replied the tar.

The reef beyond the horseshoe was a dangerous one, with the sea dashing up many feet over it. There was only one break, less than thirty feet wide, so gaining entrance to the harbor would be no easy matter in a rowboat. "We had better wait until morning before we go ashore," said Captain Barforth. "Even if we land we'll be able to do little in the darkness."

"Oh, don't wait!" pleaded Tom.

"Why can't some of us go ashore?" put in Sam, who was as impatient as his brother.

"I'd like to go myself," added Dick, "even if I had to stay ashore all night. Remember, the Josephine is on the way here, and the sooner some of us get to land and locate that cave the better."

"The Josephine isn't here yet," said Fred.

"No, but she may put in an appear at any time," answered Tom. "I believe in taking time by the forelock, as the saying is."

The matter was talked over for a few minutes, and then it was decided to let Tom, Dick, and Sam go ashore in company with two sailors, who would then bring the rowboat back to the steam yacht. The boys were to take blankets and some provisions with them and spend the night on the island.

"I don't think you'll find the cave without Bahama Bill's aid," said Mr. Rover. "But it will do no harm to look around. If this isle is like the rest of the West Indies there will be little on it to hurt you. There are few wild animals down here, and no savages outside of some negroes who occasionally go on a spree and cut loose.."

The rowboat was soon ready, and the boys embarked, with the best wishes of those left behind. Hans wanted to go very much, but was told he must wait until morning. Bahama Bill said he would rather sleep on shipboard any time than on shore.

"A bunk for me," were his words. "It's better than under the trees or bushes. Once I was ashore sleepin' an' a big snake crawled over my legs. I thought some cannibals were trying to tie me fast and jumped up. When I see the snake I run about three miles without stopping. A bunk fer me every time, yes, sir!"

It was exciting to bring the rowboat through the passage of the reef and once the boys thought they were going to ship a good deal of water. But the two men who were rowing knew their business and brought them into the horseshoe harbor without mishap. They helped the lads to land, on a small sandy strip close to some palms, and then started back to the steam yacht.

"Treasure Isle at last!" cried Dick, when they were left alone. "So far our quest has been successful. Now to locate the cave and unearth that treasure!"

"And may it prove to be worth all that has been said of it," added Sam



CHAPTER XX

THE BOYS MAKE A DISCOVERY

The boys had landed at a spot that was particularly inviting in appearance, and they stopped for several minutes to take in the natural beauty surrounding them. There were tall and stately palms, backed up by other trees, trailing vines of great length, and numerous gorgeous flowers. A sweet scent filled the air, and from the woods in the center of the isle came the song of tropical birds.

"What a fine camping place!" murmured Sam. "A fellow could spend several weeks here and have lots of fun, bathing and boating, and hunting birds, and fishing," and his brothers agreed with him.

Yet the beauty of Treasure Isle was soon forgotten in their anxiety to locate the cave. They had a general idea that it was in the center of the horseshoe curve, and that center was quite a distance from where they had been brought ashore.

"The best we can do is to tramp along the water's edge," said Dick. "Then when we reach the center we can go inland."

"We haven't over an hour," replied his youngest brother. "By that time it will be too dark to do much more. And we'll have to find some suitable place to camp for the night."

"Oh, we can camp anywhere," cried Tom. "It's good enough—just for one night."

They began to trudge along the edge of the horseshoe curve, over smooth sand. But this did not last, and presently they came to a muddy flat and went down to their ankles. Dick was ahead and he cried to the others.

"Stop! It's not fit to walk here!"

"Why, it's like a bog!" declared Sam, after testing it.

"We'll have to go inland a distance," said Tom. "Come on," and he turned back and struck out for the palms and bushes beyond.

It was then that the Rover boys began to realize what was before them. Scarcely had they penetrated the interior for fifty yards when they found themselves in a perfect network of trailing vines. Then, after having pulled and cut their way through for fifty yards more, they came to a spot that was rocky and covered with a tangle of thorny bushes.

"Wow!" ejaculated Tom, after scratching his hand and his leg. "This is something prime, I must confess!"

"What I call hunting a treasure with a vengeance," added Dick, dryly.

"I move we go back," came from Sam. "We seem to be stuck in more ways than one."

"Perhaps it is better traveling just beyond," declared Dick. "I am not going to turn back just yet anyway."

He took the lead, breaking down the thorny bushes as best he could, and Sam and Tom followed closely in his footsteps. It was rather dark among the bushes and almost before the three knew it they had fallen headlong into a hollow.

"Well, I never!"

"This is coming down in a hurry!"

"Is this the treasure cave?"

Such were the exclamations of the three lads as they picked themselves up out of the dirt, which, fortunately for them, was soft and yielding. Nobody had been hurt, for which they were thankful.

The hollow was about fifty feet in diameter and half that depth in the center. On the opposite side were more bushes and rocks, and then a thicket of tall trees of a variety that was strange to them.

"This is what I call hard work," observed Tom, as they began to fight their way along again. "I don't know but what we would have done as well to have waited until morning."

"Don't croak, Tom," said Sam.

"Oh, I am not croaking, but this is no fun, let me tell you that."

All of the boys were panting from their exertions, and soon they had to call a halt to get their breath. It was now growing dark rapidly, for in the tropics there is little of what we know as twilight.

"We certainly can't do much more in this darkness," said Dick at last. "I must confess I thought walking in the direction of the cave would be an easy matter."

"Well, what's to do next?" questioned Sam, gazing around in perplexity.

This was no easy question to answer. As if by magic darkness had settled all around them, shutting out the sight of objects less than a hundred yards away. To go forward was all but impossible, and whether or not they could get back to where they had come from was a serious problem.

"If we can't get back we'll have to camp right here," said Dick.

But they did not want to stay in such a thicket and so they pushed on a little further, until they reached a slight rise of ground. Then Dick, who was in advance as before, uttered a cry of surprise:

"A trail! I wonder where it leads to?"

He was right, a well defined trail or footpath lay before them, running between the brushwood and palms and around the rocks. It did not look as if it had been used lately, but it was tolerably clear of any growth.

This was something the Rover boys had not counted on, for Bahama Bill had never spoken of any trail in his descriptions of the isle. They gazed at the path with curiosity. Tom was the first to speak.

"Shall we follow it?" he asked.

"Might as well," answered Sam. "It's better than scratching yourself and tearing your clothing in those thorn bushes."

The boys took to the trail and passed along for a distance of quarter of a mile or more. It wound in and out around the rocks and trees and had evidently been made by some natives bringing out wild fruits and the like from the forest.

"It doesn't seem to be leading us to anywhere," was Dick's comment. "I don't know whether to go on or not."

Nevertheless, they kept on, until they came to a sharp turn around a series of rocks. As they, moved ahead they suddenly saw a glare of light cross the rocks and then disappear.

"What was that?" asked Sam, somewhat startled.

"A light," answered Dick.

"I know. But where did it come from?"

"It was like the flash of a bicycle gas lamp," said Tom.

"There are no bicycles on this trail," said Dick.

"I know that, too, Dick. But it was like that kind of a lamp."

Just then the flash of light reappeared, and now they saw it came from a point on the trail ahead of them. They listened intently and heard somebody approaching.

"Several men are coming!" whispered Dick.

"Not from our yacht?" said Tom.

"I don't think so."

"Can they be from the Josephine?" asked Sam.

"That remains to be seen."

"If they are from the Josephine what shall we do?"

"I think the best thing we can do is to keep out of sight and watch them."

"But they may locate the cave and take the treasure away," said Tom.

"We have got to run that risk unless we want to fight them."

"Oh, if only we could get our crowd here to help us!" murmured Sam.

"We may be mistaken and they may be strangers to us. Come, let us hide."

Losing no time, the three Rover boys stepped into the bushes beside the trail. As they did so the other party came closer, and the lads saw that they carried not only an acetylene gas lamp, but also a ship's lantern and several other things. The party was made up of Sid Merrick, Tad Sobber, Cuffer and Shelley.

"It's mighty rough walking here," they heard Tad Sobber complain. "I've got a thorn right through my shoe. Wait till I pull it out, will you?" And he came to a halt not over ten yards from where the Rover boys were hidden.

"You didn't have to come, Tad," said his uncle, somewhat harshly. "I told you to suit yourself."

"Oh, I want to see that treasure cave as well as you do," answered Sobber.

"I'd like to know if this is the right trail or not," came from Shelley. "You ought to have brought that Spaniard along, to make sure."

"Doranez is no good!" growled Sid Merrick who was by no means in the best of humor. "He likes his bottle too well. If he would only keep sober it would be different."

"Why don't you take his liquor from him?" asked Cuffer. "I'd do it quick enough if I was running this thing."

"He says he won't tell us a thing more if we cut off his grog. He is getting mighty ugly."

"Maybe he wants to sell out to those Rovers," suggested Shelley.

"He wouldn't dare to do that—I know too much about him," answered Sid Merrick. "No, it's because he wants too big a share of the treasure."

"Do you suppose the fellows on the steam yacht have landed here yet?" asked Tad, as he prepared to go on.

"I don't know. They are laying to outside of the reef. I reckon they don't know anything of the landing on the other side of the island," answered his uncle. "Come on, we haven't any time to waste if we want to head them off. I didn't dream they'd get here so quickly."

"I guess that fellow Wingate was no good," came from Cuffer. "He didn't delay the steam yacht in the least."

"Maybe he got caught at his funny work," suggested Shelley, hitting the nail directly on the head, as the reader already knows.

Casting the light of the acetylene gas lamp ahead of them, the party from the Josephine moved on, directly past the spot where the Rovers were in hiding. The boys hardly dared to breathe for fear of discovery. They stood stock still until the others were all but out of sight.

"This is interesting," murmured Tom. "They must have landed on the other side of the island."

"Yes, and Merrick hired that Walt Wingate to play us foul!" cried Sam. "What shall we do next, Dick?" he continued anxiously. "They act as if they expect to get that treasure to night!"

"I don't know what to do exactly," answered Dick. "But one thing is certain—we must follow them up and prevent their getting hold of that treasure if we possibly can!"



CHAPTER XXI

SCARING OFF THE ENEMY

It was easy enough for Dick to say they must follow up their enemies and prevent Sid Merrick and his party from gaining possession of the treasure, but how all this was to be accomplished was another matter.

In the first place, the other party numbered four as against their three. More than this, those from the Josephine were heavily armed, while the Rovers had brought with them nothing but a single pistol. "It's well enough to talk," whispered Sam, after Sid Merrick and his crowd had passed on, "but if we tackle them in the open the chances are we'll get the worst of it."

"We may get a chance at them in some other way," answered Dick. "We have this advantage, we know where they are and they don't know we are on the isle."

With cautious steps they stole after the Merrick party, keeping them in sight by the waving rays of the lamp and lantern ahead, as they danced over the rocks and among the trees and bushes. They kept about a hundred feet to the rear.

"I've got a plan," said Tom, as the party ahead came to a halt to make sure of the trail. "Can't we cut in somewhere and get ahead of them and then scare them back?"

"Let's try it!" exclaimed Sam. "I am sure if we play ghosts, or something like that, we'll scare Tad Sobber out of his wits."

"It's a risky thing to do," mused the eldest Rover. "We might get caught at it."

Nevertheless, he was rather in favor of the plan, and when the Merrick party stopped again, for Cuffer to take a stone out of his shoe, they "cut into" the woods and pushed forward with all speed. It was hard work, but they were in deadly earnest, and did not let the vines and brushwood deter them.

"Now, the question is, How are we to scare them?" said Dick, after they had regained the trail, well in advance of Sid Merrick and his followers.

"Let us play ghosts?" said Sam.

"We might black up and play niggers on the warpath, with big clubs," suggested Tom.

"And get shot down," interrupted Dick. "No, I think the ghosts idea is as good as anything. Quick, take off your coats and tie your handkerchiefs over your faces."

The boys had on light colored outing shirts, and these, with the handkerchiefs over their faces, made them look quite ghostlike in the gloom under the trees.

"Now, when the time comes groan," said Tom "Ghosts always groan, you know."

"And let us order them back," added Sam.

"But be sure to do it in very ghostlike tones," warned Dick. "If our voices sound a bit natural they'll get suspicious at once. If they come for us, or shoot at us, drop behind the rocks and run into the woods."

It must be confessed that the boys were doubtful of the success of their ruse. Yet they felt they must do something to hold the treasure seeking party in check, at least until morning. With the coming of daylight they could signal to the Rainbow and with the aid of those on the steam yacht probably rout the enemy.

The Rover boys advanced along the trail until they reached a spot they deemed favorable for their purpose. Then Dick gave his brothers a few more directions.

Presently they saw the rays of the gas lamp and the lantern in the distance. At once Tom set up a deep groaning and Sam and Dick joined in.

"What's that?" asked Shelley, who was the first to hear the sounds.

"Sounds like somebody in distress," answered Sid Merrick.

"Thought you said there was nobody on this island?" came from Cuffer.

"Didn't think there was. Maybe it's some native who—"

"Look! look!" screamed Tad Sobber and pointed ahead with his hand. "What's that?"

"What's what?" asked the men in concert.

"There—that thing bobbing up and down over the rocks?" And Tad Sobber trembled as he spoke. This lonely walk through the darkness of the forest had somewhat unnerved him.

"That's strange," muttered Merrick. "It's groaning!"

"It's a ghost!" screamed Tad, and shrank back, as did Cuffer and Shelley.

"A ghost?" repeated Sid Merrick. "Nonsense! There are no such things as ghosts."

"It cer-certainly looks like a-a ghost!" faltered Cuffer.

"It is a ghost!" said Tad, his teeth beginning to chatter. "I-I ca-can hear it gro-groan! Come on ba-ba-back!" And he began to retreat.

"Back with you!" came in solemn tones. "Back with you!"

"No white man must come here," said a second voice. "This is sacred ground!"

"He who sets foot here dies!" came from a third voice. "This is the burial place of the great Hupa hupa! Back, if you value your life!" And then followed a jabbering nobody could understand, and white arms were waved wildly in the air.

This warning was too much for Tad Sobber, and without further ado he took to his heels and retreated down the trail whence he had come. Cuffer followed him, and Shelley also retreated several yards.

"Stop, you fools!" cried Sid Merrick. "Those are no ghosts, I tell you. It's a trick of some kind."

"I—I don't know about that," answered Shelley. "Don't you think it would be better to come here in the daylight? We—er—we can't find that cave in the dark anyway."

"Yes, we can—and I am going to do it, too," was Merrick's answer. "That is a trick, I tell you." He raised his voice: "Who are you?" he called out. "Answer me truthfully, or I'll fire on you!"

This threat alarmed the Rover boys, for they saw that Merrick was in earnest.

"I guess our cake is dough," muttered Tom.

"Wait, I think I can scare him back yet," said Dick. "Let me do the talking."

"I say, who are you?" repeated Merrick. "You needn't pretend to be ghosts, for I don't believe in them."

"We are the owners of this isle," answered Dick, in the heaviest tone he could assume. "We are ten strong, and we order you to go back to your ship at once."

"The owners of this isle?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe it."

"You can do as you please about that. But if you come a yard further we'll fire at you."

"Humph! Then you are armed?"

"We are and we know how to shoot, too."

"What brought you here at such a time as this?"

"We have a special reason for being here, as you may learn by to morrow."

"Do you know anything of a treasure on this island?" went on Sid Merrick curiously.

"We know something of it, yes. It belongs to the Stanhope estate, provided it can be found."

"It doesn't belong to the Stanhopes at all—it belongs to me," cried Merrick.

"In a day or two the Stanhopes are coming here to take possession," went on Dick. "They will bring with them a number of their friends and uncover the treasure, which is now hidden in a secret place. As I and my brothers and cousins own this isle we are to have our share of what is uncovered. Now we warn you again to go away. We are ten to your four, and we are all armed with shotguns and pistols, and we have the drop on you."

"Good for you, Dick, pile it on," whispered Tom. Then he pulled Sam by the arm. "Come on, let us appear from behind another rock—they'll think we are two more of the brothers or cousins!"

"You won't dare to shoot us," blustered Merrick, but his voice had a trace of uncertainty in it.

"Won't we?" answered Dick. "There is a warning for you!" And raising the pistol he carried he sent a shot over the heads of the other party.

"They are shooting at us! We'll all be killed!" yelled Tad Sobber, who had come back during the conversation, and again he and Cuffer took to their heels.

"Mind the warning!" called out Dick, and dropped almost out of sight behind a rock. At that same moment Tom and Sam appeared from behind a rock far to the left.

"Mind that warning!" they cried. "Remember, we are ten to four!"

"There are two more of 'em," cried Shelley.

"Confound the luck, what sort of a game is this anyway?" said Sid Merrick, much chagrined.

"Well, it is more than we expected," answered Shelley. "I, for one, don't care to risk being shot down. I reckon they have the bulge on us, if there really are ten of 'em."

"I've seen but five the three ahead and the two over yonder."

"There are two more!" answered Shelley and pointed to another rock, to which Sam and Tom had just crawled. "That makes seven."

"Go back, I tell you," warned Dick. "We'll give you just two minutes in which to make up your mind. If you don't go back we'll start to shoot!"

"Come on back!" cried Tad, from a safe distance. "Don't let them shoot you, Uncle Sid!"

"We'll go back to our ship," called out Sid Merrick. "But remember, this thing isn't settled yet."

"If you have any differences with the Stanbopes you can settle with the folks on the steam yacht which has just arrived," answered Dick, not knowing what else to say.

The party under Sid Merrick began to retreat, and Dick, Tom and Sam watched them with interest, until the lights faded in the distance. Then Tom did a jig in his delight.

"That was easier than I expected," he said.

"Even if we didn't scare them playing ghost," added Sam. "I wonder if they really thought we were ten in number?"

"Well, they thought we were seven anyway!" answered Dick. "It was a clever ruse you two played."

What to do next the Rover boys did not know. It was impossible for any of them to calculate how far they were from the spot where they had landed or to determine the best way of getting back to Foreshow Bay, as they had named the locality.

"If we move around very much in this darkness we may become hopelessly lost in the forest," said Dick.

"Maybe we had better stay right where we are until morning," suggested his youngest brother.

"I'm agreeable to anything," were Tom's words.

"If we stay here we want to remain on guard," said Dick. "Merrick may take it into his head to come back."

An hour later found the three Rover boys encamped in a small opening to one side of the forest trail. They made beds for themselves of some soft brushwood, and it was decided that one should remain on guard while the other two slept.

"Each can take three hours of guard duty," said Dick. "That will see us through the night nicely," and so it was arranged.



CHAPTER XXII

PRISONERS IN THE FOREST

Dick was the first to go on guard and during the initial hour of his vigil practically nothing came to disturb him. He heard the occasional cry of the nightbirds and the booming of the surf on the reefs and the shore of the isle, and saw numerous fireflies flit to and fro, and that was all.

"I don't believe they'll come back," he murmured to himself. "Like as not they are afraid to advance on the trail and also afraid to trust themselves to this jungle in the darkness."

Dick had found some wild fruit growing close at hand and he began to sample this. But it was bitter, and he feared to eat much, thinking it might make him sick. Then, to keep awake, for he felt sleepy because of his long tramp, he took out his knife and began to cut his initials on a stately palm growing beside the temporary camp.

Dick had just finished one letter and was starting the next when of a sudden he found himself caught from behind. His arms were pinned to his side, his pistol wrenched from his grasp, and a hand that was not overly clean was clapped over his mouth.

"Not a sound, Rover, if you know when you are well off!" said a voice into his ear.

Despite this warning the lad would have yelled to his brothers, but he found this impossible. He had been attacked by Merrick and Shelley, and Cuffer stood nearby, ready with a stick, to crack him over the head should he show fight. The attack had come in the dark, the gas lamp and the lantern, having been extinguished when the party from the Josephine drew close.

Merrick had prepared himself for his nefarious work, and in a twinkling he had Dick's hands bound behind him and had a gag placed in the youth's mouth. Then he had the lad bound fast to a nearby tree.

In the meantime Tom and Sam were sleeping soundly. The two brothers lay each with a hand close to the other, and with caution Merrick and his party tied the two hands together. Then they tied the lads' feet, so that they could not run.

"What's the meaning of this?" cried Tom, struggling to rise, as did Sam.

"It means you are prisoners!" cried Tad Sobber, who had had small part in the operations, but who was ready to do all the "crowing" possible.

"Prisoners!" gasped Sam. "Where is Dick?" he added.

"Also a prisoner," said Tad, with a chuckle. "You thought you had fooled us nicely, but I guess we have turned the tables on you."

"I suspected you Rovers," said Sid Merrick.

"Really!" answered Tom, sarcastically. "You acted it!"

"See here, don't you get funny, young man. Please remember you are in our power."

"And we'll do some shooting, if we have to," added Tad, bombastically.

"Tad, I guess I can do the talking for this crowd," said his uncle.

"You were afraid of the ghosts, Tad," said Sam. "You must have run about a mile!" And the youngest Rover grinned in spite of the predicament he was in.

"You shut up I." roared Tad Sobber, and exhibited some of the brutality that had made him so hated at Putnam Hall by raising his foot and kicking Sam in the side.

"Stop!" cried the youngest Rover, in pain. "What a brute you are!"

"Leave my brother alone!" came from Tom.

"A fine coward you are, to kick him when he is a prisoner! You wouldn't dare to try it if he was free."

"I wouldn't, eh? I want you to understand I'm not afraid of anybody," blustered Tad. "I am—"

"Tad, be quiet," cried his uncle. "I am fully capable of managing this affair. Don't kick him again."

"Yes, but look here, Uncle Sid, they—"

"I will take care of things," cried Sid Merrick, and so sharply that his nephew at once subsided. But on the sly he shook his fist at both Tom and Sam.

"Maybe we had better make sure that nobody else is around," suggested Shelley, who had been Merrick's best aide in the capture.

"All right, look around if you want to," was Merrick's reply. "I am pretty certain these boys are alone here—although more persons from the steam yacht may be ashore."

They looked around, but, of course, found nobody else. Then Dick, Tom and Sam were tied in a row to three trees which were handy. Merrick took possession of their single weapon.

"I don't want you to hurt yourselves with it," he said, grimly.

"Merrick, this is a high handed proceeding," said Dick, when the gag was removed from his mouth.

"No more so than was your statement of owning the isle," was the answer.

"What are you going to do with us?"

"Nothing."

"I must say I don't understand you."

"What should I do with you? I don't enjoy your company. I am here solely to get that treasure, as you must know. I am going after that and leave you where you are."

"Bound to these trees?"

"Certainly."

"Supposing we can't get loose?" remonstrated Tom. "We may starve to death!"

"That will be your lookout. But I reckon you'll get loose sooner or later, although we've bound you pretty tight."

"Can I have a drink before you go?" asked Sam, who was dry.

"Don't give 'em a drop, Uncle Sid!" cried Tad. "They don't deserve it."

"Oh, they can have a drink," said Sid Merrick. "I'd give a drink even to a dog," he added, and passed around some water the boys had in a bottle.

Less than fifteen minutes later the three Rover boys found themselves alone in the forest. The Merrick party had lit their acetylene gas lamp and the lantern and struck out once more along the trail which they supposed would take them to the treasure cave. The boys heard them for a short distance, and then all became dark and silent around them.

"Well, now we are in a pickle and no mistake," remarked Sam, with a long sigh.

"That ghost business proved a boomerang," was Tom's comment. "It's a pity we didn't dig out for the shore, signal to the steam yacht, and tell father and the others about what was going on."

"There is no use crying over spilt milk," said Dick. "The first thing to do is to get free."

"Yes, and that's real easy," sniffed Tom. "I am bound up like a bale of hay to be shipped to the South Pole!"

"And the cord on my wrists is cutting right into the flesh," said Sam.

"If we were the heroes of a dime novel we'd shoo these ropes away in a jiffy," went on Tom, with a grin his brothers could not see. "But being plain, everyday American boys I'm afraid we'll have to stay tied up until somebody comes to cut us loose."

"Oh, for a faithful dog!" sighed Sam. "I saw a moving picture once in which a dog came and untied a girl who was fastened to a tree. I'd give as much as five dollars for that dog right now."

"Make it six and a half, Sam, and I'll go half," answered Tom.

"Well, this is no joke," declared Dick, almost severely. "We must get free somehow—or they'll get that treasure and be off with it before father and the others have a chance to land. We've got to do something."

They all agreed they "had to do something," but what that something was to be was not clear. They worked over their bonds until their wrists were cut and bleeding and then gave the task up. It was so dark they could see each other but dimly, and the darkness and quietness made them anything but lighthearted.

"Supposing some wild beast comes to chew us up," said Sam, presently, after a silence that was positively painful.

"We know there are no big beasts on these islands," answered Dick. "Don't worry yourself unnecessarily, Sam. We've got troubles enough as it is."

"The only beasts here are human beasts," said Tom, "and their names are Merrick, Sobber, Cuffer and Shelley," and he said this so dryly his brothers had to laugh.

Slowly the night wore away, each hour dragging more than that which preceded it. Two or three times the boys tried again to liberate themselves, but fared no better than before, indeed, Dick fared worse, for he came close to spraining his left wrist. The pain for a while was intense and it was all he could do to keep from crying out.

"I'd like to know what time it is," said Sam, when the first streak of dawn began to show among the trees.

"And I'd like to know if Merrick has found the treasure cave," added Dick.

"It will soon be morning," came from Tom, and he was right. The rising sun did not penetrate to where they stood, but it tipped the tops of the trees with gold and made it light enough for them to see each other quite plainly.

The boys were glad that day had come at last, for being prisoners in the light was not half as bad as in the dark. Each looked at the others rather curiously.

"Well, we are still here," said Tom laconically.

"Yes, and liable to stay here," added Sam.

"I wonder if father is getting ready to land," said Dick. "I suppose if he does he will come ashore where we did."

"Yes, but that is a good distance from here," was Sam's comment.

"Wonder if it would do us any good to yell?" said Tom.

"And bring Merrick and his gang down on us," said his younger brother. "No, thank you."

"I don't believe they are around," said Dick. "I am going to try my lungs." And he began to yell with all the power of his vocal organs. Then Tom and Sam joined in, and they kept this up, off and on, for fully an hour.

"I am not only dry but hungry," said Tom. "Wish I had that lunch we brought along."

"Tad Sobber sneaked that away," said Dick. "If ever there was a fellow with a heart of stone he's the chap. Why, Dan Baxter in his worst days wasn't as bad as this young rascal."

Another hour went by and then Dick uttered an exclamation:

"Listen!"

"What did you hear?" asked his brothers.

"I thought I heard somebody calling!"

They strained their ears and from a great distance heard a cry, but what it was they could not make out.

"Let's call back," said Dick.

"It may do us harm," interposed Sam.

"We'll take the chance," said Tom, and started a loud cry, in which all joined. They waited patiently for an answer to come back. But for several minutes there was absolute silence. Then, to their surprise, a pistol shot sounded out.

"Hullo!" ejaculated Dick. "Something is up, I wonder what it is?"



CHAPTER XXIII

WHAT WINGATE HAD TO TELL

After the departure of the Rover boys from the steam yacht Mr. Rover and Captain Barforth held a consultation, and it was decided that the search for the treasure cave should begin in earnest at daybreak.

"I do not think the boys will locate the cave in the coming darkness," said Anderson Rover. "But still it will do no harm to let them have a try at it."

"Mr. Rover, do you suppose those on board the Josephine have landed yet?" asked Fred, who was present.

"There is no telling for certain, Fred. But I should say not, since their steamer is nowhere in sight."

"I hope they do not come for some days," said Mrs. Stanhope. "For if they do, and you meet, I feel sure there will be serious trouble."

After that Anderson Rover had a long talk with Bahama Bill, and the old tar said he thought he could locate the cave without much trouble.

"0' course, the isle has changed since I was here last," said he. "Must have had a hurricane or something like that, to wash the beach and rake down some o' the trees. But I think I can find it as soon as I locate the trail leadin' that way. You know trails are great things. Why, when I was sailing on the Jessie D., from the South Sea Islands, we landed on a place where there was a trail running to a volcano. We took to it, and the first thing we know we went down into that ere volcano about a thousand feet. It made my hair stand on end, I can tell ye! Four o' us went down, an' the others had to git ropes an' haul us up ag'in, an' it took half a day to do it."

"Vos you hurted much?" asked Hans.

"Not a scratch, my hearty, only it broke my pipe, one my brother gave me afore I sailed, an' one I wouldn't have taken a month's pay for," concluded Bahama Bill.

An hour later Songbird, who was on the deck of the steam yacht, composing poetry in the darkness of the night, saw the old tar coming toward him. Bahama Bill was groaning deeply.

"What's the matter?" asked the would be post.

"Oh, I'm a burnin' up on my inside!" answered the old tar, and gave a deep groan. "I want a doctor, I do!"

Seeing Bahama Bill was really sick, Songbird went to his assistance and called Mr. Rover. Then Captain Barforth was consulted and he gave the man some medicine.

"It's queer I took sick so quick," said Bahama Bill, an hour later, when he felt better.

"What did you eat and drink?" asked Anderson Rover.

"I ate a tongue sandwich—one o' them was handed around awhile ago. I put it in my bunk room when I got it and ate it on going to bed. It made me sick the minit I downed it."

"I ate one of those sandwiches and it didn't hurt me," said Fred.

"Yah, and I vos eat two of dem," put in Hans. "Da vos goot, doo!" and he smacked his lips.

"Perhaps you ate something earlier in the day that didn't agree with you," said Captain Barforth; and there the talk ended, and Bahama Bill retired once more.

Less than an hour later came a commotion on the steam yacht. Two men were evidently fighting and the voice of Bahama Bill was heard.

"I've caught ye!" he bellowed. "No, ye ain't goin' to git away nuther!" And then came a crash as some article of furniture was tipped over.

A rush was made by Mr. Rover, the boys and several others, and to the astonishment of all Bahama Bill was discovered on the deck locked arm in arm with Walt Wingate, who was doing his best to break away.

"Wingate, you rascal!" shouted Anderson Rover, and caught the deck hand by the collar.

"Let me go!" yelled the fellow, and struggled to free himself. He held a pistol in one hand and this went off, but the bullet merely cut the air. Then the weapon was taken from him.

"So you are still on board, eh?" roared Captain Barforth, when he confronted the man. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"I—er—I haven't done anything wrong," was Wingate's stubborn reply.

"Oh, no, of course not!"

"He came at me in my sleep," cried Bahama Bill. "He had something in a little white paper and he was trying to put it into my mouth when I woke up an' caught him. I think he was going to poison me!" And he leaped forward and caught the prisoner by the throat.

"Le—let up!" gasped the deck hand. "It—it's all a mis— mistake! I wasn't going to poi—poison anybody."

"Maybe he vos poison does sandwiches, doo," suggested Hans. "I mean dose dot made Bahama Pill sick."

"Like as not he did," growled the old tar. "He's a bad one, he is!" And he shook the deck hand as a dog shakes a rat.

"He is surely in league with Sid Merrick," said Anderson Rover. He faced Wait Wingate sternly. "Do you dare deny it?"

At first Wingate did deny it, but when threatened with severe punishment unless he told the whole truth, he confessed.

"I used to know Sid Merrick years ago," he said. "He used me for a tool, he did. When we met at Nassau he told me what he wanted done and I agreed to do it, for some money he gave me and for more that he promised me."

"And what did you agree to do?" asked Anderson Rover.

"I agreed to get a job as a deck hand if I could and then, on the sly, cripple the yacht so she couldn't reach Treasure Isle as quick as the Josephine—the steamer Merrick is on. Then I also promised to make Bahama Bill sick if possible, so he couldn't go ashore and show you where the cave was. I wasn't going to poison him. The stuff I used was given to me by Merrick, who bought it at a drug store in Nausau. He said it would make Bahama Bill sleepy dopy, he called it."

"Did he tell you what the stuff was?"

"No."

"Then it may be poison after all," said Captain Barforth. "You took a big risk in using it, not to say anything about the villainy of using anything."

"Oh, jest let me git at him, cap'n!" came from Bahama Bill, who was being held back by Fred and Songbird. "I'll show him wot I think o' sech a measly scoundrel!" And he shook his brawny fist at the prisoner.

"I'm sorry now I had anything to do with Merrick," went on Walt Wingate. "He always did lead me around by the nose."

"Well, he has led many others that way," answered Anderson Rover, remembering the freight robbers.

"I am willing to do anything I can to make matters right," went on Wingate.

"0' course you are, now you're caught," sneered Bahama Bill.

"Can you tell us if the Josephine was coming to this spot?" asked Captain Barforth.

"Is this the south side of the isle?"

"Yes."

"Well, Captain Sackwell said he knew of a landing place on the north side of Treasure Isle, and he was bound for that spot."

"The north side!" cried Anderson Rover. He looked at Captain Barforth. "Can they have tricked us?" he asked.

"I never heard o' any landing on that side," said Bahama Bill. "But then I never visited the place but onct, as I told ye afore."

"Did the Spaniard Doranez know of the landing on the north side?" questioned Songbird.

"So he told Merrick," answered Wingate. "He said he was the one to speak of the isle first, for he had visited it half a dozen times during his voyages among the West Indies."

"Then they may be on the north side of the island now!" cried Fred.

After that Walt Wingate was questioned closely and he told all he knew about Merrick and his plans. He was very humble, and insisted upon it that he had meant to do no more than put Bahama Bill into a sound sleep.

"Well, you are a dangerous character," said Captain Barforth. "For the present I am going to keep you a prisoner," and a few minutes later he had Wingate handcuffed and placed under lock and key in a small storeroom. The deck hand did not like this, but he was thankful to escape a worse fate.

Anxious to know if the Josephine was anywhere in the vicinity of the isle, some of those on board the Rainbow ascended one of the masts and attempted to look across the land. But a hill shut off the view.

"We'll have to wait until morning," said Mr. Rover, and was about to go down to the deck when something attracted his attention. It was a strange shaft of light shooting up from along the trees in the center of Treasure Isle.

"A searchlight!" he cried. "Somebody is on shore, and it must be Merrick with his crowd." And this surmise was correct, as we already know.



CHAPTER XXIV

A MISSING LANDMARK

The searchlight was watched with interest for fully quarter of an hour. It was, of course, visible only now and then, but from the shafts of light seen, those on the steam yacht were certain somebody was moving from the north side of the isle to the location of the treasure cave.

"We ought to head them off, if possible," declared Anderson Rover. "Should that be Merrick's crowd and they meet my sons there will surely be trouble!"

"Let us go ashore without delay!" said Songbird, who was sorry he had not accompanied the Rover boys.

"That's what I say!" added Fred. "We can take plenty of lights."

"I vos not von pit sleepy," declared Hans. "I go kvick, of you said so, Mr. Rofer."

"If yo' go, don't forgit Aleck!" pleaded the colored man.

"You shall go, Aleck," answered Mr. Rover, who knew he could depend upon the colored man in any emergency.

"I hope you find Dick, and Tom and Sam," said Dora. "It was foolish for them to go off alone."

"And don't let Merrick hurt anybody," pleaded Nellie.

It was quickly decided that the party to go ashore should be composed of Mr. Rover, Bahama Bill, Aleck, and the three boys. Nearly everybody went armed, and the party carried with them a small electric searchlight, run by a "pocket" battery, and two oil lanterns. They also took with them some provisions, and a pick, a shovel and a crowbar, for Bahama Bill said there might be some digging to do to get at the treasure.

Had it not been for the small searchlight it would have been next to impossible to find the opening through the reef during the night. But the light was all that was needed, and they came through with little more than a shower of spray touching them. Bahama Bill and Mr. Rover rowed the boat and soon brought the craft to a point where they disembarked without difficulty.

"The boys did not land here," said Anderson Rover, after a look along the sandy shore for footprints. "But they must have come in somewhere around here."

"Let's call for them," suggested Songbird, and this was done, but no reply came back.

"They have started on the hunt for the cave, just as I supposed they would," said Mr. Rover.

"Den let us git aftah dem directly," said Aleck. "I feels like I could tramp all night widout half tryin'!"

Tying up the rowboat, and shouldering their tools and provisions, they set off along the shore of Horseshoe Bay, just as the three Rover boys had done. Bahama Bill led the way, with Mr. Rover beside him, carrying the electric light, which gave out fully as much light as did the acetylene gas lamp carried by Merrick.

"Here are some footprints!" cried Mr. Rover, after a short distance had been covered.

"Dem was made by our boys!" cried Aleck, after a minute examination. "I know dem shoes, fo' I has shined 'em many de time!"

"If they walked in that direction they took the wrong course," was Bahama Bill's comment. "Like as not they got turned around among the trees an' in the dark."

"We must locate the party with that strong light we saw from the yacht," said Mr. Rover. "Perhaps in doing that we'll come up to my sons."

Once on shore, the old tar said he remembered the locality well, and he did not hesitate in pushing forward, across the path taken by the three Rover boys, and then to a trail which the Rovers had missed. They had to climb a small hill, and here it was that Bahama Bill showed the first signs of perplexity.

"Queer!" he muttered, coming to a halt and gazing around. "Mighty queer!"

"What is queer?" questioned Anderson Rover.

"This looks changed to me. When I was here afore there was a rock yonder, an' the crowd placed a mark on it fer a guide as I told ye. Ain't no rock there now!" And he scratched his head as if he was afraid he was not seeing aright.

"When you were here was a good many years ago," said Songbird. "The rock may have tumbled down the hill. Let us look around."

This advice was followed, and after a long hunt a rock was found in a hollow. It had a peculiar mark cut upon it.

"That's it!" cried Bahama Bill, in delight. "I knew it must be around here somewhere—but what made that big rock tumble down?"

"Maybe somepody pushed him ofer," said Hans.

"Four men couldn't budge that rock," declared Fred.

"I believe an earthquake must have done it," came from Anderson Rover, and suddenly his face grew grave. "I trust no earthquake has disturbed the treasure cave," he added.

They pushed on, but scarcely had they covered a quarter of a mile when Bahama Bill called another halt. And well he might, for the trail they had been following came to an abrupt end in front of a pit several rods in diameter and twenty to thirty feet deep. The bottom of the pit was choked up with rocks, dead trees and brushwood.

"What now?" asked Mr. Rover, and his tone betrayed his uneasiness.

"This wasn't here afore," said the old tar, briefly. He was so "stumped" he could scarcely speak.

"You are sure?"

"Dead certain."

"Then this isle has undoubtedly been visited by an earthquake within the last few years."

"Thet's it, Mr. Rover."

"Maybe the trail can be picked up on the other side of the hole," came from Fred. "Let us walk around."

He and some of the others started to do so, but soon came to a place where walking became uncertain and dangerous. Song bird went into one hole up to his waist and poor Hans disappeared entirely.

"Hellup! hellup!" roared the German boy. "Bull me owid, somepody!"

Aleck was close at hand, and reaching down into the hole he got hold of Hans' hand. It was a hard pull, but presently Anderson Rover took hold, too, and between him and the colored man they got the German youth to the surface. Hans' face and clothing were covered with dust and dirt and he was scratched in several places,

"I dink I was goin' t'rough to Chiny!" he said. "You pet my life I vos careful after dis vere I valk, yah!"

"The earthquake seems to have left this part of the isle full of pits and holes," said Mr. Rover. "I hope my boys have managed to steer clear of the dangerous places."

They soon found they had to turn back, and now Bahama Bill frankly declared that he was "all at sea," as he put it.

"Every landmark I knew has been swept away," he said. "All I can say is, the cave is in that direction," and he pointed with his hand. "But it may be buried out o' sight now," he added, dismally.

There was nothing to do but to retrace their steps, and this they did as far as they were able.

They had covered about half the distance when they saw a shaft of light shoot around the treetops near them.

"There is that strange light!" cried Songbird.

"Let us find out what it is!" added Fred.

They tried to follow the light and in doing this became hopelessly lost in the jungle. Then one of the boys struck one of the oil lanterns on a rock and smashed it, thus doing away with that much of the illumination they carried.

"We must be careful," said Anderson Rover. "We are making no progress so far as the treasure is concerned. We had better try to find our way back to the shore, and try to find my sons." And this was agreed to by all.

But it was no easy matter to get back to the shore, and an hour later found them in a tangle of undergrowth. Aleck was ahead, accompanied by Fred and Songbird.

"Hark! I heah something!" cried the colored man, presently.

"Somebody is calling!" cried Songbird.

"Maybe it's Dick and the others!" added Fred.

They called in return and then they fired off a pistol. There was a brief silence and then came the call once more.

"Come on, dis way!" yelled Aleck, and plunged through the underbrush with the boys following.

He continued to call and at last made out the voices of Dick, Tom and Sam quite plainly.

"I'se found de boys!" cried the colored man in delight. "I'se found de boys!" And he plunged on again until he gained the clearing where the three lads were tied to the trees. With his pocketknife he cut their bonds.

"Good for you, Aleck!" cried Dick. "I am more than glad to see you!"

"And so am I," added Sam and Tom in a breath.

Then the others came up, and the Rover boys had to tell their story, to which the members of the second party listened with the keenest of interest.



CHAPTER XXV

THE TRAIL THROUGH THE JUNGLE

"Sid Merrick is certainly in deadly earnest," was Mr. Rover's comment, after the boys had finished their tale. "He means to get hold of that treasure by hook or by crook, and he will stop at nothing to gain his end."

"We want to go after him and his gang," said Dick. "We ought not to lose a minute doing it."

"Can you walk, Dick?"

"I guess so, although being tied up made me rather stiff."

"I see your wrist is bleeding."

"Yes, and I tried pretty hard to free myself."

"And I tried, too," added Sam. "But I couldn't budge a single knot."

"We could not unknot the knots," added Tom, who was bound to have his joke.

It was now morning, for which all were thankful. The lights were put out, and the whole party partook of some of the provisions on hand.

"I believe Merrick would have left us to starve," said Sam. "He is the greatest rascal I ever knew!"

The Rover boys pointed out the direction Sid Merrick and his party had taken. Bahama Bill said that trail was new to him, and if it led to the treasure cave he did not know it.

"But I'll know the cave as soon as I see it—if it is still there," he added.

"Well, you won't see it if it isn't there," said Dick, grimly. "That earthquake may have changed the whole face of that portion of the isle."

The trail appeared to make a wide sweep to the westward, and led them over ground that was unusually rough. The trailing vines were everywhere and they had to brush away innumerable spider webs as they progressed. Once Songbird came upon some spiders larger than any he had yet seen and two crawled on his shoulder, causing him to yell in fright.

"What's the matter?" asked Dick.

"Spiders! Two were just going to bite me, but I got rid of 'em!"

"Don't be afraid, Songbird," came from Tom. "Why don't you study them and write a poem about them?"

"A poem about spiders! Ugh!" And Songbird's face showed his disgust.

"Der spider vos a pusy little animal," observed Hans. "He sphins his veb und attends strictly to business. I dink I make up some boetry apout him," and the German boy began:

"Der vos von lettle sphider Vot lifed owid in der voot, He made himself a leetle veb Und said dot it vos goot."

"Hurrah, for Hans!" cried Tom. "He's the true poet of spiderdom!" and then he added: "Hans, we'll crown you poet laureate if you say so."

"I ton't von no crown," answered Hans, complacently. "I chust so vell vear mine cap alretty."

As the party progressed the way become more uncertain, and at last they reached the edge of a swamp, beyond which was some kind of a canebrake. They saw numerous footprints in the soft soil, and these led further still to the westward.

"Listen!" said Dick, presently, and held up his hand.

All did as requested and from a distance heard somebody calling to somebody else. Then came a reply in Sid Merrick's voice.

"Merrick is talking to Shelley," said Dick. "They have lost the right trail, too."

"Hang the luck!" they heard Shelley say.

"No path at all?"

"None," answered Sid Merrick.

"There is no path here either—it's a regular jungle," came from Cuffer, who was not far off.

"I'm all stuck up with the thorns," put in Tad Sobber. "I think we were foolish to come to such a spot as this."

"You can go back if you want to," answered his uncle, who was evidently out of patience. "Nobody is keeping you."

"I am not going back alone—I couldn't find the way," answered Tad.

"Then don't growl."

"I reckon we'll all have to go back and wait till that Spaniard can show us the way," said Shelley.

"That's well enough to say, Shelley. But supposing those Rovers come here in the meantime?"

"Those boys?"

"Yes, and their father, and the others on that steam yacht," went on Sid Merrick earnestly.

"They can't find the cave any quicker than we can—if Wingate did as he promised."

"But if he didn't? He's a good deal of a coward and perhaps he didn't have the nerve to dose Bahama Bill."

More talk followed, but as the men were now moving in another direction the Rovers and their companions made out little more of the conversation.

"What shall we do, confront them?" asked Sam of his parent.

"Not if they are going back to their ship," answered Mr. Rover. "We can watch them and see what they do."

At the end of half an hour they saw that the Merrick party had started for the north side of the isle. They waited in silence until all were well out of hearing.

"I am glad we are rid of them—at least for the time being," said Anderson Rover. "Now we can continue the treasure hunt in peace."

"But dem fellers will be suah to come back," interposed Aleck.

"I know that, Aleck, but they won't come back right away. Evidently they are returning to their vessel to get that Spaniard, Doranez."

"I'd like to have punched Merrick's head for tying me up," growled Tom.

"It will be punishment enough for him if we get the treasure," answered Mr. Rover.

"If we do."

"You are not ready to give up yet, are you, Tom?"

"Oh, no. But finding that treasure isn't going to be as easy as I thought."

"We ought to be able to find some trace of the cave pretty soon—the isle is so small. If the isle was large it would be a different matter."

They decided to advance, some of the party skirting the swamp in one direction and some in another. It was difficult work and they did not wonder that Merrick and his party had given up in disgust. Occasionally they had to wade in water up to their ankles and then climb through brushwood that was all but impassible. They tore their clothing more than once, and scratches were numerous.

The sun had been shining brightly, but now, as if to add to their misery, it went under some heavy clouds, casting a deep gloom over the jungle.

"We are goin' to have a storm," said Bahama Bill. "An' when it comes I reckon it will be a lively one. I remember onct, when I was on the island o' Cuby, we got a hurricane that come Putty nigh to sweepin' everything off the place. It took one tree up jest whar I was standin' an' carried it 'bout half a mile out into the ocean. Thet tree struck the foremast o' a brig at anchor an' cut it off clean as a whistle. Some o' the sailors thought the end o' the world was comin'."

"They certainly do have some heavy hurricanes down here," remarked Anderson Rover. "But let us hope we'll escape all such, even though we get a wetting," he added, as he felt a few drops of rain.

Soon it was raining steadily, and when they reached a spot clear of trees they got soaked to the skin. But as it was very warm they did not mind this.

"It's like taking a bath without troubling about undressing," said Tom, and this remark caused a smile.

They were now in a bunch once more, with Bahama Bill leading them. The old tar was looking sharply ahead and soon he gave a grunt of satisfaction.

"What is it?" asked Anderson Rover eagerly. "I know where I am now," was the reply.

"And unless that earthquake knocked it skyhigh thet cave ought to be right ahead o' us!"



CHAPTER XXVI

A DISMAYING DISCOVERY

The announcement that the treasure cave must be just ahead of them filled the entire party with renewed energy, and regardless of the rain, which was now coming down heavily, they pushed on behind Bahama Bill in a close bunch, each eager to be the first to behold the sought for spot.

There was no longer any trail, and they had to pick their way over rough rocks and through brushwood and vines which were thick regardless of the fact that they had little or no rooting places.

"I guess we've got to earn that treasure if we get it," said Sam, as he paused to get his breath.

"It certainly looks that way," answered Dick, as he wiped the rain and perspiration from his face. "I wonder how much further we have to go?"

That question was answered almost immediately, for Bahama Bill, turning the corner of several extra large rocks, came to a halt with a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"Well, what now?" questioned Anderson Rover.

"It's gone!"

"What, the cave?" asked several.

"Yes—she's gone, swallowed up, busted!" answered the old tar. "Thet air earthquake done it an' no error," he went on. "It jest shook thet pile o' rock wot made the cave into a heap, and there's the heap."

Bahama Bill pointed in front of him, where a large quantity of rocks lay in a scattered mass, many of them ten and twenty tons in weight. At one point was what he said had been the entrance to the cave, but this was completely blocked by the stones.

"Vot's der madder, can't ve get in?" queried Hans, with a look of real concern on his honest face.

"That doesn't look like it," answered Fred. "Too bad, and after coming so far for this treasure, too!"

"We must get in there somehow!" cried Dick.

"Why can't we blow up the rocks with dynamite," suggested Tom.

"We can—but it will take time," said his father. He turned to Bahama Bill. "About how far into the cave was the treasure placed?"

"Oh, at least a hundred feet maybe two hundred."

Anderson Rover heaved a deep sigh, which was echoed by his sons. To get down into that mass of rocks a distance of from one to two hundred feet would surely be a herculean task, if not an impossible one. And then, too, there was a question whether or not the treasure had not dropped down through some hole in the bottom of the cave after the earthquake.

"I'll have to think this over," said Anderson Rover, after an examination of the rocks. "We'll have to try to locate the treasure and then see if we can raise enough dynamite to blow the rocks away. More than likely, if we undertake the task, it will take a long time—perhaps weeks and months."

"What, as long as that?" cried Sam, in dismay.

"Well, if the treasure is as valuable as reported it will be worth it," answered Dick.

"But in the meantime, what of Sid Merrick and his gang?" asked Tom. "More than likely they will make us seven kinds of trouble and do their best to get the treasure away from us."

"We shall have to protect ourselves as well at we can," said Mr. Rover.

After that it rained so hard they were forced to seek shelter under a thick bunch of palms. The rain continued for half an hour longer and then the sun came out strongly, and the jungle became steaming hot.

With Bahama Bill to guide them, they walked around what had been the top of the treasure cave. From some landmarks which had not been totally destroyed by the earthquake the old tar felt certain that there could be no mistake and that the treasure must be buried beneath them.

"But how far down you'll have to go to reach it I can't tell," he added. "It's like them ile well diggers—sometimes they strike ile near the top o' the ground, an' then ag'in they have to bore putty deep down. It's my hope ye won't have to roll away more'n two or three rocks to git into the hole an' put your hands on the boxes with the gold and jewels."

"If we only had to roll away two or three rocks I'd be for doing the rolling right now!" cried Tom.

"I'd like to see you roll a rock weighing ten or fifteen tons," observed Songbird. "You'd want about twenty horses to even start it."

Now that the first disappointment was over, the Rovers began to consider getting down into the cave from a purely practical point. They looked over all the big rocks with care, making a note of such as ought to be blasted away and of others that could be removed with the aid of a rope and pulleys.

"Let us see if we cannot gain the shore of the bay in a straight line from here," said Mr. Rover, after the examination of the ground had come to an end. "If we can it will make it so much easier to go back and forth from the steam yacht."

They had a compass with them, and leaving the vicinity of the shattered cave, struck out in a direct line for Horseshoe Bay. Much to their surprise they found an easy path, and came out on the sandy beach almost before they knew it.

"Well, I never!" cried Dick. "If we had known of this before, what a lot of trouble we might have saved ourselves."

"Well, we know it now," answered Tom. "And as we marked the path it will be an easy matter in the future to go back and forth from the cave to the bay."

It took them some time to get their boat, and it was almost nightfall before they reached the steam yacht. It can readily be imagined that the Stanhopes and Lanings awaited their coming with interest.

"What success, Dick?" cried Dora eagerly.

"Not so very much as yet," he answered, soberly, for he hated to disappoint the girl who was so dear to him. And then he told her of all that had happened. She shuddered when she found he had been a prisoner of Sid Merrick and his followers.

"Oh, Dick, I am so thankful you escaped," she cried, with tears in her eyes. "You must not get into such a situation again! Why, the whole treasure isn't worth it."

"But I want to get that money and the jewels for you, Dora."

"Yes, but I don't want money and jewels if—if you are—are going to get hurt," she answered, and her deep eyes looked him through and through.

"I'll be careful after this—but we are going to get the treasure, sure thing," he added, stoutly.

"I was afraid an earthquake might have played pranks with that cave," was Captain Barforth's comment. "An earthquake can shake down the top of a cave quicker than it can shake down anything else. It doesn't take much to do it."

The captain said he had a fair quantity of powder on board, to be used in the cannon for saluting and signalling. If they wanted dynamite, however, he'd have to run over to one of the big islands for it.

"And then we may have trouble getting it," he added. "We'd probably have to buy up the supply of some contractor who happened to have it on hand."

"I don't like to think of leaving the island while Merrick and his crowd are around," answered Anderson Rover.

On the following morning Mr. Rover and Captain Barforth went ashore, taking Dick, Tom and Sam along. The steam yacht was left in charge of Asa Carey, and the mate was told to remain close to the mouth of the reef and to send some of the others ashore armed if there came a signal of distress.

"We have enemies on this isle," said Captain Barforth. "And they may try to do us harm."

"I'll watch out," answered the mate, shortly. And then he turned away with a thoughtful look on his sour countenance. That there was something on his mind was evident.

The small boat was brought ashore at the point where the path led directly to the sunken cave. Although there was a lively breeze blowing, those landing did so without mishap. They had with them some tools for digging, and also a rock drill and some powder.

"It will do no harm to blast one or two of the rocks and see what is underneath," said Anderson Rover. "We may possibly be lucky enough to find some entrance into the cave, although I must confess I doubt it."

When they got to the vicinity of the shattered cave they found everything as they had left it. Even a pick Tom had forgotten remained undisturbed.

"Evidently the Merrick crowd has not yet found its way here," said Dick.

"We shall have to be on our guard when we go to blasting," answered his parent. "For the noise may bring that rascal and his gang here in a hurry."

And then all set to work with vigor to see if by some means they could not get down under the rocks and to the spot where the precious treasure had been deposited so many years before.



CHAPTER XXVII

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE STEAM YACHT

About an hour after the Rovers and Captain Barforth had left the steam yacht Dora came from the forward deck looking much disturbed.

"What is the trouble?" asked her mother.

"Oh, not very much," she answered, for she did not wish to worry her parent. "Where is Fred?"

"I think he is at the stern, fishing with Hans and John."

"I want to see them," continued Dora, and hurried off.

She found the three chums at the stern. They had been fishing for some time and several fish lay on the deck near them.

"Hullo, Dora, want to try your luck?" asked Fred, pleasantly. "I'll fix you a line—and fix lines for Nellie and Grace, too, if they want them."

"I want to tell you boys something," said the girl, in almost a whisper, and not noticing what Fred had proposed. "I-I am afraid something is going to happen."

"What's that?" asked Songbird, and all three youths looked at Dora anxiously.

"I was just up near the bow of the boat, and I overheard Mr. Carey, the mate, talking to Mr. Bossermann, the assistant engineer. You know I don't like those men a bit."

"None of us do," said Fred.

"Didn't ve haf a quarrel mid both of dem," added Hans.

"They were so in earnest that they did not notice me," continued Dora. "I was going to walk away when I saw them, but then I overheard the name of Walt Wingate and I turned back to learn what they were saying about that bad man. It seems both the mate and the assistant engineer have been talking to Wingate, and Wingate has made them an offer."

"Does Wingate want his liberty?" questioned Fred.

"Yes, and he wants more—he wants the mate and the assistant engineer to help him to defeat Mr. Rover's plan to get the treasure. He told Mr. Carey and Mr. Bossermann that if they would aid him he was sure Sid Merrick would reward them handsomely."

"And what did Carey and Bossermann say to that?" asked Songbird eagerly.

"They said they'd like to talk it over with Sid Merrick."

"The scoundrels!" vociferated Fred. "Talk it over with Merrick! We ought to put 'em, both in irons!"

"I wanted to hear more, but they walked away and I was afraid to follow them," continued Dora. "I thought I had better tell you and perhaps you'd know what to do. I didn't want to worry mother or my aunt."

"We ought to let Captain Barforth know of this at once," said Songbird.

"Chust vot I say," said Hans. "Der better der quicker."

"How can you let him know?"

"One of us might row ashore," said Fred. "The others ought to stay behind to watch affairs."

"I'll go ashore," said Songbird promptly.

"You'll have to have one of the sailors row you."

"I know it. I can take Hollbrook, he's a pretty decent sort of chap and I know he can row well."

The fishing lines were wound up, and without delay Songbird presented himself to Asa Carey.

He and the others had agreed to say nothing to the mate about what Dora had over heard.

"Mr. Carey, I wish to go ashore," he said. "Can I have Hollbrook row me to the beach?"

"Go ashore?" growled the mate. "I didn't know anybody else was going."

"Well, I've just made up my mind to go. Can Hollbrook take me in one of the small boats?"

"Why didn't you go when Captain Barforth went?"

"I didn't think of it then."

"I don't know that I can spare Hollbrook," grumbled the mate. He was eyeing Songbird in a suspicious manner.

"He doesn't seem to be doing anything just now."

"Say, who is running this vessel, you or I?" cried Asa Carey.

"Captain Barforth is running her. But she is under charter to Mr. Rover, and Mr. Rover told me to use a small boat whenever I pleased," answered Songbird sharply. "If you refuse to let me have a boat say so."

"Oh, I—er—I didn't say that," stammered the mate. "If you want to go do so. But I don't know if Hollbrook can get you through the reef in safety or not."

"I'll risk it," said Songbird briefly and hurried below to prepare himself for the trip. Fred and Hans met him in his stateroom.

"I think Carey is suspicious," said Songbird. "Keep an eye on him, and if anything goes wrong shoot off the cannon or a gun. I'll do my best to find Mr. Rover and the captain and bring them back as quickly as possible."

In a few minutes Songbird and the sailor were over the side of the Rainbow. Hollbrook could pull a long, telling stroke, and under his guidance the craft soon shot through the opening in the reef and glided safely into the bay.

"I am glad to put foot on shore," said the sailor, as he leaped out on the sand.

"I want you to remain near the boat," said Songbird. "I want to see the captain and it is possible we may want to get back to the steam yacht in a hurry."

"Oh! All right, sir."

"While I am gone watch the Rainbow and if she should steam away any great distance call me."

"Why, I thought orders were for us to remain near the reef," cried Hollbrook.

"So they were, but Mr. Carey is in command now."

Leaving the sailor on the sand, Songbird hurried up the path which the Rovers and Captain Barforth had taken earlier in the day. He had covered less than half the distance to the shattered cave when he heard a shout from the beach. Then, from the water, came the sound of a shotgun.

"Something is wrong already!" he gasped, as he stopped running. "I wonder what it can be?"

He hesitated, not knowing whether to go forward or back. Then he set up a yell on his own accord.

"Captain Barforth! Mr. Rover! This way, quick!" he called at the top of his lungs.

At first no answer came back, but presently he heard Tom's shrill whistle, and then a cry from Sam and Dick. The three Rover boys came down the path pell mell, and their father and the captain were not far behind them.

"What's the trouble?" came simultaneously from Dick and Tom. Sam would have asked the question too, but he was out of breath.

"It's Asa Carey," answered Songbird. And then, as the others came up, he told what Dora had overheard.

"And that shot we heard?" questioned Captain Barforth.

"It told that there was trouble on board, but what I don't know."

"Let us get to the shore," said Dick. He was thinking of Dora and her mother and the Lanings.

As quickly as possible they dashed along to the sandy beach. Hollbrook was still calling for Songbird.

"The yacht is steaming away!" he announced. "She is standing to the eastward."

Captain Barforth gave a look and something like a groan escaped him. The Rainbow was a good mile away from where she had been stationed since reaching Treasure Isle.

"Can it be possible Carey and Bossermann are running away with the vessel?" asked Sam.

"That would be both mutiny and robbery," answered the captain. "I gave orders to Carey to leave her where she was, unless a heavy blow threatened to send her in—then he was to stand off until the blow was over."

"Do you know what I think?" came from Dick. "I think he is going to sail around to the other side of the isle. Probably he has an idea of consulting with Sid Merrick. Then, if Merrick's offer suits him, he will do all he can to prevent us from getting the treasure."

"You mean he and Bossermann will throw in their fortunes with Merrick?" asked Mr. Rover.

"Yes, and as many more on the steam yacht as Carey can win over. I believe Carey is a rascal and Bossermann is no better."

"Yes, but they are only two against over a dozen?" said Captain Barforth.

"No, three, for you must remember they have Wingate with them," put in Tom.

"That is true."

"Can't we get to the yacht somehow?" asked Sam. He was thinking of Grace and the other girls, and wondering what would become of them in case there was a fight on board.

"No, that is out of the question," answered Mr. Rover. "All we can do is to remain on the isle and wait developments. If they land we can fight them, but not before."



CHAPTER XXVIII

A NEW MOVE OF THE ENEMY

"Something is up."

It was Fred who spoke, only a few minutes after Songbird and the sailor in charge of the rowboat had left the side of the steam yacht. He addressed Hans.

"Vot you vos see?" asked the German youth.

"Look!"

Hans looked and beheld Walt Wingate on the deck, in earnest conversation with the mate. The deck hand was not handcuffed as he had been a short while before, when tramping the forward deck for air, by Captain Barforth's permission.

"Carey must haf daken dem handguffs off," said the German youth. "I ton't like dot. Maype dot Vingate make troubles, hey?"

The boys watched, and presently saw Bossermann come up and join the pair. Then Bossermann went below to the engine room. Shortly after this the yacht began to get up steam.

"We're moving!" cried Dora, as she came to the boys, accompanied by Nellie and Grace. "Oh, what does it mean?"

"I don't know," answered Fred.

"Can't you find out, Fred?" asked Nellie. "I am sure the captain said nothing about sailing before he went ashore."

"I'll find out—if the mate will tell me," answered Fred.

He walked over to where the mate stood, close to the wheelhouse, giving directions to the pilot of the Rainbow.

"Mr. Carey, where are we bound?" he asked, respectfully.

"Oh, just going to take a little sail around, to test the engine," was the apparent indifferent answer.

"Is the engine out of order?"

"Not exactly, but I thought it best to test the shaft. The assistant engineer thinks it is weak."

This was apparently a fair enough answer and Fred bowed and walked away. Then he went down the ladder leading to the engine room. He met Frank Norton coming up. There was a look of concern on the head engineer's honest face.

"Mr. Norton, is there anything wrong with the engine or the shaft?" asked Fred.

"Nothing the matter. Why?"

"Mr. Carey said there was, and he is taking a cruise around to test them—so he says."

"I don't understand it, Garrison. Everything 0.K."

"Are you in charge now?"

"No, this is my hour off. Bossermann is in charge. By the way, I see Powell went off after the others."

"Yes, and I wish the others were back," answered Fred. He hesitated a moment. "Mr. Norton, I believe you have been with Captain Barforth a long time and that you and he are old chums."

"That's right."

"Then I can trust you, can't I? It is something which concerns Captain Barforth and this vessel very much."

"Sure you can trust me."

Without hesitation, for he felt sure Norton was both honest and reliable, Fred told his story to the head engineer, who nodded many times during the recital.

"I see it," whispered Norton. "I suspected something was wrong. Carey and Bossermann are in some sort of a plot with this Wingate, who came on board solely to aid that Sid Merrick. I believe Carey is going off to meet Merrick and see if he can make a deal with him."

"That is what I think. How can we thwart him?"

"Better fire that gun, as a signal to those on shore, first of all. Then we'll see what the mate has to say."

Fred needed no urging and soon he brought up a shotgun from the cabin and discharged it—the signal heard by Songbird, as we already know. Scarcely had this been accomplished when Asa Carey rushed down upon him from the pilot house.

"Hi! what did you do that for?" roared the mate, in sudden anger.

"Just for fun," answered Fred, as coolly as he could, although his heart beat rapidly.

"For fun?"

"Yes. Haven't I a right to fire a gun if I want to?"

"I reckon that was some sort of a signal for those on shore."

"And supposing it was, what then, Mr. Carey?" Fred put the question boldly and looked the mate squarely in the eyes as he spoke.

"Why—er—it's most unusual. There was no need of a signal."

"I wanted them to know we were moving, that's all."

"Humph! There was no use of alarming them. We'll be back long before they want to come aboard again."

"In that case I'll have nothing more to say."

"Don't you believe it?"

"I'm bound to believe it, if you say so."

"Don't get impudent, young man!"

"I am not impudent, and you needn't get impudent either!" cried Fred, his anger rising. "You are in command here, but this boat is under charter and just now I represent the man who owns that charter. If you have got to cruise around to test the engine and shaft well and good, but if you are merely cruising around for the fun of it I say go back to where we came from—none of us want to do any cruising today."

At this plain speech the mate grew purple in the face. He raised his hand as if to strike the youth, but just then Aleck came on deck, carrying a pitcher of ice water in his hand.

"Stop dat! Don't yo' go fo' to hit dat boy!" cried the colored man. "If yo' do I'll fling dis watah pitcher at yo' head!"

"You shut up, you rascally nigger!" shouted the mate. "You have nothing to say here!"

"I'se got somet'ing to say if yo' hit Massa Fred," answered Aleck, and held the water pitcher as if ready to launch it at the mate's head.

There was a moment of excitement and several crowded around, but then the mate waved the crowd away.

"I shall report this to Captain Barforth as soon as he comes back," he said, and turning on his heel, he walked off. Fred went down into the cabin, and Aleck followed him. A few minutes later Norton joined the youth and the others, who had gathered to talk the matter over.

"We must be on the watch," said the chief engineer. "I am certain now that Carey is up to some game."

A long discussion followed, but nothing came of it. The steam yacht kept on its way and rounded the eastern point of Treasure Isle. Then it stood to the north westward.

"I hope he knows his course," said Norton, to the boys. "If he doesn't he stands a good chance of running us on some key or reef."

If the boys were excited, the girls and ladies were more so. Nobody knew exactly what to do, and each minute added to the general anxiety.

At last the vessel rounded another point of the isle and came in sight of the sea beyond. There in the distance was a steamer at rest on the waves, and Fred and Hans felt certain she must be the Josephine.

The two vessels were soon close together. As the Rainbow came up to the other craft, Walt Wingate went to the rail and shouted something through a megaphone which the mate loaned him. Immediately came back an answering cry, but the boys did not catch what was said.

"This is going pretty far," said Fred, to Frank Norton. "Don't you think I ought to step in and stop it?"

The chief engineer shrugged his shoulders.

"Carey is really in command and it might be called mutiny to do anything to stop him."

"But supposing he allows Wingate to go to that other ship.

"Well, if Wingate goes we'll be well rid of him."

"Of course that is true, but still—"

Fred did not finish for just then Asa Carey came up.

"I am going to visit that other steamer," he said, to the chief engineer. "I shall take that man Wingate along, and Bossermann is going, too. You can remain right here until I get back."

Norton nodded, but said nothing. The mate looked at Fred as if to say more, but then apparently changed his mind and hurried away. Soon a small boat was over the side and this was manned by the mate, Bossermann, Wingate and a sailor named Ulligan, a fellow noted for his laziness and untrustworthiness. Without delay the small boat set out for the Josephine.

"I don't like this at all," said Fred. "Those fellows mean mischief as sure as you are born!"

"I dink da vos hatch owid somedings mid dot Merrick," said Hans.

"Perhaps they are plotting to gain possession of this yacht," was Dora's comment. "They may bring over a crowd to take possession and make us prisoners!"

"If they try any game like that we'll fight," answered Fred.

"Dat's right!" cried Aleck. "We'll fight, an' fight mighty hard, too!"

"If only the Rovers were here," sighed Dora. "I am sure they would know exactly what to do."

"They may be having their own troubles on land," said Mrs. Stanhope. "Sid Merrick is a very bad man and will do all in his power to get that treasure in his possession."



CHAPTER XXIX

THE HUNT FOR THE TREASURE

With the Rainbow steaming away from Horseshoe Bay, the Rovers and those with them on shore felt that a crisis had been reached. If it was true that Carey, Bossermann and Wingate contemplated joining Sid Merrick there was no telling what the enemy might not accomplish next.

"I have never liked Carey," observed Captain Barforth. "But I did not imagine he would take matters in his own hands in this fashion. I did not think he had the backbone."

"It's the thought of the treasure has done it," answered Anderson Rover. "Many a man's head is turned because of gold."

Those on the shore watched the steam yacht round the eastern point of the isle. Each heart sank as the vessel disappeared from view.

"Well, we can do nothing at present, but hope for the best," observed the captain. "We cannot think of chasing them in the rowboats."

"We might tramp across the isle and see where they go to," suggested Tom. "The Josephine must be over there somewhere."

"Yes, we can do that," answered Mr. Rover. "But it will be a rough journey."

"I have a better idea," came from Dick. "Father has his spyglass with him. Why not ascend that hill back of where the treasure cave is and then get up in the highest tree there? A fellow ought to be able to see all around from that height."

"Hurrah! just the thing!" exclaimed Sam. He did not relish the long tramp through the thorn bushes and tangle of vines.

Dick's idea was acceptable to all, and they set off without further delay. They took the path leading to the shattered cave, and then mounted the small hill Dick had mentioned. Close to the top stood a large tree.

"Let me go up!" exclaimed Tom, who could climb like a cat, and he started without delay.

"Look out that you don't break your neck!" cried his parent.

"I'll be careful," answered the fun-loving youth. "This just suits me!" he added, enthusiastically.

"Can't I go, too?" asked Sam.

"If you are careful," answered Mr. Rover, and up went the lad, right on the heels of his brother. It was rather difficult work getting from limb to limb, for some were wide apart, but the vines, which used the tree as a trellis, aided them greatly. Soon Tom was close to the top and Sam speedily joined him. Then each took his turn at looking through the spyglass.

"I see the Rainbow!" cried Tom. "She is headed for the north side of the isle."

"Yes, and yonder is another vessel," returned Sam, as he pointed the glass in the direction. "That must be the Josephine." And then the two youths shouted the news to those below.

After that the boys watched the progress of the steam yacht with interest, keeping those below informed of all that was going on. They saw the Rainbow draw closer to the other vessel, and saw the small boat leave the steam yacht.