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diff --git a/41896.txt b/41896.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5288714..0000000 --- a/41896.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6833 +0,0 @@ - DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: Dave Fearless and the Cave of Mystery - or, Adrift on the Pacific -Author: Roy Rockwood -Release Date: January 21, 2013 [EBook #41896] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF -MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - - -[Illustration: "LOOK AT THE HIGH CLIFF, CAPTAIN," URGED BOB.--Page 169.] - - - - - DAVE FEARLESS - AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY - - OR - _ADRIFT ON THE PACIFIC_ - - - BY - ROY ROCKWOOD - - Author of "Dave Fearless After a Sunken Treasure," etc. - - - - _ILLUSTRATED_ - - - - NEW YORK - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - - - - - BOOKS FOR BOYS - BY - ROY ROCKWOOD - - - DAVE FEARLESS AFTER A SUNKEN TREASURE - DAVE FEARLESS ON A FLOATING ISLAND - DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY - - - - Copyright 1918 BY - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - - - - PRINTED IN U. S. A. - - - - - CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER - - I. Splendid Fortune - II. Foul Play - III. Mr. Schmitt-Schmitt - IV. A Pair of Schemers - V. Doctor Barrell's "Accident" - VI. The Pilot's Plot - VII. The Mysterious Jar - VIII. Outwitting an Enemy - IX. A Bold Project - X. The Wooded Island - XI. A Race for Life - XII. Overboard - XIII. Adrift on the Pacific - XIV. Strange Companions - XV. A Perilous Cruise - XVI. Landed - XVII. A Remarkable Scene - XVIII. The Outcast's Secret - XIX. A Day of Adventures - XX. On Board the "Swallow" - XXI. The Island Harbor - XXII. The House of Tears - XXIII. Ready for Action - XXIV. In the Royal Palace - XXV. The Captives - XXVI. A Thrilling Adventure - XXVII. The Poisoned Darts - XXVIII. A Wild Ride - XXIX. Found! - XXX. Disaster - XXXI. A Lucky Find - XXXII. Conclusion - - - - - DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY - - - - CHAPTER I - - SPLENDID FORTUNE - - -"It's gone! It's gone!" - -"What is gone, Dave?" - -"The treasure, Bob." - -"But it was on board--in the boxes." - -"No--those boxes are filled with old iron and lead. We have been -tricked, robbed! After all our trouble, hardship, and peril, I fear that -the golden reward we counted on so grandly has slipped from our grasp." - -It was on the deck of the _Swallow_, moored in the harbor of a far-away -Pacific Ocean tropical island, that Dave Fearless spoke. He had just -rushed up from the cabin in a great state of excitement. - -Below loud, anxious, and angry voices sounded. As one after another of -the officers and sailors appeared on the deck, all of them looked pale -and perturbed. - -What might be called a terrific, an overwhelming discovery had just been -made by Captain Paul Broadbeam and by Dave's father, Amos Fearless, the -veteran ocean diver. - -For two weeks, after a hard battle with the sea and its monsters, after -fighting savages and piratical enemies, the beautiful steamer, the -_Swallow_, had plowed through sun-tipped waves, favored by gentle -breezes, homeward-bound. - -Every heart on board had been light and happy. Labeled and sealed on -the sandy floor of the ballast room, lay four boxes believed to contain -over half a million dollars in gold coin. - -Legally this vast treasure belonged to Amos and Dave Fearless, father -and son. To those who had aided and protected them, however, from -Doctor Barrell, on board the _Swallow_ to make deep-sea soundings and -secure specimens of rare marine monsters for the United States -Government, down to Bob Vilett, Dave's chosen chum and the ambitious -young assistant engineer of the vessel, every soul on board knew that -when they reached San Francisco, the generous ocean diver and his son -would make a most liberal division of the splendid fortune they had -fished up in mid-ocean. - -As said, the serenity of these fond hopes was now rudely blasted. Dave, -rushing up on deck quite pale and agitated, had made the announcement -that brought Bob to his feet with a shock. - -They were two sturdy boys. The flavor of the briny deep was manifest in -their bronzed faces, their attire, their clear bright eyes, and sinewy -muscles. They had known hardship and peril such as make men resolute -and brave. Although Dave was deeply distressed, determination rather -than despair was indicated in the way in which he took the bad, bad news -now being conveyed with lightning speed, mostly with depressing effect, -all through the ship. - -Bob Vilett steadied himself against a capstan and stared in silence at -his chum. Dave's hand grasped the bow rail with an iron grip, as if -thereby seeking to relieve his tense feelings. His eyes were directed -away from Bob, away from the ship, fixedly, almost sternly, scanning the -ocean stretch that spread almost inimitably towards the west. It seemed -as if mentally he was going back over the long course they had just -pursued, never dreaming that they were carrying a ballast of worthless -old junk instead of the royal fortune on which they had fondly counted. - -"Well, all I've got to say," observed Bob at length, with a great sigh, -"is that it's pretty tough." - -"I fancy," responded Dave, in a set, thoughtful way, "it's a case of -three times and out. We fished it up--one. We've lost it--two. We must -find it again--three. That's all." - -"You're dreaming!" vociferated Bob. "Say, Dave Fearless, you're a -genius and a worker, but if you mean that there is the least hope in the -world in going back over a course of over a thousand miles hunting up -men with a two weeks' start of us--desperate men, too--scouring a -trackless ocean for fellows who have to hide, and know how to do it, -why, it's--bosh!" - -"Bob Vilett," said Dave, with set lip and unflinching eye, "we are only -boys, but we have tried to act like men, and Captain Broadbeam respects -us for it. We have his confidence. He is old, not much of a thinker, -but brave as a lion and ready for any honest, logical suggestion. -Here's a dilemma, a big one. You and I--young, quick, ardent--we must -think for him. We have been robbed. We must catch the thieves. We -must recover that treasure. Where's the best and surest, and the -quickest way to do it? Put on your thinking-cap, Bob, and try and do -some of the hardest brain work of your life." - -"Hold on--where are you going?" demanded Bob, as his chum went away over -into a remote corner of the bow and sat down on an isolated water -barrel. - -But Dave only waved his hand peremptorily, almost irritably, at Bob. -His chum knew that it would be useless to renew the conversation just -now. He had seen Dave in just such a mood on other occasions--it was -when affairs were going wrong and needed straightening out. - -"All right," murmured Bob resignedly, moving over to where some -glum-faced sailors were discussing the disappointment of the hour in a -group. "It won't hurt any of us to have Dave Fearless do some of that -tall thinking of his. Oh, dear! All that money gone. And after all we -went through to get it!" - -Meanwhile Dave Fearless sat posed like a statue. His gaze was fixed -beyond the little inlet where the _Swallow_ was moored, straight across -the unbroken ocean stretch. His thoughts just then, however, were not -fixed on the west, but rather on the east. A vivid panorama of his -stirring adventures of the past few months seemed spread out to his -mental eye. They went back to the start of what the present moment -seemed to be the finish. - -Dave's home was at Quanatack, along the coast of Long Island Sound. -There for many years his father had been an expert master diver, and -Dave himself, reared beside the sea and loving it, had done service as a -lighthouse assistant. - -In the first volume of the present series, entitled "The Rival Ocean -Divers," it was told how they one day learned that they were direct -heirs of the Washington family, who twenty years previous had acquired a -fortune of nearly a million dollars in China. This, all in gold coin, -had been shipped in the _Happy Hour_ for San Francisco. A storm -overtook the vessel, which sunk in two miles of water in mid-ocean with -the treasure aboard. - -Amos Fearless secured a chart showing the exact location of the wreck. -Unfortunately two distant relatives, a miserly trickster named Lem -Hankers and his worthless son, Bart, learned of the sunken treasure, -too. They proceeded to San Francisco and were joined by a rascally -partner named Pete Rackley. The trio chartered from a wrecking company -the _Raven_, Captain Nesik in command, and engaged a professional diver -named Cal Vixen. - -The Fearlesses, learning of this, hastened their plans. An old friend -of the diver, Captain Broadbeam, was just then starting out with the -_Swallow_, to convey a well-known scientist from Washington to -mid-ocean. The _Swallow_ was equipped with the finest diving bells and -apparatus for capturing and preserving rare monsters of the deep. -Broadbeam agreed to incidentally assist Amos Fearless in the search for -the sunken treasure. - -The rival divers located this at about the same time. Thrilling -experiences followed, terrific battles with submarine monsters, -hair-breadth perils on the ocean bed. The Hankers and their diver after -several efforts gave up the quest. Dave and his father stuck at it -until one day they located the hull of the _Happy Hour_. Bag after bag -of gold they stored in their Costell diving bell, until all the treasure -was conveyed safely to the hold of the _Swallow_. Then they set sail -for home. - -Pete Rackley had managed to secrete himself aboard. He disabled the -machinery of the _Swallow_. This was the starting-point of a new series -of adventures as related in our second volume, "The Cruise of the -Treasure Ship." - -It now became plot and warfare on the part of the disgruntled Hankers -and their friends. The result was that one dark and foggy night the -schemers succeeded in stealing aboard of the _Swallow_. Captain -Broadbeam, Bob Vilett, Doctor Barrell, and the Fearlesses were put -ashore on a lonely island, and the _Raven_ steamed away with the -captured convoy. - -A sixth person was also marooned. This was one Pat Stoodles, a -whimsical Irishman, who had been previously rescued by the _Swallow_ -from this same island, where for several years he had been the king of -its savage inhabitants. - -"The Cruise of the Treasure Ship" has told graphically of the many -adventures of the marooned. Stoodles reassumed his kingship temporarily -and helped his friends out of many a sore dilemma. A cyclone and an -earthquake drove all hands to a neighboring island. Finally Dave and Bob -discovered the _Swallow_, somewhat dismantled, lying off the coast of -the island. They boarded her to find Mr. Drake, the boatswain, Mike -Conners, the cook, and Ben Adams, the engineer, handcuffed in the cabin. -These men had refused to navigate the _Swallow_ for Captain Nesik. They -told how the cyclone had parted the two vessels and the _Swallow_ had -been driven to her present isolated moorings. They told also of the -four boxes into which they had seen the Hankers place the sunken -treasure. - -For a second time, believing their enemies and the _Raven_ lost in the -storm, the Fearless party started homeward. Incidentally they had -enabled a worthy young fellow named Henry Dale to earn a large sum by -towing with them a lost derelict ship. This they had turned over to an -ocean liner they met. Then, the _Swallow_ needing some repairs, they -had headed for Minotaur Island, their present port of moorage. - -This island had originally belonged to the government of Chili. Just -now, however, it was claimed by Peru, and was also in a certain state of -rebellion. The governor was a miserly and tricky individual, and had -demanded a large sum from Captain Broadbeam before he would let him moor -the _Swallow_. - -He sent out as pilot a wretched, drunken fellow, who ran the _Swallow_ -into an obscure creek where she struck some obstacle, tearing a hole in -her hull. - -Thus disabled, Captain Broadbeam found it necessary to shift the various -articles in the hold. The four sealed boxes were removed, and Amos -Fearless naturally suggested that they take a look at their golden -fortune. - -Ten minutes later the startling discovery was made which has been -recorded in the opening lines of the present chapter-- - -The great Washington fortune was not, as had all along been supposed, -aboard of the _Swallow_. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - FOUL PLAY - - -Captain Paul Broadbeam came up on deck, his face red as a peony, his -brow dark as a thundercloud. - -He was manifestly irritated. In his great foghorn bass voice he gave -out a dozen quick orders. His evident intention was to break up the -little groups discussing the happening of the hour. - -"Avast there!" he roared to a special set of four seamen they had taken -on at Mercury Island a week previous. "No mutinous confabs allowed -here. If you expected something never promised, that's your lookout. -Those that can't be satisfied with plain square wages can take their -kits ashore." - -Amos Fearless had followed the captain from the cabin. The veteran -ocean diver looked greatly disappointed and distressed. He made out Dave -and went over to where he sat. - -"Well, my son," he said, disturbing Dave's deep reverie by placing a -trembling hand on his shoulder, "this is a bad piece of news." - -"Yes, father," replied Dave gravely. - -"We've been big fools," continued Amos Fearless, with a sigh and a -dejected shake of his head. "Might better have kept to our sure pay -back at Quanatack. We are only humble folk, Dave, and should have been -satisfied with our lot. Might have known million-dollar fortunes don't -come falling on such as we, except in story-books." - -"Wrong, father!" said Dave sharply. "I don't look at it that way at -all. We are the legal Washington heirs, and had a right to expect what -was our due. It was a clear-cut, honest piece of business." - -"Well, it's turned out worse than nothing for us." - -"I don't see that, either," observed Dave. "We went at the matter right. -We located the sunken treasure. Someone has stolen it. Surely, father, -you don't mean to tell me that you will fold your hands meekly and make -no effort to recover the fortune we have worked so hard for? Why, -father," declared Dave, with spirit, "all we may have to go through -can't begin to be as difficult and dangerous as what we have already -accomplished. It looks simple and plain to me--our duty." - -"Does it now?" murmured the old diver in a thoughtful way. - -"Yes. Someone stole that treasure, and of course it was the Hankers and -Captain Nesik and that crew of rascals. Well, father, they can't spend -it on a desert island in mid-ocean, can they?" - -"Why, I suppose not," said the diver. - -"Certainly not. They will try to get back to civilization. Now I have -been thinking out the whole matter. Mr. Drake, our boatswain, saw the -Hankers make a great show of putting the gold into the four wooden -boxes. Now we find out that this was just a pretense to deceive the -crew of the _Raven_. Later, of course, they secretly removed it. To -where, father? To the _Raven_? If so, they ran into a bad predicament. -From what the Island Windjammers told Pat Stoodles the last they saw of -the _Raven_ she was scudding along in the cyclone, completely disabled. -If she stranded, of course they hurried out the treasure before she -sank. Then it is hidden somewhere among those islands where we had our -hard fight for existence. The survivors are either waiting there hoping -some ship will stray their way, or they fixed up the _Raven_ and are -making for the South American coast." - -"That's a pretty long talk, but a sensible one, Dave," said the old -diver, brightening up a good deal. "Go ahead, my son--supposing all -this?" - -"Yes, father," said Dave, "supposing all this." - -"Well, what then?" - -"Why, the next thing is to prove I am right or partly right. We must go -back to the Windjammers' Island and hunt for a trace of the _Raven_. -Stoodles can make his old subjects, the natives, tell what they know. -If we find that the _Raven_ was not wrecked and has made for the South -American coast, then we must put right after them." - -"Dave, you give me a good deal of courage," said Amos Fearless--"you -make me ashamed of my despair. I'm old, though, you see, and this is a -big disappointment." - -"Don't you fret, father. I feel certain that prompt work will soon put -us on the track of the treasure." - -"I'll speak to Captain Broadbeam right away," said the old diver, and -Dave was pleased to see how nimbly his father started off, encouraged -and hopeful from the little talk he had given him. - -Bob Vilett had been watching Dave all this time. The young diver did -not sit meditating any longer. He had thought out what had to be done. -Now he must decide how to do it. He paced up and down with smart steps. -Bob started to rejoin him. There was an interruption. - -A man half-dressed, one boot on and carrying the other in his hand, came -banging up the cabin steps. - -"Bad cess to it! Begorra! Who tuk it--who tuk it?" he shouted. - -This was Pat Stoodles. He seemed to have just awakened and to have -learned of the astounding discovery of the hour. Making out Dave, who -was a great favorite with him, Stoodles sprinted with his long limbs -across the deck. - -"Wirra, now, me broth of a boy, tell me it's false!" implored Pat. - -"If you mean that we've got four boxes of junk aboard instead of gold," -said Dave, "unfortunately it's true." - -"Acushla! luk at that now," groaned Stoodles, throwing up his hands in -sheer dismay. "And I was to have had a thousand dollars." - -"More than that, Mr. Stoodles," answered Dave. "You have been one of -our good loyal friends, and my father has often planned starting you in -a nice paying business, had we reached San Francisco with the treasure." - -"Hear that, now!" cried Stoodles. "Didn't I write that same thing to my -brother in New York? Didn't I tell him I'd be home, loaded down with -gold? I sent the letter from Mercury Island. And now I must write him -again, telling him it was all a poor foolish old fellow's dream. All -I've got is my losht dignity as king of the Windjammers." - -Poor Stoodles tore his sparse hair and looked the picture of gloom and -discontent. - -"I'll write to my brother at once," he resumed. "Have you a postage -stamp to spare, Dave?" - -"They use the Chilian stamps here, I believe," replied Dave. "You will -have to go to the town to get one, Mr. Stoodles." - -"I can accommodate you," spoke a brisk, pleasant voice promptly. - -All hands turned sharply to view the speaker. Dave, in some surprise, -saw a bronzed bright-faced young man coming up a rope ladder swung over -the side of the _Swallow_. - -Dave had never seen him before. The newcomer had rowed up the creek in -a skiff. Looking down into this, Dave saw an artist's sketching outfit, -also a camera. - -"Excuse me," said this newcomer, "if I am intruding here. I am a -traveling artist out for health and views. Thought I'd take a picture -of your ship, if you don't object." - -"Not in the least," answered Dave courteously, although the request came -at a time when his thoughts were absorbed with more important matters. - -"And again," said the young fellow, "I wanted to see some home faces and -hear home voices. My name is Adair. I live in Vermont. By the way, -though," he continued to Stoodles, taking out a wallet, "you asked for a -postage stamp, I believe?" - -The speaker ran over the compartments in the wallet. A stray gust of -wind caught a little paper fragment it held, blew it up into the air, -and Stoodles caught it just as it was being carried over the rail into -the water. - -"Good," said Adair gratefully. "I wouldn't like to lose that, I can -tell you." - -"A postage stamp, too, isn't it?" asked Stoodles, looking at it. - -"Yes," nodded Adair, "and a pretty valuable one. You see it is canceled -and ragged. That don't matter. For all that, the little scrap of paper -is worth over two hundred dollars." - -"You don't tell me!" gasped Stoodles, staring at the stamp vaguely. - -"That's right," insisted Adair. "Here's an island stamp," he added, -extending one to Pat. "No, don't bother making change for that trifle. -Want to see it?" continued the young man, extending the canceled stamp -to Dave. - -"I used to have quite a collection myself at home," explained Dave, -glancing with interest at the canceled stamp. "Morania? I never heard -of that." - -"No, a short and solemn history, that of Morania," said Adair. "It was -one of the South Sea islands with a population of about one thousand -natives. Some shrewd Yankee got their king to establish a post office, -so he could sell the government a stamp-printing outfit. There wasn't -much business, but one day Morania without any warning was swept to -destruction by a tidal wave. Very few letters had ever been sent out. -Of course the few stamps to be had became immensely valuable. I have -managed to pick up four of them in my travels. I value them at one -thousand dollars." - -"Why----" said Dave, with a sudden start, and glanced at Stoodles -queerly. Whatever the artist's story had suggested, however, Dave did -not have time to explain. Captain Broadbeam came storming by like a mad -lion. - -"There's foul work here," he roared--"foul work all around. First that -stupid, drunken pilot runs us afoul of a snag and stove a hole in our -bottom. Now that rascally governor sends word asking a small fortune -for the timber and truck and men to mend up the _Swallow_. All right. -Pipe the crew, bosun. We'll have to overhaul the keel ourselves and do -the best mending we can. Then I'm out of these latitudes mighty quick, -I can tell you!" - -"Don't he know?" inquired Adair, stepping closer to Dave's side and -speaking confidentially. - -"Know what?" inquired Dave, in some surprise. - -"Why, that the snag he ran into, or rather the snag the pilot ran him -into, was a sunken brig that everybody on the island has known for years -blocked the creek bottom." - -"Is that so?" said Dave. - -"As I get it from the talk of the natives here, yes," said Adair. - -"Did the pilot know it was there?" asked Dave. - -"Could he miss knowing it?" demanded Adair. "Truth is, I came down here -with a sort of fellow-feeling in my mind for you people. The governor -here and his friends bleed every American they get hold of. They are a -precious set of thieves, and when I heard of your predicament I wondered -what new mischief they were up to." - -"Then," said Dave, in a startled way, "you mean to insinuate that the -pilot ran the _Swallow_ into her present fix purposely?" - -"I do," nodded Adair. - -"Why?" demanded Dave, with a quick catch of excitement in his -voice--"why did he do it?" - - - - - CHAPTER III - - MR. SCHMITT-SCHMITT - - -"Yes," cried Bob Vilett impulsively. "Why did the pilot try to wreck the -_Swallow_?" - -The young engineer had been an interested listener to the conversation -that had passed between Dave and Adair. The latter shrugged his -shoulders. - -"Sheer natural meanness and hatred of foreigners," he said, "or they -mean to delay you." - -"Why should they delay us?" protested Dave. - -"To bleed you. The longer you stay here the more they will get out of -you. They overcharge for everything, make you pay, and fine you, and -make you trouble on every little technicality of the law that wretched -governor can dig up." - -"Why, that's abominable!" declared Bob. - -"You see, the island here is in a squabble between Chili and Peru," -explained the artist. "The governor has set up an independent -dictatorship. He knows it can't continue, so he is hurrying to make all -the money he can out of his position while it lasts." - -"It looks as if you have given us some pretty straight information," -said Dave seriously. "I must tell Captain Broadbeam. No," Dave checked -himself. "I'll wait till I am sure of what you suspect, and look a -little deeper into this matter." - -"There's a group I'd like to take," interrupted Adair, glancing with an -artist's fine interest at the sailors of the _Swallow_ getting some -tackle out to keel the ship. - -He seized a boathook and, leaning over the side, caught its end in his -camera outfit lying in the skiff below. - -"There are some island views, if you would like to look them over," he -observed, unstrapping a square portfolio from the camera rack. - -Adair set up his portable tripod and focussed the group amidships. Dave -turned over the photographs in the portfolio. - -"You'll find a pretty good picture of that rascally pilot," said Adair. -"Third one, I think." - -"I've got it," nodded Dave, "and--say!" - -So violent was this ejaculation that Adair was startled into snapping -the camera shutter before he was quite ready. - -"You've spoiled my picture for me," he said, but not at all crossly. -"Why, my friend, what's struck you?" - -Dave was wrought up all out of the common. Generally cool and -level-headed, his nerves seemed to have suddenly gone to pieces. - -He had dropped the portfolio, and Bob was scrambling to preserve its -scattered contents. Dave himself held a single photograph in one hand; -with the other he was pulling Adair by the arm. He drew the surprised -artist out of direct range of the others. - -"Look here," he said, with difficulty steadying his trembling voice, -"this picture?" - -"Yes," nodded Adair, with a casual glance at the photograph--"our -friend, the pilot." - -"There is no trouble recognizing him," said Dave. "It's the other -fellow in the picture, I mean." - -"Oh, do you know him?" - -"I think I do," answered Dave, in a suppressed but intense tone. - -"Likely. He's been haunting the harbors here for several days. I -happened to see the two sitting on that bench in front of the pilot's -shanty, and took a shot." - -Dave, looking worried and hopeful, in doubt and suspicious, by turns, -kept scanning the photograph. - -"Who is the man, anyhow?" he asked, placing his finger on the pilot's -companion. - -"Schmitt-Schmitt, he calls himself--from the Dutch West Indies, he -says." - -"He calls himself that, does he?" said Dave thoughtfully, "and he is a -Dutchman?" - -"All I know is that he got onto the island here somehow--I believe from -a tramp steamer a few days ago. He's close up to the governor and the -pilot. Every craft that touches here, he visits its captain and wants -to charter the ship." - -"He wants to charter a ship," repeated Dave--"what for?" - -"Mysterious cruise. He has discovered an island full of diamonds, or a -mountain of gold, or some such thing," replied Adair. "He makes -fabulous offers to any captain who will take a thirty-day cruise on the -speculation. When he turns out all promises and no ready cash, of course -the captains laugh at him. Been to you to join in his speculation, eh?" - -"No," said Dave emphatically. "He knows too much to try it! Mr. -Adair," he continued, warmly grasping the artist's hand, "you have done -us a service you little dream of." - -"Glad of that," responded Adair, with a hearty smile. - -"I don't know how to thank you. May I have this picture for a day or -two?" - -"Keep it--I've got the negative. Time to go, I fancy," added Adair, as -the crew crowded with the repair tackle in their direction. - -Dave saw the artist safely into the skiff, waved his hand in adieu, and -went in search of his father. - -Amos Fearless sat in the cabin, immersed in deep thought. - -"What is the captain going to do, father?" asked Dave. - -"He's all worked up, and I hardly know how to take him," replied Mr. -Fearless. "His only idea for the present is to get away from Minotaur -Island; he says they're a set of conscienceless plunderers." - -"He is right in that," declared Dave. "Did you suggest to him anything -about searching for the stolen gold?" - -"I did, Dave." - -"What did he say?" eagerly asked Dave. - -"He shook his head gloomily, said he would like to help us out, but -according to his contract with the owners of the _Swallow_, he was due -in San Francisco. You see, this cruise was taken by him under direction -of Doctor Barrell. The doctor having accomplished his mission, there is -nothing for him to do but to get the government collection of -curiosities home as soon as possible." - -Dave looked somewhat cast down at this unfavorable report. Of course, -without the _Swallow_ at their service it was useless to think further -of the stolen treasure. - -"Well, father," he said, after a long, thoughtful spell, "just let -things rest as they are for the present. Only I wish you would warn -Captain Broadbeam to keep close watch over the _Swallow_ and to allow no -strangers aboard." - -"Why," exclaimed the old diver, "is there danger?" - -"In the air and all around us," declared Dave. "I don't want to alarm -you, father, and I don't want to say anything further until I have gone -up to the town here." - -"Going ashore?" murmured his father, in an uneasy tone. "I wouldn't, -Dave, if things are not safe." - -"Oh, they will be safe for me, as I shall take Mr. Stoodles and Bob -Vilett along with me. When I come back, father, I think I shall have -discovered something that will put Captain Broadbeam on his mettle and -open the way for one more effort to find the fortune we have been robbed -of." - -Dave went to the deck again. He sought out Stoodles and Bob in turn and -told them he wished them to go to the town with him. Of the trio the -young engineer only was under ship discipline. He reported to the -boatswain and was soon ready to join the others. - -They rowed down the creek to the ocean in a small yawl, rounded the -coast, and landed about half a mile from the town. - -"I'll just drop my letter to my friends in New York while I'm in town," -observed Pat. - -"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Stoodles," advised Dave. - -"Eh, why not, lad?" asked Pat. - -"Just a few steps further and I will tell you," answered Dave. - -He led his companions to a spot where there were some low rocks and -motioned them to be seated. - -"No one can overhear us at this lonely spot, that is sure," said Dave. -"Now then, my friends, I want to have a serious confidential talk with -you." - -Bob looked curious and Stoodles important. - -"Captain Broadbeam is worried and undecided," went on Dave, "my father -is slightly discouraged, the crew sullen and discontented over losing -that treasure. If no one stirs up something, as we must do--then things -will drop, and we will go back home poorer than when we started out. -Now, I don't give up so easily." - -"Good boy!" nodded Stoodles approvingly. - -"I shall make an effort to trace our stolen fortune if I have to do it -all alone in a canoe." - -"If we only knew where it was," said Bob Vilett. "That's the trouble, -you see, Dave. It may be thousands of miles away. It may be adrift on -the ocean. It may be halfway to China, or divided up and squandered by -that miserable Hankers crowd." - -"No," said Dave, with emphasis. "I have pretty good evidence in my -possession that the treasure is safe and sound on the Windjammers' -Island." - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - A PAIR OF SCHEMERS - - -"The treasure is on the Windjammers' Island!" exclaimed Bob Vilett. - -"Yes," nodded Dave confidently, "I have every reason to think so." - -"Begorra!" cried the Irishman excitedly. "On my paternal dominions? On -the principalities of King Patrick Stoodles? A horse, my kingdom for -a--no, I mane a ship. Lad, if the goold those Hankers stole is anywhere -among my subjects, we'll have it back, mind me!" - -"Well, let me explain," said Dave, "and then hear what you have to say. -We three have shared too many perils and secrets together, to need to be -told that all I tell now is in strict confidence until we get ready to -act." - -"Spoke like a lawyer," commented Stoodles. - -"Like a friend, you mean," corrected Bob. "Leave it to smart Dave to -work a way out of a dilemma. I'm interested and excited, Dave." - -"Well, first and foremost," continued Dave, "do you recognize that -picture, Bob?" - -Dave handed out the photograph that Adair had given him on the -_Swallow_. - -"Why, sure," answered Bob promptly. "It's a picture of that rascally -pilot." - -"No, no---I mean the other figure in the photograph." - -"Oh--oh!" said Bob slowly, studying it. "N-no," he continued, quite as -slowly. "Yes--no. H'm! One minute the face looks familiar, the next it -looks strange. I can't fix it, although it seems as if I've seen that -man before." - -"You have," declared Dave. "Here, Mr. Stoodles, you take a try." - -"Yes, there's the pilot," announced Stoodles. "The other is the ould -pawnbroker that was on the _Raven_." - -Dave's face grew eager and bright with satisfaction. - -"Good for you," he said. "I knew I was right. Yes, that is the man the -Hankers picked up at San Francisco--a pawnbroker named Gerstein. He -furnished some of the money to fit out their ship for the expedition. -Well, my friends, Gerstein, under the false name of Schmitt-Schmitt, is -now on this island." - -"Then the _Raven_ crowd escaped!" exclaimed Bob. - -"I don't know that," answered Dave. "I do know that Schmitt-Schmitt -appeared here a few days ago. He has been trying to engage a ship to go -after a fortune he says he can find. Of course it's our treasure." - -"The spalpane! Of coorse it is!" cried Stoodles excitedly. - -"My theory," went on Dave, "is that the _Raven_ was terribly disabled or -lost in the cyclone. I am also pretty sure that the treasure was saved. -Perhaps it was already hidden somewhere on land. At all events, -Schmitt-Schmitt was in the secret, either as the partner and emissary of -others of the _Raven_ crowd or on his own account. He managed to get a -small boat afloat, was taken up by a liner, and landed here. Now his -whole time is given, as I said, to finding a ship that will go after a -fortune, as he terms it, on shares." - -"Your theory is raisonable, your theory is right," insisted Stoodles. - -"Schmitt-Schmitt," proceeded Dave, "made friends with the governor here. -He seems to be staying at the pilot's house. When the _Swallow_ was -sighted he at once reasoned it out that we had discovered the real -contents of those four boxes, that we might be bound straight back for -the Windjammers' Island. He induced the pilot to run us onto the sunken -brig in the creek." - -"Dave, I believe you've got this matter just right," said Bob -thoughtfully. - -"If that is true," continued Dave, "they will do all they can to delay -us. Who knows but what this rascally governor and his crew may intend -to take the _Swallow_ away from us and furnish Schmitt-Schmitt with the -very means he wants to go after the treasure, with no chance of being -followed?" - -"Dave, have you told Captain Broadbeam about all this?" inquired Bob -anxiously. - -"I haven't had the chance. I learned what I have told you only in the -past hour," responded Dave. "As soon as we return to the _Swallow_, -though, I shall warn him. I had a purpose in coming ashore." - -"Are we to help you, Dave?" asked Bob. - -"All hands must help. I want to locate the pilot's house, I want to be -sure that this Schmitt-Schmitt is really there and that he is the same -fellow we knew as Gerstein on the _Raven_." - -"That's easy," declared Stoodles. "The picture gives us a hint as to -the house." - -"We will separate so as to excite no notice or suspicions," directed -Dave. "Let each one of us find out all he can, and report at this spot -in three hours." - -"In three hours be it," nodded Stoodles, looking very businesslike. - -"All right," assented Bob, taking another good look at the picture of -the pilot's house. - -Dave allowed his two friends to select their own course. Then, when -they were out of sight, he took an independent route. - -He surmised that the pilot would probably live near the water's edge. -In this he found his calculations correct, and an hour's search brought -some results. - -"That is the house," spoke Dave finally, peering from a clump of thick -high bushes. "Yes, there is the very bench the pilot and Schmitt-Schmitt -sat on when Mr. Adair took their picture." - -Before Dave lay a ground plot of considerable extent and fairly -smothered in luxurious vegetation, sloping down to the beach. In its -center was a lone hut, open and rambling, and having a broad porch that -ran clear around it. - -It was a typical tropical habitation of the poorer class. No one seemed -stirring about the place except far back in the rear. Here there was a -thick plantation of high resinous bushes. One man was feeding these -into a rude grinding mill operated by a big lazy mule treading in a -circle. - -Dave stood quietly in his place of concealment for fully half an hour. -The man drove his mule away. The place seemed now entirely deserted. -However, just as Dave was about to leave the spot someone came out on -the front porch. - -"It's the man. Yes, sure, it is Gerstein--Schmitt-Schmitt!" said Dave. - -Schmitt-Schmitt was dressed in a thin linen suit. He carried a large -but light wicker valise. This he set down beside a bench, looked at his -watch, then in the direction of the town, and stretched himself out -lazily in a hammock. - -"Looks as if he was going away," mused Dave, critically analyzing all -the movements of the person he was spying on. "Looks too as if he was -expecting and waiting for somebody--probably the pilot." - -Dave thought out the situation and its possibilities for about five -minutes. He decided to go back to the yawl. Then he realized that he -would be considerably interested in hearing what the pilot and his guest -might say when they met. - -Schmitt-Schmitt lay with his back to Dave. On this account, and because -of the shelter of many shrubs and bushes, Dave found it no task at all -to cover the space unnoticed between his present hiding-place and the -porch. - -Its floor was nearly two feet from the ground. Dave crawled way back -under this open space, got pretty nearly under the hammock, and lay on -his back. The porch boards were badly warped and splintered, and he -could look right up at the hammock and its occupant. - -At the end of about ten minutes Dave heard footsteps coming up the -graveled walk. He turned his eyes sideways and was gratified to -recognize the pilot. - -"Whew, this is hot!" ejaculated the owner of the place, stamping heavily -across the porch and throwing himself into a chair near the hammock, in -which Schmitt-Schmitt now arose to a sitting posture. Then the speaker -glanced in the direction of the plantation where Dave had noticed the -treadmill. - -"Ah," continued the pilot, with an angry scowl. "That lazy rascal has -ceased making the frew-frew? I will cut him half a day's pay." - -"Yes, it is hot," answered his guest. Each of the precious twain had a -language of his own, so they compromised on very broken English. - -"What you done?" asked Schmitt-Schmitt. The pilot chuckled and grinned -from ear to ear. - -"I have undone," he said gleefully. "Have I not? But the governor went -too far. He charged them prices for repairing the _Swallow_ the captain -wouldn't stand, and he is doing his own repairing." - -"He is?" cried Schmitt-Schmitt, in a tone of alarm. "He is quick, -smart. He will be off in twenty-four hours." - -"Not at all," declared the pilot calmly. "You wish him delayed? Delay -it shall be, a long delay. Delay after delay. Only--my pay must come. -The governor's too. We are exceeding the law for you." - -"Both of you shall be rich--rich! As soon as I get my fortune," -promised Schmitt-Schmitt recklessly. "Have you found out for me yet--do -they think they have the treasure aboard the _Swallow_?" - -"They have just found out differently, my spies tell me," said the -pilot. - -"Then they will go right back to search for it," declared -Schmitt-Schmitt. "I know them--plucky fellows, all. They must be -stopped." - -"Fear not. As I told you," interrupted the pilot calmly, "that end of -it is easy. I hope your getting the treasure is as simple." - -"Get these fellows out of the way, get me a ship, and I will show you," -said Schmitt-Schmitt eagerly. - -"One thing at a time, then," Dave heard the pilot say next in order. -"See, my friend." - -"A brush, a little bottle of paint?" inquired Schmitt-Schmitt. - -Dave wriggled and twisted his neck to get a focus on these two articles, -which the pilot held up. Then the pilot leaned over and said something -to his companion in so low a tone that Dave could not catch its import. - -"Capital, capital, oh, that is just famous!" gloated Schmitt-Schmitt. -"You have found the man to experiment on?" - -"He will be here to-night." - -"And after the stuff is on?" - -"Bah--a sponge and some turpentine, and the patient recovers." - -"Good, good!" said Schmitt-Schmitt. "Yes, that will indeed delay the -_Swallow_. Now, listen, my friend: I must not run the risk of being -seen by any of the _Swallow_ people." - -"No, indeed." - -"It would at once give them their cue--my escape from the Windjammers' -Island. I have packed my valise, I will disappear for a few days." - -"Excellent. You will go at once?" - -"I think so. You will remember! A blue light, I am sick or in danger. -A red light, I need provisions." - -"Signal any time from ten to twelve. I will be on the watch. If you -say so I will start up the launch at once and take you to your -destination." - -"H'm," mused Dave, as double footsteps sounded the length of the porch. -"Some new mysterious trick to delay the _Swallow_? Schmitt-Schmitt going -away somewhere? This is too interesting to miss." - -Dave crept out from under the porch. He dodged in among some bushes. -Peering thence he saw Schmitt-Schmitt leading the way towards the beach, -the pilot carrying his wicker satchel. - -Dave did not venture to follow them direct. He lined the "frew-frew" -plantation, and at a clearing in it near the treadmill cut across it. - -From the grinding-mill a rude wooden trough extended. This was full of -a sticky resinous mass, and the ground all round was spattered with the -glutinous substance. - -"Frew-frew must be a sort of gum or oil they make from those stalks -yonder," decided Dave. "The mischief! it's worse than fly paper." - -Dave's shoes stuck to broad leaves and lifted them bodily as he walked; -they became tangled in vines which raised about him like ropes. He made -an effort to get out of the direct zone of stickiness. - -Dave leaped over the edge of a board where the wooden trough ran in -among tangled vines and plants. - -"Oh, yes!" he gasped. In an instant, as his feet struck a soft, giving -mass, Dave knew he was in danger. Unconsciously he had landed in the -center of an immense cistern--the storage receptacle for the frew-frew -product. - -He tried to reach its edge but was held fast. He struggled to release -his limbs but was pulled back and dragged down. - -Dave sank in five seconds to the neck. His chin went under. As he -started to yell his mouth was submerged. With a last dip eyesight was -shut out and Dave sank under the sticky mass entirely submerged. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - DOCTOR BARRELL'S "ACCIDENT" - - -"Begorra!" - -That was the first expressive word that Dave Fearless heard as he -realized that he had been suddenly saved from death by suffocation. - -His eyes, mouth, ears, and nostrils were oozing with the sticky stuff in -which he had taken so dangerous a bath. The top of his head seemed -coming off. Dave felt as if he had been scalped. - -Dave was lying on the grass and Stoodles was working over him, digging -and dabbling with a handkerchief to get the youth's eyes and mouth clear -of the glutinous "frew-frew." - -"Sorra a bit too soon was I," said Pat, as Dave blinked and groaned. -"I've a lock of your hair for a keepsake, lad! I saw you go into that -threacherous pit, I threw a plank across, I grasped your topknot. It -was loike taking a drowned cat out of glue. Sit up, if you can't stand -up. If you let that stuff harden once, you'll be stiff as a statoo." - -Dave tried to arise. He dragged grass, dirt, vines, and weeds up with -him. By this time he could breathe and see. Stoodles got a stick and -scraped off from his clothes as much as he could of the adhesive mass -that coated Dave. - -"Come on, lad," directed Stoodles, grasping an arm of his tottering -companion. "It's a brickdust bath in soft soap you'll be needing. -Acushla! but I stick to you like a brother." - -Dave's feet gathered up everything they came in contact with. Then, -every time he brushed a bit of foliage, the frew-frew took off leaves, -and he began to look green and picturesque. - -"Where is Bob Vilett?" he asked. - -"I dunno," answered Stoodles. "I do know it was lucky I saw you -thrailing the pilot and that rascally pawnbroker. If I hadn't you'd -have been a goner, Dave Fearless." - -"I guess I should," responded Dave, with a shudder, and then a grateful -look at this eccentric but loyal friend. "Where have those two -gone--did you notice, Mr. Stoodles?" - -"Only that they set off seaward in a little launch." - -"Get me to the _Swallow_, I have a lot to tell Captain Broadbeam now." - -They lined the beach. A good many craft of various kinds were visible -in the opening. All of them were too far distant to enable Dave to make -out which one might contain the pilot and Schmitt-Schmitt. - -When they got to the place of rendezvous where they had left the ship's -yawl, Bob Vilett was discovered lying on the sand. - -"Wandered off on a wrong trail," he reported; "wasted time and thought I -was due here. Dave, what have you been into!" - -"Frew-frew, I believe they call it, Bob." - -"Phew-phew I'd call it," remarked Pat. "Up with the jibboom and across -the briny, Bob. If we don't get our friend Fearless into hot water and -soap soon, we'll have to chip off his coat of mail with chisels." - -When they reached the _Swallow_ they found the steamer the center of -vast bustle and industry. Captain Broadbeam had keeled the craft and -gangs of men were working inside and outside to repair the breaks in the -hull. - -The cabins and forecastle were accessible, but Mike Conners had -temporarily removed cooking headquarters to a tent at the side of the -creek. Stoodles sought out Mr. Drake, the boatswain, and explained -Dave's dilemma. They rigged up a canvas bathroom on shore and supplied -it with brushes, two tubs of boiling suds, and plenty of soap. - -It took Dave over an hour to get off the worst of the villainous -frew-frew. His hair was the hardest to clean. Finally he emerged, -fresh and tingling in every nerve from the vigorous bath. - -They had supper ashore and hammocks were rigged up under the trees. -Captain Broadbeam set a guard about camp and ship. About half the crew -decided to quit and he paid them off. They and curious visitors from -the town were warned to keep away from the _Swallow_. - -About dusk Captain Broadbeam had given out all necessary orders for the -night. - -"Well, lad," he said, coming up to Dave and placing his hand on the -youth's shoulder in his usually friendly way, "I understand you have -something important to tell me." - -"Yes, considerable," answered Dave. - -"All right. The others interested must hear it, too. We'll hold a -council of war in my cabin." - -Dave's father, Doctor Barrell, Stoodles, and Bob Vilett were invited to -accompany the captain and Dave to the _Swallow_. The six of them soon -found themselves seated in the captain's cabin. It slanted slightly -from the present awkward position of the ship, but they managed to -adjust the stools and settees comfortably. - -"Now then, lad," spoke Captain Broadbeam to Dave, "my old friend here, -your father, has intimated to me that you have discovered some things of -general interest to all of us." - -"I think I have," said Dave. - -"Then fire away, my hearty." - -Dave began his story with a narration of the visit to the _Swallow_ of -the young artist Adair. He followed this up with his discovery of -Schmitt-Schmitt, and his overhearing of the conversation between that -worthy and the treacherous native pilot. - -Captain Broadbeam was interested from the first; when it became apparent -from Dave's clear, logical story that the stolen treasure was still -somewhere in the vicinity of the Windjammers' Island, the old tar's eyes -glistened and he looked eager and excited. Then, as Dave told of the -evident existence of a plot to delay, possibly destroy, the _Swallow_, -Captain Broadbeam sprang to his feet. - -"Delay me, will they?" he shouted, growing red of face and blazing with -anger. "Why, the miserable scum! if they so much as hang around here -I'll fill them with a charge of pepper and salt. If I catch them up to -any tricks aboard, I'll swing them from the yardarm." - -The doughty old mariner paced the cabin in a fine rage. When he had -subsided Dave approached the subject nearest his thoughts. - -"Captain," he began, "from what I have told don't you really think my -theories are right as to the treasure being hidden?" - -"I do, lad, I'll admit that," growled the captain. - -"And that this fellow Schmitt-Schmitt is an emissary of the Hankers and -the _Raven_, looking for a ship to go after the treasure?" - -"Mebbe, lad, mebbe." - -"Then what is the matter with hurrying up your repairs and getting back -to the Windjammers' Island before Schmitt-Schmitt? Don't you see, -captain, we are bound to locate the _Raven_ crew, if they are there?" - -Captain Broadbeam sank to a stool, bent his head, and groaned. - -"Lad," he said, "I know what you want to do and what I'd like to do. It -can't be done--no, no." - -"Captain," interrupted Amos Fearless, in an eager, quivering tone, "we -are old friends----" - -"Belay there!" roared the veteran tar, springing to his feet and waving -his ponderous arms like windmills. "Would ye tempt a man from his duty -who has never yet over-stepped discipline? That duty is plain, Amos -Fearless. This here _Swallow_ was sent out to collect curiosities for -the United States Government. Those curiosities are duly collected. -Incidentally I helped you fellows all I could on the side. Now it's San -Francisco. Them's my sailing orders. There's my duty." - -"Ochone!" groaned Pat Stoodles, "and phwat of the foine treasure?" - -"I'm out of this hornets' nest here the minute the _Swallow_ is -seaworthy," announced Broadbeam. "The minute I land at San Francisco -and get my clearance, I'll hark back to the Windjammers with you if I -have to put all my savings into chartering a ship specially." - -"It will be too late then, captain," murmured Dave, in a dejected tone. - -"Sorry," said the commander of the _Swallow_. "I am responsible to the -owners. Why, friends, if I should step outside of my duty I am -personally liable to a fine that would make me a ruined man and a -pauper." - -Dave gave a queer start at this, a quick color came into his cheek, a -quick flicker into his eyes. He gazed at Stoodles in an eager, -speculative way. - -"One moment, captain, please," he said, arising and beckoning Stoodles -to follow him from the cabin, "I have just thought of something -important. I hope you will not decide finally on this matter until I -have had a word in private with Mr. Stoodles." - -"Surely not, lad," nodded the captain, but in some wonder regarding this -peculiar move on the part of the young fellow he had grown to like -greatly. - -Silence fell over the little coterie in the cabin then. They could hear -the low hum of voices outside; Dave talking rapidly and earnestly, and -such violent ejaculations from Stoodles now and then as "Begorra!" "Luk -at that now!" "Bedad!" and the like. - -When Dave came back into the cabin he was calm and collected, but -Stoodles squirmed about with a wise, important look on his moonlike -face. - -"Captain Broadbeam," said Dave, "I have just consulted with Mr. Stoodles -on a matter covering his ability to raise a certain sum of money." - -The captain of the _Swallow_ grinned. It was so ridiculous to think of -Stoodles ever earning or saving a penny that he could not well help it. - -"Yes," announced Pat gravely, "by my royal authority as king of the -Windjammers' Island." - -"Nonsense," muttered Captain Broadbeam. - -"You will take my word for it, captain, won't you?" insinuated Dave, in -his smooth, convincing way. "I can say to you positively that if you -will land Mr. Stoodles among his former subjects for a single hour, and -later safely at San Francisco, he will be prepared to pay you five -thousand dollars to meet any fines the owners of the _Swallow_ may -assess you for going back there." - -"Why, Dave," began Mr. Fearless in wonderment--but Bob Vilett -interrupted. - -"If Dave says five thousand dollars, he means five thousand dollars." - -"Remarkable!" commented Doctor Barrell, surveying Dave in astonishment -through his eyeglasses close-set. - -Captain Broadbeam was impressed. He studied Dave and Stoodles -speculatively. - -"How can you possibly get that sum of money?" he demanded. - -"We can," declared Dave positively, "can't we, Mr. Stoodles?" - -"Begorra! and ten if we nade it!" cried Pat enthusiastically. "Oh, the -broth of a boy! It takes my friend Dave Fearless for brains." - -"Of course it is a secret," said Dave. - -"A deadly saycret--I mane a close one," declared Stoodles. "I never -knew how rich I was till the lad told me just now." - -"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed Captain Broadbeam, dismissing the matter with a -worried motion of his hand. "Money can't count in this case. My duty -is plain! I was ordered to sail for the home port as soon as the -government collection was made. Doctor Barrell reported a month ago -that he had finished that collection." - -"H'm, just so," observed Doctor Barrell, "but, my dear sir--ha, a -thought. A moment, Captain Broadbeam, just a moment." - -"Thunder!" whistled Bob Vilett amazedly in his chum's ear. "What does -that mean now?" - -Dave shook his head in silent wonderment. Doctor Barrell had winked at -them in a quizzical, encouraging way that was mightily suggestive. - -To have the high-class old scientist so far forget his dignity was a -most remarkable thing. - -They heard Doctor Barrell stumbling about in the aft cabin where he had -stored some of the curiosities he had gathered for the government. - -Suddenly there was a loud bump followed by a great clash. The next -minute the doctor burst into the captain's cabin holding aloft two -cracked and broken specimens of starfish. - -"Captain," he cried--"bad accident! The collection is incomplete. See, -Captain Broadbeam, the only specimens of the _Mercuria stellaticus_ we -had, destroyed, case tipped over." - -The commander of the _Swallow_ bestowed a searching look on the speaker, -but was silent. "They are to be found only at the Windjammers' Island," -went on Doctor Barrell. "Oh, dear, dear! This will, I fear, -necessitate a return to the island." - -"Oh, will it?" snorted the captain sarcastically. "So, you're in the -plot, too, to lure me from my duty, hey, you old conspirator? Well, you -mutinous old humbug, after breaking your mercurian stellians purposely, -you'll not get me to go a single knot back on the west course till you -sign a paper officially ordering me to do so as a necessity of the -expedition." - -"Pen and ink--quick," chuckled Doctor Barrell. "Captain," he added -pathetically, indicating their sturdy, loyal companions with a kindly -affectionate wave of his hand, "their hearts are set on that stolen -treasure, rightly too. They are our true, good friends. Honestly, -won't you be glad to help them try and find it?" - -"Shiver my timbers, but you're a set of conspiring mutineers!" roared -the captain doughtily, but the fierce words were spoken with a secret -chuckle. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - THE PILOT'S PLOT - - -"Hurrah!" shouted Bob Vilett, tossing his cap up in the air. - -"Don't crow too quickly, Bob," warned Dave Fearless. "We're not out of -the woods yet." - -"And don't you croak," retorted the sprightly young engineer of the -_Swallow_. "Captain Broadbeam says that by this time to-morrow we will -be on our way to the Windjammers' Island." - -"Yes," nodded Dave significantly, "provided they let us start." - -"Eh, who?" demanded Bob. - -"The governor here and the pilot, Schmitt-Schmitt, the whole crowd, who -I am persuaded are in league to delay us." - -"Oh, nonsense," cried Bob airily. "What right have they to interfere -with our business?" - -"What right had they to wreck the _Swallow_?" inquired Dave pertinently. -"I don't say they will dare to try to make us any further trouble, but -they have planned to, that I know, and every one of us must keep our -eyes wide open until we leave Minotaur Island far to the rear." - -For all Dave's misgivings, however, he was a happy, hopeful boy. It had -been settled that they should return to the Windjammers' Island to -secure duplicates of the _Mercuria stellaticus_ which Doctor Barrell had -disposed of by accident. - -"The royal old trump!" Bob Vilett had enthused. "Good-by to that -treasure if the doctor hadn't acted so promptly. But I say, Dave, what -was that bluff you and Stoodles worked up about five thousand dollars?" - -"No bluff at all, as you call it," declared Dave seriously. "A hint -from that artist Adair gave me a fine suggestion. Stoodles can easily -make five, ten, yes, maybe twenty thousand dollars if he has a chance to -once more, even for a single hour, regain his position as king of the -Windjammers." - -"If I didn't know you so well, Dave Fearless," said Bob gravely, "I'd -say you was romancing." - -"Wait till you see the reality, Bob," advised Dave, with a confident -smile. "By the way, about this same secret of Stoodles'--I must make -some purchases in the town to-day." - -Just after noon, in pursuance with this suggestion, Dave was rowed to -the town by the boatswain and two others of the crew of the _Swallow_. - -When he returned he carried two heavy boxes, storing them safely under -lock and key in the purser's own closet. - -The inquisitive Bob tried to pump Stoodles, but it was of no avail. Pat -looked crafty and wise, and only muttered some remarks about his royal -prerogative and the like. - -By sundown the _Swallow_ had been completely repaired. She was righted -and cleaned up, and everything put in order for a run to Mercury Island. -Captain Broadbeam decided to provision up there. He was uneasy every -minute he dallied among the tricky inhabitants of Minotaur Island. - -They were short-handed as to a crew, on account of the desertions of the -day previous. Several natives had applied for work, but the captain was -distrustful of them as spies. - -The second mate had several times gone to the main harbor port in search -of English sailors, but there chanced to be none unemployed just then. -He did manage, however, to pick up one recruit. This was a -sickly-looking white man who called himself Tompkins. He was quiet and -industrious, and wanted to go as far as Mercury Island, he said to the -captain, who entered him regularly on the crew's list. - -There had been a great ado that afternoon over maps, charts, and other -details pertaining to a long cruise. Captain Broadbeam had engaged Dave -in conversation several times about his discoveries and theories. - -Both the captain and Amos Fearless now believed that Dave had reasoned -out matters concerning the stolen treasure just as they existed in fact. - -They could not hope to gain any specific information from -Schmitt-Schmitt, even if they learned where he was now keeping himself -in seclusion. - -"No," Captain Broadbeam had concluded, "we won't stir up affairs any -further hereabouts. We will let the people here believe that we are -going home to the United States. Schmitt-Schmitt never dreams that we -know of his living here. His suspicions will be allayed. We shall -leave a clear field and probably get to the Windjammers' Island before -he even finds a ship to go in search of the treasure." - -The camp on shore was now broken up and its temporary equipment moved -back to the _Swallow_. The work on the steamer was all in shipshape -order by supper time. The men had labored diligently, and the captain -ordered an extra-fine meal. - -It was an hour of typical comfort. A brisk breeze had cooled the air, -the sky was bright and clear, the surroundings picturesque and -beautiful. - -Some of the sailors were singing a jaunty rollicking sea ditty. Dave -and Bob paced the after-deck full of their plans for the prospective -voyage to begin on the morrow. - -"This is certainly life as she is on the ocean wave," declared Bob -enthusiastically. - -"I love the smell of the brine, Bob," said Dave. "I was born breathing -it, and now the seafaring life seems to be a regular business -proposition with me." - -"Good business, if you recover all that money," observed Bob. - -"Look there, Bob," spoke Dave suddenly. - -His companion turned. Facing the coast end of the creek a -gruesome-looking craft with black funnels, and odd and awkward of shape, -was hovering about the mouth of the little inlet. - -"Hello," exclaimed Bob, "that's the government ironclad. What's she -doing here?" - -"Yes," nodded Dave, taking up a telescope and looking through it, -"that's the _Chili_, the governor's special warship, sure. They say -she's a poor apology of a craft. Bought her second-hand from some -English shipyard. They are putting off a yawl." - -"Going to visit us?" inquired Bob. - -"It looks that way." - -"More trouble?" insinuated Bob. - -"More meddling and spying, more like," said Dave. - -Both boys watched a natty, well-manned yawl come spinning up the creek -towards the _Swallow_. - -The Chilian colors adorned the bow, indicating an official visit. A man -in military dress directed the boat. Beside him sat another of the -governor's aides in semi-official uniform. - -Dave called Captain Broadbeam, and all hands on board the _Swallow_ were -now interested in the approaching yawl. - -"Colonel Jose Silverado, from his excellency the governor," announced -the officer in charge of the yawl as he neared the side of the steamer. - -"Coming aboard?" asked Broadbeam, in his blunt, gruff way. - -"On duty, yes," responded the officer, very politely, but with a covert -grin. "The governor's physician--Dr. Monterey," added the officer, -indicating his companion. - -Captain Broadbeam bowed brusquely, and with surly and suspicious mien -awaited the further pleasure of the governor's envoy. - -The officer glanced keenly all about the ship. Then he took a card from -his pocket and scanned it. - -"Sorry to trouble you, captain," he said, "but we have reason to believe -that you have a refugee aboard your ship." - -"A refugee?" repeated Broadbeam, with a start. "Who is he?" - -"Man named Tompkins." - -"Why, yes," admitted the captain, "we have a new man here by that name." - -"Will you kindly summon him? We have business with him. That is the -man, doctor?" inquired the officer, as the sickly-looking fellow -employed by the _Swallow_ that morning slipped out from among the crew -at a call from Captain Broadbeam. - -"Ah, yes," nodded the governor's physician, eying Tompkins critically. -"My man, you are making us a whole heap of trouble, it seems." - -Tompkins looked confused and ill at ease, gazing surlily at the deck. - -"What's the matter with him?" demanded the captain. - -"Suspect," announced the officer quickly. "Came in on a fruit boat a few -days ago. Boat infected, and this man and the others put in quarantine. -He got away. Look him over, doctor." - -Monterey stepped up to Tompkins. He examined his pulse and his tongue -and tapped him on the chest. Then he said tersely: - -"Strip." - -Tompkins pulled off his shirt. As his naked back came into view several -of the crew curiously regarding the scene uttered quick, startled -exclamations. - -Across the chest, shoulders, and arms of the suspect, the refugee, were -half-a-hundred purple-black blotches. - -"Spotted fever," said the governor's physician, stepping back as if his -task was done and over with. - -"Tut! tut! Too bad," observed Silverado. "Captain, I regret to say that -this is a quarantine case." - -"Eh? Oh, just so," responded Broadbeam. "Well, take him to the -pesthouse, then." - -The officer shook his head slowly. - -"Gone too far for that," he said. "He has probably infected the others. -Let no man leave the ship," he called out loudly to some of the crew who -were moving away in the haste of fright. "I declare this ship in a -state of quarantine," pursued Silverado, in a tone of command, producing -a document bearing an official red seal. "We will send you a yellow -flag, captain, and you will remain here subject to official orders." - -"Quarantined?" cried the captain, bristling up. "And for spotted fever? -See here, colonel, we have a skilled physician on board. We will move -out to sea at once and take our own risk on this matter." - -"Impossible," dissented Silverado, smiling sweetly, but with the latent -malice of triumph in his undertone. "Law of the nations--no right to -imperil the general safety. No, within two weeks we will give you -clearance if no new cases break out. Meantime----" - -The officer coolly affixed the sealed document in his hand to the -mainmast. - -Captain Broadbeam wriggled, fumed, groaned. He was too thorough a -seaman to mistake his predicament. His brow grew dark and threatening. - -"Bob, quick, come here." - -With a violent jerk Dave Fearless pulled his startled chum to one side. - -"Quick as you can," he spoke rapidly, "rush to the purser. Tell him to -instantly send me up a rag that has been well saturated in turpentine." - -"Why, Dave----" - -"No questions, no delay," ordered Dave peremptorily. - -Bob shot away on his mission, Dave set his teeth, breathing hard. In a -flash a sinister suspicion had arisen in his mind. Like lightning -memory flew back to the overheard interview on the porch of the native -pilot between that crafty individual and the tricky Schmitt-Schmitt. - -"He said he could delay the _Swallow_, he hinted at spots, some paint, -at washing them off," mused Dave. "Good for you. Hold on." - -Dave snatched the rag soaked with turpentine from Bob Vilett's hands. -He ran forward now to where his friends were depressedly watching -Tompkins arranging his shirt to replace it. - -Dave made a dash at the man. He held him firmly by one shoulder. With -his free hand he slapped the rag briskly over his bare flesh to and fro. - -Dave's eyes sparkled immediately with the intensest satisfaction. One -by one the dark spots on the back of Tompkins began to disappear. - -"Captain Broadbeam," cried Dave, pulling the squirming Tompkins around -into full view, "a paint-trick. This man has got no more spotted fever -than I have myself." - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE MYSTERIOUS JAR - - -Dave Fearless had saved the day. The young ocean diver knew this the -moment he glanced at the faces of those about him. - -The wretch Tompkins shrank and cowered in a guilty manner. The -squeamish crew looked relieved. The governor's physician and his -military companion affected a profound astonishment, but secretly were -overwhelmed with confusion and chagrin. - -Captain Broadbeam's eyes opened wide in amazement at the first. Then as -he guessed it out that a plot against him had been attempted they blazed -with wrath. - -"Put that man in irons," he roared out. - -"Pardon, captain," interrupted Silverado, stepping forward, "we will do -that. There is some grave mistake here." - -"Mistake?" shouted Broadbeam. "Villainy, a conspiracy. Why----" - -"The governor will investigate this matter thoroughly," said Silverado. - -Dave had glided to the captain's side. In a quick undertone he advised -him to smother his wrath for policy's sake. They allowed their visitors -to hustle Tompkins into their boat. To the last Silverado wore a suave -mask of forced politeness. - -"You vile scum," broke out Broadbeam, shaking his fist after the -departing yawl. "It's hard to keep the bit between my teeth and say -nothing when I know that all hands from the governor down are in this -dirty plot." - -The old salt bestowed an approving look on Dave and hustled to the -forecastle, calling the crew around him. - -"Dave, how did you ever come to think of it?" marveled Bob Vilett. - -"Why, it was simple--putting two and two together. I remembered the -pilot's talk about paint," replied Dave. "Hear that! Captain Broadbeam -is on his mettle." - -Both boys listened to the sonorous voice of the commander of the -_Swallow_. He was greatly aroused. They heard him give orders to have -the entire armament of the _Swallow_ put in active commission. A stand -of rifles was to be set ready for use. To Mr. Drake was delegated the -task of furbishing up two old brass ten-pounders from the hold. - -"We sail to-morrow," announced the captain. "Look out for tricks -to-night. These villains won't let us go without meddling further if -they can help it. My men, I ask you all to stand by me if there's a -scrimmage, and there will be one if those fellows try to block my way." - -Dave came in for a good deal of attention from the captain, Doctor -Barrell, and his father, when affairs had quieted down somewhat. They -all realized that his good memory and shrewd forethought had saved them -a vexatious delay and no end of further trouble from the treacherous -governor and his cohorts. - -"I will be glad when we get clear of the island to-morrow," said Dave, -as Bob turned in for the night. - -It had been a busy, exciting day, and Dave was glad to have a few -moments to himself to think over affairs in general. - -He stretched himself on a heap of canvas in the shadow of the rear -cabin, overlooking the creek and the beautiful moonlit expanse -stretching out beyond it. - -Dave mused, dozed, woke up, and stretched himself. He heard the -night-watch laughing and talking in low tones amidships. - -"I'll join them, listen to one or two of their wild yarns, and then turn -in for the night myself," he decided. - -Half-arising, however, Dave came to a rigid pose. He stared hard beyond -the rail and down into the still waters of the creek. - -Everything was so calm and still that the least sound or movement was -vividly distinct to ear and eye. - -Dave's eye had detected a ripple in the quiet waters. Then momentarily -a human head had protruded into view. - -It bobbed down under water again. It came up ten feet nearer to the -_Swallow_. It disappeared once more, and this seemed to carry it past -the watcher's direct range of vision. - -"Someone, and up to something," declared Dave to himself. "Hark, now." - -He bent his ear keenly. A soft drip-drip sounded just beyond the rail. -Then a black hand glistening with water clutched the rail itself. - -Slowly, cautiously the body of a dusky native, attired only in swimming -garb, came into view. This was the person Dave had detected swimming -under water. - -Straddling the rail, the intruder crouched, looking all about the deck. -Then he lifted both feet over onto the planking. - -Dave now noticed that the man carried under one arm quite a bulky -package done up in black oilskin. - -The intruder glanced sharply at the forecastle. Just abutting it was a -box-like section into which all kinds of odds and ends of canvas and -ropes were bundled. Its door was half-ajar. Dave saw the stranger -glide to this, thrust his package inside, glide back to the rail, slip -over it, and drop into the water. - -A minute later the ripples in the creek showed where the fellow was -making his retreat under water. His head came up to the surface once or -twice. Then he arose at a distance down the stream and disappeared -among the dense shrubbery lining the creek. - -"More mischief," instantly decided Dave Fearless. - -Dave made a rush for the forecastle cubby hole. He pulled its door wide -open and groped about. His fingers closed about a dripping object -there. - -"Hard and heavy," said Dave. "Wrapped in the oilskin to protect it. -What can it be?" - -Dave arose to his feet. Suddenly a thrill passed through his frame. - -"Put here for a purpose," he thought. "Can it be an explosive!" - -Internally Dave became immensely excited. Coolly, however, though -carrying the dubious object as though it were an egg, he proceeded to -the ship's rail nearest the shore. - -Dave set the object gently on the rail, climbed over, took it up again, -and, holding it above his head in one hand, dropped into the water. - -The splash, slight as it was, aroused the watch. Two men came hurrying -to the rail. - -"Hold on, there," challenged one of them. - -"It's only me--Dave Fearless," came the retort promptly, "cooling off--a -little swim, that's all." - -"You pick a fine time for it." - -Dave laughed. He liked water, and swam with one hand, came ashore, and -went past its fringe of brush to a clearing. - -"Now then," said Dave, with a great sigh of relief, at a safe distance -from the ship, "burst, if you want to!" - -Dave had set the object he carried down on the ground. He stepped back -a few feet and surveyed it suspiciously. - -"A bomb?" he questioned himself. "How am I going to find out? Perhaps -it's some infernal machine loaded with phosphorus. Then those villains -intended to burn the _Swallow_. Certainly this means some black -mischief." - -Dave roamed about till he found a stout long reed. Then he began to -poke at the object he had brought from the ship. He finally managed to -remove its oilskin covering. - -"It's a jar, a stone jar," he said, "queer and foreign-looking, like we -get snuff or preserved ginger in. Labeled, too, and seals across the -top. It don't look very dangerous, for all the sinister way it came -aboard." - -Dave did not belie his name. He dallied with the situation no longer -and now took up the jar fearlessly. - -Its label resembled the covering used on a package of firecrackers. The -seal was of tin-foil stamped with similar characters in red. - -"Chinese, that's sure," thought Dave. "Shall I risk it?" he questioned -himself, his fingers surrounding the jar cover. - -Dave snapped the seal and removed the cover. A layer of tissue paper -showed. He pulled this out. A dense stench was emitted by the jar. He -poked his finger down into the contents. They were solid and sticky. - -"Why," said Dave, a good deal puzzled, sniffing vigorously, "it's -opium." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - OUTWITTING AN ENEMY - - -Dave Fearless stood looking over the queer jar and its contents very -thoughtfully. - -"Well," he declared at length, "this is a puzzle." - -Under ordinary circumstances Dave might have supposed that some sailor -addicted to the use of opium had hired some emissary to smuggle some of -the drug aboard ship. - -This, however, did not look rational in the present case. In the first -place the contents of the jar represented over a year's pay of the -average sailor. In the next place it was too easy to get it aboard by -ordinary methods to occasion all this mystery. - -Of course Dave at once decided that the placing of the opium in the -forecastle cubby-hole was part and parcel of the same plot that had -nearly wrecked the _Swallow_, that later just that day had developed the -unsuccessful attempt at quarantining the steamer. - -"What's the motive in this latest trick?" mused Dave. "Aha!" he -exclaimed suddenly, "have I guessed it right?" - -A quick suspicion, a prompt suggestion came to Dave's mind. He was -speedy to act. - -"I think I've struck the clew," he said--"I think I'm acting right in -this matter." - -Dave, carrying the jar with him, wandered about till he found a decayed -tree stump. He emptied the opium into a hole in the wood and covered it -over with bark. - -Dave scraped the jar and made a little ball of the leavings, a sample of -the stuff he might need for later experience and evidence. - -This he did up in a piece of paper, shoving it in a safe pocket. He -washed out the jar thoroughly. Then he wandered about studying the -branches of various trees under which he passed. Several of these Dave -ascended like a boy bird's-nesting. - -He was quite a long time in one tree-top. When he descended to the -ground he had the cover firmly attached to the jar, which he carried as -if extremely careful of its contents. - -"If I am guessing things out right," said Dave, with a kind of satisfied -chuckle, "I think we shall give our enemies quite a novel surprise." - -Dave swam back to the steamer. Arrived on deck he placed the jar just -where he had originally found it. Then he went to bed. - -He overslept himself next morning. The ship was a scene of bustle and -activity. When he came up on deck, every member of the crew proper was -busy, even Bob Vilett. - -So Dave found no opportunity to make a confidant of his special chum, -even had that been his desire or intention. - -At nine o'clock Captain Broadbeam announced that all was ready for their -departure, and ordered steam up. - -Within thirty minutes of getting under way the boatswain hurried from -the bow to where the captain was standing amidships. - -"Coming again, sir," he announced, touching the peak of his cap -respectfully. - -"Who's coming?" demanded Broadbeam. - -"Those buzzards--same gang in the longboat that was here last night." - -"Humph!" growled the captain, gazing stormily at a yawl just rounded -from open water into the mouth of the creek. - -The approaching craft was directed by the plausible Silverado. Smiling -as ever he came on board, three men with him. - -"From his excellency the governor," he said. - -"Yes, yes," answered Captain Broadbeam crossly; "I know all that -rigmarole. What do you want?" - -"A complaint, captain." - -"Who from?" - -"I do not know." - -"What about?" - -"Contraband goods--smuggling." - -Captain Broadbeam laughed in the officer's face outright. - -"Guess not," he said. "I reckon, my friend, about all we will take away -from Minotaur Island will be a mighty poor opinion of its inhabitants." - -"Oh, I trust not," the polite official hastened to say, but added -tersely: "We must make a search." - -"What for?" - -"I have told you--contraband goods. We are having a good deal of -trouble in this line. Ships touching here make the island a sort of -clearing house for dutiable imports and exports. Our governor's high -sense of honor demands extreme vigilance and discipline. We are -authorized to make a search." - -"Search away," cried Broadbeam indifferently, but with some show of -mental irritation. - -Silverado and his aids went into the hold. They made a great pretense of -looking through the lockers in the cabins. - -"Well?" demanded the captain of the _Swallow_ as they came on deck -again, "found any smuggled goods?" - -"None," reported Silverado promptly--"none, I am pleased to say." - -"Then you give us a clean sheet on health and cargo, do you?" said -Broadbeam. "Reason I ask, is that we are going to swing out of harbor -soon as you get through with your tomfoolery." - -Just here one of the officer's assistants came up and whispered in the -ear of his superior. He pointed at the forecastle. - -"Yes, yes," nodded Silverado, "take a look there, and be thorough." - -"Getting warm!" chuckled Dave to himself--"the precious hypocrites!" - -The man went into the forecastle and came out again. He looked into the -water barrel. He lifted some box covers. Just as Dave guessed he would -do, he kept up all this wise pretense until he landed up against the -forecastle cubby-hole. - -"I have found something," he announced, after groping in the hole. He -had brought forth the stone jar. - -"Ah, what is this?" spoke the officer. "Captain," he added, assuming -great sudden gravity as he inspected the jar, "this looks pretty -serious." - -"Well, what's the mare's nest now?" petulantly demanded Broadbeam. - -The officer held up the jar in plain view. - -"It is what we expected to find," he announced severely. "It is opium. -We know that last week a tramp steamer landed a lot of the stuff on the -island. The labels show that this is part of the same contraband cargo. -I declare this package and the _Swallow_ under confiscation, and arrest -you. You must come to the governor." - -"Oh, that so?" slowly spoke Captain Broadbeam, his shoulders hunching -dangerously. "I never saw that jar before, and, shiver my timbers!" -roared the incensed old captain, shaking his fist vigorously under -Silverado's nose, "I don't know the stuff is opium." - -"Oh, yes, captain," insisted the officer. "The labels are unmistakable. -Look for yourself. Ough!" - -With smart-Aleck readiness the suave Silverado untwisted the jar cover. -With a sharp cry he dropped it. In a cloud, a stream, there instantly -darted out from the receptacle an angry procession of hornets. - -They lit on those nearest to the jar, the officer and his assistants. -One of his aides was a special target. The poor fellow ran to the side -to escape them. He set up renewed yells as they stuck, pestered, and -stung. Then, splash! he took a reckless header into the waters of the -creek to escape his pertinacious tormentors. - -Silverado lost all his usual calm dignity trying to evade the little -pests. He bit his lips and scowled as the captain faced him with a loud -derisive guffaw. - -"Here, take away your contraband goods with you," shouted Broadbeam, -dropping jar and cover into the yawl, as the official hastily descended -into it, a crestfallen look on his face. "Ready, there," he added to -the boatswain. "Steam up." - -"Aye, aye, sir." - -Captain Broadbeam stepped to the little pilot house. He touched an -electric button. - -Dave watched the maneuver with a glowing face. He was full of the -successful guess he had made concerning the planted opium, but he did -not try to explain that just then. - -The jar of the starting steam below communicated a vibrating thrill to -his nerves. Dave ran up to Amos Fearless as the veteran diver crossed -the deck. - -"Good news, father!" cried Dave gayly, "We've started." - -"Hey and hallo for me paternal dominions--once more for the Windjammers' -Island and the stolen threasure!" shouted Pat Stoodles, cutting a caper. - -"Will we find it, I wonder?" sighed the old diver thoughtfully. - -"I think we shall, father," answered Dave Fearless, with confidence. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - A BOLD PROJECT - - -The _Swallow_ cleared her moorings in the creek on Minotaur Island, and -steamed out into the broad waters of the bay, a thing of life and -beauty. - -"And what's that for now?" asked Pat Stoodles of Dave, who was watching -their progress and the coastline with great interest. - -"I see," nodded Dave. "You mean the longboat from the governor?" - -"That same, lad. Luk at 'em, now. Ever since we came into open wather -they've been tearing along for the town like mad. Aha, there goes one -of those measly marines overboard." - -Dave ran for a telescope. He viewed the government boat with a good -deal of curiosity. - -The official, Silverado, stood up in the stern gesticulating with -energy, and evidently inciting his men to their best efforts at the -oars. - -"In a hurry to reach town, it seems," muttered Pat. - -"In a tremendous hurry," said Dave. "So much so, that one of the men -has leaped overboard, waded ashore, and is making a lickety-switch run -across lots for the town." - -Dave went at once to Captain Broadbeam and apprized him of the maneuvers -of their recent visitors. - -"That's all right, lad," chuckled the old mariner. "Let 'em squirm. -We're safe out of their clutches." - -"Not so safe," spoke Dave to his father, half an hour later. "Look -there." - -The officer Silverado had seemingly got word to the governor of the -departure of the _Swallow_. A few minutes after the longboat had -disappeared around a neck of land, the ironclad gunboat hove into view. - -She was a saucy, spiteful little craft and a fast runner. She was -headed direct for the _Swallow_. - -"Are they coming for us, captain?" inquired Amos Fearless, somewhat -anxiously. - -"I hope not, for their own sakes," muttered Broadbeam quickly. Then he -shouted some orders down the tube and the _Swallow_ made a spurt. - -"Running away?" said Pat Stoodles. "Shure, if I was in command I'd -sthand and give her one or two good welts." - -"Captain Broadbeam knows his business, Mr. Stoodles," declared Dave; -"you can always count on that." - -Far out in the bay were a group of sandbars and several small wooded -islands. The _Swallow_ was headed for the largest of these islets. The -gunboat swung a challenge signal to which the _Swallow_ made no reply. - -Then, just as the steamer, pursuant to her captain's orders, began to -slow up, the ironclad fired a gun. - -"Give them their walking papers, Mr. Drake," rang out Broadbeam to the -boatswain. - -The latter ran up a signal flag. This signified that the _Swallow_ -announced herself two-and-one-half miles from shore, and therefore out -of the jurisdiction of Minotaur Island, claiming the freedom of neutral -waters. - -"That'll hold her for a while," gloated Stoodles. "Aha! ye'll have to -take back wather now." - -The gunboat reminded Dave of some spiteful being cheated out of its -prey. She circled, spit steam, and went more slowly back to port. - -Captain Broadbeam now ordered the _Swallow_ just without the shoal line -of a big sandy island they had neared. Here they came to anchor. - -Bob Vilett came up on deck reeking with the steam and grease of the -engine room. - -"What's the programme, Bob?" asked Dave. - -"Captain says we are going to stop here and take on ballast." - -"For how long?" - -"Till to-morrow, I reckon. I say, Dave, you've got your heart's desire, -eh?" - -"I am the happiest boy living," answered the young diver. "Something -tells me we are going to get and enjoy that treasure after all mishaps -and disappointments." - -In order to repair the _Swallow_ in the creek, the ballast had been -taken out and the contents of the hold generally shifted about. - -Now the captain set his men at work to take on new sand ballast from the -island and get things in the hold in regular order. - -A pulley cable was run ashore. Dave and Bob were the first to take an -aerial spin along this, dangling from the big iron kettle that ran down -the incline. - -Dave had told Captain Broadbeam and the others of his agency in the -matter of substituting the hornets for the opium. The recital had made -the captain good-natured, and he had given the boys permission to rove -over the sand island at will for the day. - -Dave and Bob put in a pleasant hour or two talking, fishing, and -discussing the probable adventures that would greet them when they again -visited the Windjammers' Island. - -At about five o'clock in the afternoon the work of securing ballast was -completed. The captain then announced that there was some work still to -do in the hold. They would make their real start with daylight. - -Dave and Bob were taking a last swim in the cool of the day. A clear -sky and a fine breeze made the exercise delightful. Finally they got -daring one another. Dave swam to the little sand islet next to the -large one. Bob beat him in a race to the third of the group. - -"Come on, if you've got the nerve," hailed Dave, making a quarter-mile -dash for a sand mound still beyond them. - -Bob started, but turned back. Dave made port and threw himself on the -dry sand to rest. He got back his breath and sat up ready to take the -home course, when his eye was attracted to something on an island about -a furlong beyond the one he was on. - -This was the nearest of the wooded islands. Dave had not noticed it much -before. What made him notice it now was that, half-hidden in a great -growth of bushes and vines, he noticed a small log hut. - -In front of this a mast ran up into the air. At the moment that Dave -looked he saw a man fumbling at the lines along this mast. It was to -raise a blue bunting. - -"Hello, hello," murmured Dave slowly, staring hard and thinking -desperately fast. "Why, that's easy to guess. That man is -Schmitt-Schmitt." - -Dave could not precisely recognize the man at such a distance, but felt -sure that it was Schmitt-Schmitt. He thought this the more positively -as he saw that piece of blue bunting run up the mast. - -"That was one of the signals I heard Schmitt-Schmitt tell the pilot -about," mused Dave. "Red for provisions, blue for sickness or help -wanted. Lantern at night, bunting by day. That's it, sure. He is -signaling the pilot. That island is Schmitt-Schmitt's place of hiding. -Say, here's something to think about." - -Dave did not stay long to think about it. His eyes brightened and he -seemed moved by some inspiriting idea as he jumped into the water and -was soon back in the company of his chum, Bob Vilett. - -Dave was quite silent and meditative till they had reached the big sandy -island. Arrived there, he slowly dressed himself. - -"Come on, I'm hungry as a bear--don't want to miss a good supper, Dave," -hailed Bob, starting for the _Swallow_. - -"Hold on!" challenged Dave. "I want to tell you something before we go -aboard." - -"Fire away," directed Bob. - -"Can you manage to get off duty about dusk?" - -"There's nothing for me to do till we steam up again," replied Bob. -"Why?" - -"Can we get one of the small boats for an hour or two, do you think?" - -Bob shook his head negatively. - -"Heard the captain shut down on the chance of anybody sneaking to town -and making more trouble. No, it can't be done, unless the captain gives -special orders. Why?" pressed Bob curiously. - -"I don't want to tell the captain what I am up to till I accomplish -something," explained Dave. "I'll tell you, though, for you've got to -help me." - -"All right, Dave," piped Bob readily. - -"We must rig up some kind of a craft to reach the first wooded island." - -"What for?" - -"Schmitt-Schmitt is in hiding there." - -"Aha, I see!" cried Bob excitedly. - -"I propose," said Dave deliberately, "that we visit him, capture him, -and bring on board the _Swallow_--as a prisoner--the only man probably -who can guide us straight to that stolen treasure." - -"Famous!" cried Bob Vilett enthusiastically--"but can we do it?" - -"Let's try it, anyhow," answered Dave Fearless. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE WOODED ISLAND - - -Captain Broadbeam gave pretty strict orders at dusk. A watch was set -with directions to allow no one to leave the _Swallow_. All the small -boats were chained stoutly. - -"We'll have to defer going ashore, or report our plans to the captain," -said Bob Vilett about eight o'clock, coming up on deck with a wry face. -He was in overalls and his hands covered with oil. "No go, Dave," he -reported. - -"You mean you can't join me?" asked Dave, in disappointment. - -"That's it, Dave. There's work till twelve. I've got to stay. Say, why -don't you tell the captain your idea and have him send men and a boat -after Schmitt-Schmitt?" - -"No," said Dave, "Captain Broadbeam wouldn't entertain the project for a -moment. He is a first-class captain, but hint at anything outside of his -ship, and he won't take the risk." - -"What are you going to do, then?" - -"Try it alone." - -"Be careful, Dave. Don't undertake too much. You can never manage -Schmitt-Schmitt alone. Why don't you impress Stoodles into service?" - -"Mr. Stoodles is willing enough," answered Dave, "but he might bungle. -It will be all I can do to get off the _Swallow_ alone." - -Dave managed this, however, a little later, without discovery. Once on -the sand flat, he dragged some planks and ropes the ballast crew had -left there to the other side of the island. Dave constructed quite a -raft and pushed it into the water. Swimming, he propelled it before -him. Within half an hour he was on the wooded island. - -The first thing that caught his eye was a blue light strung from a tree -at the end of the island nearer the town. Here there was a favorable -natural landing-place. - -"The bunting signal didn't attract attention," reasoned Dave, "so -Schmitt-Schmitt has tried the lantern. Wonder if he is at the hut? I'll -work my way around that direction and find out." - -Dave had the bold idea in mind of capturing this man. As he went along -he thought of plan after plan. If he could get Schmitt-Schmitt helpless -in his power, he could convey him to the _Swallow_ on the raft. - -"The very thing," said Dave gladly, as he neared the vicinity of the -hut. Lying across the top of some bushes was a fishing net. It had -long rope ends. Dave with his pocket knife cut these off and thrust -them in his pocket. - -"Hey, what are you up to there?" - -Dave thrilled at the sharp call, and turned quickly to face his -challenger. - -It was Schmitt-Schmitt. He had abruptly emerged from the greenery -surrounding the hut. He carried a big cudgel, and as the clear -moonlight revealed the face of the intruder plainly he uttered a quick -gasp. - -"Ha, I know you!" cried Schmitt-Schmitt, advancing with a scowling face. - -"It seems so," answered Dave coolly, cautiously retreating. "You are -Mr. Gerstein." - -"No, you don't!" spoke the man, with a speedy leap forward. - -Dave dodged, but not soon enough. The cudgel came down directly on top -of his head. He saw stars, sank flat, and knew no more for fully five -minutes. - -Then, his lower limbs wound round and round with ropes, he struggled -upon the floor of a hut. - -At a table on which burned a candle sat Schmitt-Schmitt. He had just -opened a bottle of lime juice and was about to pour some of its contents -into a glass to refresh himself. - -He suspended operations, however, as Dave struggled to an upright -position, attracting his attention. - -"Well," he spoke with a coarse chuckle, "how did that wallop suit you?" - -Dave rubbed his sore head and made a wry grimace. - -"You don't treat visitors very politely, do you?" he said. - -"You're a spy, you are," spoke Gerstein sullenly, "and don't you deny -it. I know you. Now then, what brought you here?" - -"What brought you?" retorted Dave. - -"Don't you get saucy," warned Schmitt-Schmitt. "All along you did the -big things that were done in baffling the Hankers. I hear, too, you -have been pretty smart with your tricks since you came to Minotaur -Island." - -"Of course I've been trying to do all I could to protect my rights," -said Dave. "I knew you were in hiding here." - -"Ha! eh?" exclaimed Schmitt-Schmitt, pricking up his ears. "How did you -know that?" - -"Oh, we have kept track of you," answered Dave lightly. "As soon as we -found you were back of the governor and the pilot in bothering us, we -naturally watched you." - -Schmitt-Schmitt stared in stupefaction at Dave. - -"Knew it, did you?" he muttered. - -"Of course we did. We knew what you were up to. Now I can tell you, -Mr. Gerstein, you will never get that treasure away from the -Windjammers' Island, no matter how hard you try." - -"Treasure! The Windjammers' Island!" gasped the man. -"How--when--where--the--the treasure was lost at sea." - -"Not a bit of it, as you and I both know," asserted Dave blithely, -reading in the confusion and excitement of the man a confirmation of his -suspicions. "I say the _Swallow_, with or without me, sails in search -of that treasure at daylight. Come, sir, you have gone in with a measly -crowd who will only rob you in the end. Come to Captain Broadbeam, save -us the trouble of a long search, and my father will pay you all right." - -Schmitt-Schmitt got up and paced the floor. He seemed thinking over what -Dave had suggested. His face, however, gradually resumed its customary -ferocity and cunning. - -"No," he said finally, striking the table with his fist and taking in -his captive's helpless situation with a good deal of satisfaction. "I -have the upper hand. I keep it." - -"What upper hand?" asked Dave. - -"You are my prisoner. Soon the pilot will be here in response to my -signal with his launch. I will take you to the island with me. I will -hide you. They will not get along so grandly without you. They will -delay to search for you, and delay is all I ask. Yes, yes, that is the -programme." - -Some whistles from craft in the bay echoed out. Schmitt-Schmitt went -outside, apparently to see if some answer was coming to his signal. - -"I am in it--deep," mused Dave. "Pshaw! I hate to think I shall delay -and bother Captain Broadbeam." - -Dave found that the ropes securing him were not very tightly arranged. -They had been drawn to a loop about his waist and caught with snap and -hook behind. - -"If I had time I could work loose," he thought. "I have not time, so I -suppose I must wait meekly and take what comes to me. Oh, by the -way--that's an idea!" - -The "idea" in question was suggested by a glance at the bottle and glass -on the table. Dave's eyes sparkled. He fumbled under the ropes and -brought out wrapped up in a fragment of paper the sample of opium he had -discovered the night previous. - -Frog-like he began hitching himself across the floor. Dave kept his eye -anxiously fixed on the open doorway. He got to the table, reached up, -dropped some grains of the drug into the glass there, and nimbly as he -could hitched his way back to his former position. - -Two minutes later Schmitt-Schmitt reappeared. He went at once to the -table, poured out a drink, settled back in his chair, and said -complacently: - -"My friend will soon be here. Do your friends also know I am here?" - -"Oh, dear, you mustn't expect me to tell any secrets to a fellow who -won't join in with us," said Dave. - -"Maybe after a little solitude you will be willing to talk," observed -Schmitt-Schmitt meaningly. - -"All right--we'll see," said Dave, with affected unconcern. - -Dave's eyes sparkled as Schmitt-Schmitt began to blink. He was -delighted as the man fell back drowsily in the chair. - -"Now's my chance," said Dave, as a prolonged snore announced the -complete subjugation of Schmitt-Schmitt to the influence of the drug. - -Dave did some brisk moving about. He managed to get to a cupboard. He -could not reach his own pocket knife. In the cupboard he found a case -knife and set at work sawing away the ropes that bound him. - -He laughed at his rare success, as stretching his cramped limbs he went -outside for a moment. - -"I don't want to delay," he thought. "That signal may bring the pilot -at any moment, and that means two to handle instead of one. This is just -famous. Better than I planned out. How shall I get Schmitt-Schmitt to -the raft?" - -Dave found an old wicker mattress on the rude porch of the hut. It had -rope ends to attach as a hammock. He took the precaution to tie -Schmitt-Schmitt's wrists and ankles together with ropes. - -Then Dave dragged the insensible man from his chair across the floor and -let him down flat on the wicker mattress. - -It required all his strength to pull this drag and its burden the two -hundred feet required down the beach. - -"The mischief!" cried Dave, as, panting, he reached the spot where he -had left the rudely improvised raft. - -It was nowhere in sight, and he readily surmised that he had carelessly -left it too near the surf, which had carried it away. - -"Whatever am I to do now?" thought Dave. "I can't swim to the _Swallow_ -with this man. I must find the material for a new raft. Pshaw! there's a -call to time." - -Dave glanced keenly seawards. Then with due haste he dragged mattress -and burden back into the brush out of sight. - -Peering thence, he watched a little launch making for the wooded island -at the point where the blue signal shone. - -"The pilot, of course," said Dave. "He has come to see his friend. -What will he do when he fails to find him?" - -With some anxiety Dave Fearless watched the little launch come nearer -and nearer to the wooded island. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - A RACE FOR LIFE - - -"Yes, it is the pilot," said Dave to himself, as the launch drove -directly into the little natural landing-place where the blue lantern -swung. - -Dave peered from his bushy covert and closely watched the maneuvers of -its occupant. - -The pilot ran the nose of the craft well into the sand, shut off the -power, and leaped ashore. - -Dave saw him take up a basket and watched him depart for the hut. As -soon as some trees shut him out from view Dave leaped on board of the -launch. - -A momentary inspection of the operating lever and steering gear told -Dave that he could easily navigate the boat. - -"I must lose no time," he thought. "My only chance of getting away with -Schmitt-Schmitt is in taking the launch." - -Dave forthwith dragged his unconscious captive to the launch. It was no -easy task to get that bulky individual aboard. Dave accomplished it, -however, and then paused to catch his breath and wipe the perspiration -from his face. - -"Hi! hi! hi!" - -A ringing yell, or rather three of them, uttered in rapid and startling -succession, made Dave turn with a shock. - -Looking down the beach, he saw the pilot running towards him at full -speed. The latter had evidently visited the hut, had found it vacated, -and coming out to look for his missing friend, had discovered the launch -in the hands of a stranger. - -Dave made no reply. He sprang to the little lever, reversing it, and -the launch slid promptly back into the water. Swinging the steering -gear south, Dave turned on full power. - -"Stop. I'll shoot--stop! stop!" panted the pilot, gaining on Dave with -prodigious bounds of speed. - -Dave kept his hand on the lever, his eyes fixed ahead. Suddenly---- - -Bang--ping! a shot whistled past his ear. Dave crouched and darted a -quick glance backward. The pilot, coming to a standstill, was firing at -him from a revolver. - -Dave saw a point of refuge ahead. This was a broken irregular wooded -stretch, well-nigh impassable on foot. As a second shot sounded out, -Dave curved around this point of land. - -He was now out of view of the pilot, who would find great difficulty in -crossing the stretch lying between them, as it was marshy in spots. -Dave lined the shore farther on, feeling pretty proud of the success of -his single-handed enterprise. - -"Why," he mused, "we have the game in our own hands completely now. I -wonder what father and Captain Broadbeam will say to all this. Of -course they won't fancy such a guest as Schmitt-Schmitt, but they must -see how holding him a harmless captive helps our plans." - -Dave made a sweep with the launch to edge the rounding end of the -island. Here it narrowed to about two hundred feet. It would now be a -straight bolt past the same islets to where the _Swallow_ was. - -"Won't do--the gunboat, sure as shingles!" spoke Dave suddenly. - -Almost directly in his course, and bearing down upon him, was the -ironclad. In that clear moonlight everything was plain as in daylight. -Dave could see the people on board the gunboat, and they could see -him--without doubt. - -In fact, someone in uniform leaned over the bow of the ironclad in his -direction. Dave caught an indistinct hail. He paid no attention to it. - -He acted with the precipitancy of a school fugitive running away from a -truant officer. He saw just one chance to evade an unpleasant -overhauling by the ironclad, and took it. - -This was to instantly steer to the north and shoot down the narrow neck -of water lying between the wooded island and the nearest sand island. - -Dave knew that this channel must be quite shallow. He doubted if the -cumbersome iron-clad could navigate it. Even if it tried to, it would -be some minutes before its crew could swing around into position to make -the chase. - -The launch took the channel like an arrow. Dave's spirits rose high, -notwithstanding some loud and quite peremptory hails from the direction -of the gunboat. - -"Better than before," soliloquized Dave. "I can swing around the -sandbars directly to the anchorage of the _Swallow_." - -Glancing back, Dave saw that the gunboat did not intend to follow the -course he had taken. That craft had stopped and put about. - -"They must suspect that something's not exactly right," calculated Dave. -"The mischief--that was close. Ouch! I'm hit." - -Dave went keeling over from the bow seat. Very suddenly, from some -bushes on the wooded island, there were two sharp flashes and reports. -One bullet whizzed past his head, the second plowed a furrow across his -forearm. It was not deep, but the wound bled, and the surprise and -shock sent Dave over backwards. - -The worst of it was that he jerked the lever, and this, turning the -launch, sent its nose directly into shore, and there the boat stuck, -vibrating with the impact of the still working machinery. The pilot -instantly ran from cover towards the boat, flourishing the weapon in his -hand. He had crossed the island, it seemed, to head off the launch, and -it looked as though Dave was doomed to disaster in his present -enterprise. - -Dave scrambled to get back to the lever, and reverse the launch. As he -did so his hand touched something lying upon straps at the side of the -seat pit. - -It was a rifle. Dave seized it, jerked it and its fastenings free, and -extended it directly at the running figure ashore. - -"Get back," he shouted. "Drop that pistol, Mr. Pilot, or there will be -trouble." - -The pilot, with a howl of rage, halted short. He flung the revolver -down. Dave guessed that it was now empty. - -As Dave touched the lever and got out into the channel again, he saw the -pilot running back along the beach. He was headed for the end of the -island in the direction of the ironclad, and yelling out some -information to those aboard at the top of his bellowing voice. - -"Now for a spurt," said Dave. - -The channel was about a mile long. Dave came to its end in fine -spirits. It was a clear run now past the two outer sand islands, and a -half-mile turn would bring him to the _Swallow_. - -He proceeded more leisurely now, for it did not seem possible that the -ironclad could make the opposite circuit in time to head him off. Where -the sand hills dropped, however, Dave had a view across the two next -islands. - -"They are after me," he exclaimed. "The pilot has advised them of the -real state of affairs, and it's a sharp run. Full power--go!" - -Dave had made out the gunboat whizzing down the channel between the two -outer sand islands. She was forcing full speed. It was a question -whether the gunboat would not emerge first into the open sea and block -his course. - -Dave put on power that made the little launch strain and quiver from -stem to stern. He was terribly excited and anxious. His breath came in -quick jerks, his heart beat fast. - -"Close shave," he panted, "but I've made it." - -Two hundred feet down the channel was the gunboat, as Dave crossed her -outlet. The ironclad swung out after him not one minute later. - -The launch fairly skimmed the water. The ironclad loomed portentously -near, but Dave felt that, no mishap occurring, he would win the race. - -"They've got me, I guess," he gasped a second later. - -A flash, a loud boom, and a terrific concussion plunged Dave into a -condition of extreme confusion and uncertainty. - -The ironclad had fired a shot. It had struck the stern of the launch, -splintering it clear open. A great shower of water deluged Dave and his -insensible captive. - -Dave regarded the damage done with grave dismay--the stern had sunk and -the launch was now on a slant. - -In fact, the rear portion of the boat was under water to the rail. - -Only by keeping up power could the launch be prevented from filling and -going down. Dave never let go his grasp on the lever. He held firmly to -the last notch in the indicator. - -As he turned the end of the last sand island, the maneuver made the -launch wabble. Just here a second gun was fired from the ironclad. The -shot went far wide of its intended mark, but a vital alarm urged Dave to -change his course. - -The launch went sideways, and a sudden inrush of water sunk her to the -middle. Dave headed for shore. There the launch struck, a wreck. - -Down the shore lay the _Swallow_. Active lights were bobbing about her -deck, so Dave knew that the crew had been aroused by the firing at sea. - -His first thought was to get Schmitt-Schmitt out of the half-submerged -launch. He dragged his captive to the beach, then he took a look at the -gunboat. - -"Why," exclaimed Dave, in mingled astonishment and satisfaction, "she's -grounded." - -Apparently the ironclad had struck some treacherous sandbar over which -the light swift launch had glided in safety. Loud orders, quick bells, -and whistles made a small babel aboard the craft in distress. - -Dave glanced down calculatingly at his helpless captive. He must get -him to the _Swallow_. But how? - -The pit crate of the launch had floated up as the craft filled with -water. Dave waded to it, pulled it ashore, and rolled Schmitt-Schmitt -across it. - -He was now quite hidden from the view of those aboard of the gunboat, -but he feared they might send a yawl on an investigating expedition. - -Dave swam, pushing the crate before him. Often he glanced back. There -was no pursuit. More hopefully and nearer and nearer he approached the -_Swallow_. With a kind of a faint cheer Dave hailed her as he came -within hearing distance. - -"Ahoy, there!" rang back Captain Broadbeam's foghorn voice, as he gazed -down at crate, burden, and swimmer. - -"It's me--Dave Fearless," began the latter. - -"Bet it is! Had to have a rumpus, eh? What was the shooting? Lower -away there, men. Two of you, eh? What! that rascally pawnbroker, -Gerstein!" fairly yelled the captain, as by stages Dave and his captive -came nearer, were helped by the crew, and now gained the deck of the -_Swallow_. - -"Yes, Captain Broadbeam," nodded the nearly exhausted Dave. "The -gunboat--after us--suggest you get away--at once--excuse--weak and -dizzy----" - -And just then Dave Fearless sank flat to the deck of the _Swallow_, -overcome completely after the hardest work he had ever done in his life. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - OVERBOARD - - -"What does he say, Captain Broadbeam?" asked Dave Fearless. - -"Mum as an oyster, lad." - -"Won't talk, eh?" remarked Dave's father. "Nothing come of giving him -free board, and after all the trouble you had, Dave, in getting him onto -the _Swallow_." - -"You forget, father," reminded Dave, "it is one enemy the less to worry -about." - -"The lad's right," declared Captain Broadbeam. "It means a good deal to -clip the wings of the main mover in this scheme against us. If Gerstein, -or Sehmitt-Schmitt as he calls himself, won't do us any good, at least -he can do us no harm as long as we hold him a prisoner. I reckon those -fellows back at Minotaur Island are a little dazed at the slick way we -disappeared,--ship, their crony, and all." - -Bob Vilett, seated in the cabin with the others, laughed heartily. - -"It was a big move and a good one, that of yours in capturing this -rascal," he declared to Dave. "Now we certainly have the field to -ourselves. The governor and the pilot can't follow us, for they don't -know where we have gone. No one is on this treasure search except -ourselves. It's a clear field, as I say." - -"Until we reach the Windjammers' Island," suggested Dave. "I wouldn't -wonder if Gerstein had left Captain Nesik and the others there, probably -guarding the treasure while awaiting his return." - -The _Swallow_ had got away from the vicinity of Minotaur Island two days -previous. Just as soon as, after his exciting capture of Gerstein, Dave -had sufficiently recovered to explain matters to Captain Broadbeam, the -latter had ordered on full steam, leaving the ironclad stuck on the -sandbar. - -Gerstein raved like a madman when the drug Dave had given him began to -lose its effect. He threatened all kinds of things--the law, for one, -for kidnapping--but Captain Broadbeam only laughed at him. - -"Just one word, my hearty," he observed spicily. "As long as you behave -yourself, outside of every man aboard having his eye on you to look out -for tricks, you'll have bed and food with the best of us. Try any -didos, though, and I clap you into irons--understand?" - -Gerstein became at once sullen and silent. When he came on deck after -that he spoke to nobody. Most of the time he remained shut up by -himself in the little cabin apportioned to him. - -The second day out Captain Broadbeam sought an interview with him. It -was after a talk with Amos Fearless. - -He offered Gerstein a liberal share of the treasure if he would divulge -its whereabouts and tell what had become of the _Raven_ and her crew. - -Gerstein declined to say a word. He simply regarded the captain in a -mocking, insolent way. It was evident that the fellow appreciated the -full value of his knowledge concerning the treasure. - -"He's counting on getting away from us somehow, before the cruise is -over," reported Captain Broadbeam to his friends, "or he is taking -chances on our running into a nest of his friends when we reach the -Windjammers' Island." - -The _Swallow_ had a delightful run to Mercury Island. Before they -reached it Gerstein was placed in the hold, and there closely guarded by -two mariners until they had provisioned up and were once more on their -way. - -Dave had little to do except to wait the end of their cruise, yet he put -in some busy hours. For three days he kept Stoodles at his side at the -table in the captain's cabin, questioning him on every detail about the -lay and outlines of the island they were sailing to. Then he made a -chart of the island, and as near as possible from memory marked in the -other island where they had recovered possession of the _Swallow_ after -it had been stranded during a cyclone. - -The weather changed suddenly a day or two out from Mercury Island. They -rode into a fierce northeaster, and it rained nearly all the time, with -leaden skies and a choppy sea. - -Dave was a good deal below. One afternoon, returning from a brief visit -to Bob Vilett, as he was making for the cabin passageway, a chink of -light attracted his attention. - -It emanated from a crack in the paneling of the cabin occupied by -Gerstein. Dave drew nearer to the chink, and could look quite clearly -into the compartment that housed the person in whom he was naturally -very much interested at all times. - -"H'm!" said Dave, with a bright flicker in his eye. "He's making a -chart, too, is he?" - -The daylight was so dim that Gerstein had a lighted candle on the table -at which he sat. Spread out before him was a sheet of heavy manila -paper. It bore black outlines as if an irregular body of land, and had -crosses and dots all over it. - -At this Gerstein was working, thoughtfully scanning it at times and then -making additions to it. Dave believed that it had something to do with -the treasure. - -"Our treasure," he reflected, "and I'll play something else than the spy -if I get a chance to look over that chart, whatever it is." - -He watched the man's movements for over half an hour. Then Gerstein -folded up the paper, placing it in a thin tin tobacco box. This he -secured in a pocket in the blue shirt he wore, buttoning the pocket flap -securely. - -Dave got no further sight of the mysterious paper, if such it was, -during the next week. He felt himself justified in trying to get a -chance to secure the little tin box. Twice he visited Gerstein's cabin -secretly, while its occupant was on deck. Gerstein, however, apparently -carried the box with him wherever he went. - -One night, when he slept, Dave crept into the cabin, the door of which -for a wonder had been left unlocked. He ransacked Gerstein's clothing, -but with no result. - -"Got it somewhere in bed with him," thought Dave. "I don't dare to try -and find it, though. I would surely wake him up. I believe I will tell -Captain Broadbeam about the little tin box. If it in any way concerns -this treasure, why haven't we the right to take it away from Gerstein, -even by force?" - -Before Dave had an opportunity to consult with Captain Broadbeam, -however, something transpired that changed all his plans. - -It was a dark and stormy night. The weather had been rough all day. -Dave came on deck about eight o'clock to find the captain on duty. A -few men were making things tidy about the stern deck. - -The _Swallow_ was plowing the water, slanted like a swordfish in action. -Dave held to a handle at the side of the cabin, peering into the -darkness that hung about them like a pall. - -According to the calculations of the captain they were somewhere in the -vicinity of the Windjammers' Island--probably within fifty miles of it, -he had told Amos Fearless at sunset. - -As Dave stood there, braced and exhilarated by the dash of wind and -spray, he saw Gerstein suddenly rush up the cabin stairs. - -"Hello, what's up with him, I wonder," thought Dave. - -The remark was caused by a view of the face of the fellow as he passed a -lantern set near the forecastle. Gerstein seemed frightfully agitated. -Heedless of the slippery deck, he plunged along towards the stern. Once -or twice a lurch threatened to bring him clear over the rail and into -the sea. - -Dave could not resist following him to learn the cause of his -perturbation. A swing of the boat sent him clinging to the rail. -Holding firmly, Dave, within twelve feet of the stern, saw Gerstein dash -in among the men busy there and heard him shout out: - -"Barlow--quick. Is he here?" - -"Here I am," answered the owner of that name, looking around from his -task of lashing down the cover of a water butt. - -"My shirt--your shirt--the one you loaned me while I had mine washed," -spoke Gerstein, in an anxious, gasping tone. "I gave it back to you -this afternoon." - -"Yes, you did," nodded Barlow. - -"Where is it? Have you it on--say, quick!" - -"Threw it under my bunk. In the forecastle. Bunk nearest the gangway. -Hey, you've no sea legs, that's sure." - -A lurch of the steamer had sent Gerstein off his footing. He went -headlong. His head struck the side, and for a second he lay stunned. - -Before he had fairly got to his feet, Dave Fearless had acted under the -impulse of a very vivid suggestion. - -From what he had seen and heard he felt certain that Gerstein wanted the -shirt he had borrowed because he had left something in his pocket. - -"That tin box, I'll bet--why not?" cried Dave, making a dash in the -direction of the forecastle. - -Dave was so full of his idea that he did not take the trouble to look -back to see if Gerstein was coming, too. He got to the forecastle, was -down the gangway fast as he could go, and a second later was groping -under Barlow's bunk. - -"Here it is," he said, pulling out the garment in question. "Something -in the pocket, too, yes, it's the box--the little tin box, I can tell by -the feeling. Good!" - -Dave hurried back up the steps. He just cleared them as Gerstein -plunged rather than ran towards them. A steady light shone here. - -"Say," bolted out Gerstein, at once recognizing the garment in Dave's -hand, "that's my shirt." - -"No, it isn't," declared Dave, swinging back as Gerstein made a grab at -the garment. "It belongs to Barlow." - -"I have something in it." - -"I know you have." - -"Ha, you spy! Let go, let go." - -The result of a general mixing up of Dave and Gerstein was that each now -had hold of the coveted garment. - -As Gerstein spoke last he sagged and swung Dave around to one side. - -Dave held on tightly. Suddenly Gerstein made a feint. He slackened the -tension by a bend forward, one hand swung out. - -Dave received a heavy blow at the side of the head. It was totally -unexpected, and he loosed his grip and went reeling backward. - -At that moment a terrific wave swept over the deck. Dave was submerged -and carried along. - -He tried in vain to catch at something. The tilt of the steamer sent -him shooting outward, and the next moment he plunged over the rail into -the sea below. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - ADRIFT ON THE PACIFIC - - -The sea had been the natural element of Dave Fearless since his earliest -childhood. In the stress of his present predicament, however, he felt -that he was in the most critical situation of his life. - -A great wave received him as he went overboard. A second swept over it, -ingulfing him for a full half-minute, and he was battling desperately -with the vortex caused in part by the storm, in part by the -swiftly-moving steamer. - -As the youth emerged into less furious elements, his first thought was -of the _Swallow_. He dashed the water from his eyes with one hand and -strained his sight. - -"It's no use," he spoke. "She'll be out of reach in two minutes." - -Dave did not try to shout. It would have done him no good, he realized. -As he was lifted up on the crest of wave after wave, the vague spark of -light that designated the _Swallow_ grew fainter and farther away. -Finally it was shut out from view altogether. - -The water was buoyant, and aided by his expertness as a swimmer Dave did -not sink at all, and found little difficulty in keeping afloat. But how -long could this state of things last? he asked himself. - -There was not the least possible hope of any aid from the _Swallow_. He -had gone overboard unseen by any person except Gerstein. - -"He will tell no one," reflected Dave. "In the first place it would be -dangerous for him to do so, for they would suspect treachery on his -part. In the next place he is probably glad to get rid of me. Unless -Bob or father look into my stateroom, I shall not be missed before -morning. By that time----" - -Dave halted all conjecture there. The present was too vital to waste in -idle surmises. He planned to use all the skill and endurance he -possessed to keep afloat. He might do this for some hours, he -calculated, unless the waves grew much rougher. - -"It's a hard-looking prospect," Dave told himself, as he began to feel -severely the strain of his situation. "Adrift on the Pacific! How far -from land? As I know, the _Swallow's_ course was out of the regular -ocean track. The chances of ever seeing father and the others again are -very slim." - -Something slightly grazed Dave's arm as he concluded this rather -mournful soliloquy. He grabbed out at the touch of the foreign object, -but missed it. Then a second like object floated against his chest. -This the lad seized. - -It proved to be a piece of wood, part of a dead tree, about three inches -in diameter and two feet long. Dave retained the fragment, although -scarcely with the idea of using it as a float. - -To his surprise these fragments, some large, some small, continued to -pass him. In fact, he seemed in a sort of wave-channel, which caught -and confined them, forming a species of tidal trough. - -One piece was of quite formidable size. Dave threw his arms over it with -a good deal of satisfaction, for it sustained his weight perfectly. - -"Queer how I happened right into their midst. Where do they come from, -anyhow?" reflected Dave. "Is it a hopeful sign of land?" - -There was a lull in the tempest finally, but the darkness still hung -over all the sea like a pall. Dave longed for daybreak. The discovery -of the driftwood had given him a good deal of courage and hope. - -For over eight hours Dave rocked and drifted, at the mere caprice of the -waves. Wearied, faint, and thirsty, he tried to cheer himself thinking -of the possibility of land near at hand. - -Daylight broke at last, but a dense haze like a fog hung over the waters -for an hour before the sun cleared it away. Eagerly Dave scanned in -turn each point of the compass. A great sigh of disappointment escaped -his lips. - -"No land in sight," he said; "just the blank, unbroken ocean." - -His plight was a dispiriting one. Dave felt that unless succor came in -some shape or other, and that, too, very soon, his chances of ever -seeing home and friends again were indeed remote. - -He noted the widespread mass of driftwood with friendly eyes, for it -broke the monotony of the green expanse that tired the sight with its -illimitable continuity. - -"There's a pretty big piece of driftwood," Dave said, looking quite a -distance towards a larger object than he had yet seen. It rose and fell -with the swaying of the wave. "If I could find a few such pieces I -might construct a raft." - -Dave began to swim off in the direction of the object in the distance. -A great cry of joy escaped his lips as he neared it. - -"It is not a log," he shouted rapturously, "but a boat. A small yawl. -Oh, dear, but I am thankful!" - -In his urgency to reach the boat Dave let go of the piece of driftwood -that had served him so well. His eyes grew bright and he forgot all his -discomfort and suffering. - -With a kind of cheer Dave lifted himself over the side of the little -yawl. It was flimsy, dirty, and old. The prow was splintered, one of -the seats was broken out, but Dave sank down into the craft with a -luxurious sense of relief and delight. - -There were no oars, but Dave did not think much of that. He had -something under him to sustain him. That was the main thing for the -present. - -"I can make rude oars of some of the driftwood and the front seat," he -calculated. "If it rains I shall have water, and there are clouds -coming up fast in the west now. I may catch some fish. What's in -there, I wonder," and Dave pulled open the door of the little locker. - -"Hurrah!" he shouted this time, utterly unable to control his intense -satisfaction. Lying in the locker was a rudely made reed basket. In -this were two bottles. Dave speedily assured himself that they held -water, warm and brackish, but far from unwelcome to the taste. - -About twenty hardtack cakes and a chunk of cheese completed the contents -of the basket. - -"I never ate such a meal before," jubilated Dave, having satisfied his -hunger and carefully repacked the supplies. He paused to read a part of -a label pasted across the front of one of the bottles of water. "This -came from the _Raven_." - -Dave had a right to think this. At one time the bottle had held some -kind of table sauce. Written under the label were the words "Captain's -table, _Raven_." - -"The boat, too, must have belonged to the _Raven_" said Dave, "although -I don't know that surely. It looks as if some one of Captain Nesik's -crew had put to sea in this yawl, and was probably lost in the storms of -the last week." - -A great rain came up about an hour later. There was not much wind. -Following the rain a dense mist shut out sea and sky. - -Dave could only drift at the will of the waves. He had it in mind to -construct some kind of oars, but he did not know the distance or even -the direction of land. - -The day grew well on into the afternoon. Dave had removed the door of -the locker. He had also gathered into the boat the longest pieces of -driftwood he could find. Fortunately he had discovered in the locker -several pieces of fine tarred rope, which would prove a great help in -making the oars. He was laying out his work when a curious flapping -noise made him look up. He sprang to his feet. Pouncing down upon him -were four immense birds. They were not eagles, but fully twice as large -as any eagle he had ever seen. - -They attacked Dave in unison. One clawed into his left arm while -another gave him a severe blow with one of its wings, swooped down upon -the exposed reed basket, seized it, and flew away with it. Dave -snatched up a piece of driftwood. - -He shouted to frighten the birds, swinging his weapon among them -vigorously. One he disabled and it fell into the water and floated out -of sight, the other two he finally beat off. - -The loss of the provision basket troubled Dave severely. He sank -breathless into the boat, his face and hands badly scratched and -bleeding. - -The next instant, to the infinite surprise of Dave Fearless, a gruff -voice sounded through the mist: - -"Ahoy there! What's the rumpus?" - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - STRANGE COMPANIONS - - -Dave knew at once that his shouts at the large birds must have attracted -the attention of the person who was now hailing him. - -"Ahoy, yourself!" he cried, starting to his feet and peering expectantly -through the mist in the direction from which the challenge had come. - -In a few moments the outline of a yawl somewhat larger than the one Dave -was in loomed up in the near distance. A man was seated in its bow, -while two others rowed the boat. - -They came alongside. All three looked haggard and worn out. In the -bottom of their boat lay a broken demijohn. They reminded Dave of -sailors he had often seen on shipboard getting over a debauch. - -"Why," said the man in the bow, staring in amazement at Dave, "if it -isn't young Fearless, the diver!" - -"I remember you, Mr. Daley," responded Dave, recognizing the speaker as -one of the crew of the _Raven_. Dave had a dim memory, too, of having -seen Daley's two companions with Captain Nesik's crew. - -Daley drew the two yawls close together with a boathook, and he and Dave -were face to face. - -"Young Fearless of the _Swallow_," he kept saying, in a marveling tone. -"And in this fix. Why, where did you ever come from?" - -"Where did you, Mr. Daley?" inquired Dave directly. "Mine is a pretty -long story--suppose you tell yours first?" - -"Huh, that won't take much time," muttered Daley, with a savage kick at -the fragments of the demijohn. "We stole all that gold from you. -Little good did it do us. Captain Nesik and the Hankers, after they -marooned you fellows, made a landing and divided up the gold into boxes. -They put them on the _Swallow_. Well, when the _Swallow_ parted from -the _Raven_ in a cyclone, she went down--gold, men aboard, and all." - -"And the _Raven_?" inquired Dave. - -"She drove on the rocks and has been disabled ever since. It would take -a big steamer to pull her into service again," explained Daley. "After -she got into that fix Nesik decided to desert her. They made a camp on -land on the west island of those you know about." - -"What about the natives?" inquired Dave. - -"They seemed to have all gone back to the main island except a few. -These hung around and spied on us; most of them Nesik shot. He landed -lots of provender and rum from the _Raven_. For a week Nesik let the -men have their fill. He and the Hankers and that pawnbroker fellow----" - -"Gerstein?" suggested Dave. - -"Yes, Gerstein," nodded Daley. "Well, those four took the longboat -which was saved from the wreck and went scouting, they called it. They -went away and returned for several days. One day they came back on foot -without the longboat, and said that it and Gerstein had gone down in a -quicksand. The men began to grow restive after another week. They -couldn't understand what Nesik was lying idle for. They wondered what -made him and Cal Vixen the diver and the Hankers so contented to just -squat down and loaf. The men got cross when Nesik cut down grub -rations. A deputation waited on him." - -"What was the result?" inquired Dave, with great interest. - -"Nesik told them to do what they liked and go where they liked. Said he -was going to take his chances, waiting for a ship to come along. Result -was, one by one the small craft of the _Raven_ were stolen. We nabbed -this boat one night and put to sea. We were bound to make some kind of -a try to get away from those islands." - -"Have you any idea where we are now?" inquired Dave. - -"Sure, I have," answered Daley. "We're in one of those tidal channels -that run around the Windjammers' Island so freely. That's a queer thing -about these diggings. A fellow can row miles and drift back to the -islands. Those channels are regular whirlpools in a storm." - -"And what are you thinking of doing now?" asked Dave. - -"Getting back to land of course. We wouldn't run across a ship in a -hundred years on this out-of-the-way route. We can never hope to row -thousands of miles to a continent coast. No--provender being gone, and -especially the rum, we don't feel quite as bold as we did when we -started out," confessed Daley, with a dejected air. - -"No," put in one of his companions lazily, "we'll go back and take -pot-luck with what's left of the _Raven_ crowd." - -"If they'll have us," put in his companion. "Looked to me all along as -if for some purpose or other Nesik wanted to get rid of us." - -"You're right there, mate," declared Daley. "I've thought that, too, -many a time. Maybe he and his cronies calculated there would be more -grub around with fewer mouths to feed." - -Dave thought over all the men had said. He fancied that he guessed out -the reason why Nesik was so willing to have his men leave him. He knew -that he would be asked to give information in return for what he had -received. Dave tried to decide how far he dared to trust the three -castaways. - -"Now then," just as he expected, Daley spoke, "we've told you our story. -How about yours? That's a _Raven_ boat there you're in. How did you get -it?" - -"I found it drifting loose a few hours ago," said Dave. - -"That's likely enough," said Daley suspiciously, "but where was you -waiting for such things to drift around loose?" - -"I was floating on a piece of driftwood," explained Dave. "You know you -people marooned us on the island." - -"I didn't," declared Daley; "that was Nesik's work." - -"You helped," said Dave, "and you've had nothing but bad luck since. -Now, Mr. Daley, I'm going to tell you something. You think the -_Swallow_ was lost in the cyclone." - -"Know it. Men, gold, and all." - -"No," said Dave, watching his man closely to note the effect of his -disclosures. "The _Swallow_ was not lost at all." - -Daley stared hard and incredulously at Dave. - -"How do you know?" he asked. - -"Because I was aboard of her not twenty-four hours since. The truth is, -in that cyclone she was driven ashore on the west island you speak -about. There Captain Broadbeam and the rest of us discovered her. We -found Mr. Drake, the boatswain; Bob Adams, the engineer, and Mike -Conners, the cook, prisoners on board." - -"That's right," nodded Daley; "those fellows wouldn't come in with us, -and Nesik put them in irons. Go on." - -"We also found some labeled boxes in the hold." - -"The treasure!" cried Daley excitedly. "Alas, yes, it was all divided -and made into portions, so much for the Hankers, so much for Nesik, so -much for the crew. Why, we saw the Hankers divide it with our own eyes, -didn't we, mates?" - -"That we did," declared his two companions in unison. - -"So Mr. Drake told us," resumed Dave. "Well, we liberated our friends, -got the _Swallow_ in trim, and steamed away from the Windjammers' Island -about three weeks ago." - -"With all that gold!" cried Daley, with disappointed but covetous eyes. -"Oh, my mates, think of it!" - -"No," interrupted Dave, "we thought the gold was there. The second home -port we reached we opened the boxes to see." - -"It must have been a sight," said Daley gloatingly. - -"It was," nodded Dave, with a queer little smile--"sand, lead, old junk, -every box full of them, and not a gold coin there." - -Daley sprang up in the boat with a wild cry. His companions partook of -his excitement. - -"Then--then----" panted Daley, with blazing eyes. - -"Why, the Nesik crowd just deluded you poor foolish fellows. Exactly as -he did us," spoke Dave quietly, but with a definite emphasis. "As I -say, there was none of the treasure in the boxes. Where was it, then? -Easy to guess. It was put in the boxes to delude you fellows and later -secretly removed to the _Raven_. Nesik intended to lose the _Swallow_ -some way. The cyclone helped him out." - -Daley drew out a long-bladed knife. He began abusing Nesik and the -Hankers. He slashed the air in a frantic manner. - -"I'll kill them for this, I'll kill them!" he raved. "Men, you'll help -me? Why," he exclaimed suddenly, "then the gold must be on the _Raven_, -stuck on the rock, eh?" - -"Hardly," answered Dave. "No, Nesik intended losing the _Swallow_, -sailing for South America, getting rid of you fellows cheap, and then he -and the Hankers and Gerstein would make a grand division of the spoils. -Their plans miscarried. The _Raven_ got wrecked. Don't you see they got -you all ashore quick as they could? Without doubt those mysterious days -of scouting in the longboat, as you call it, were devoted to getting the -gold ashore to some safe and secret hiding-place." - -"Then we'll have our share," shouted Daley. "Mates, for shore; for -shore, mates, to find those measly robbers, to pounce on them and make -them give up what belongs to us. Ha, more," declared Daley. "We'll -kill them off; well take it all." - -"Why, Mr. Daley," quietly suggested Dave, "it appears to me you are -forgetting something." - -"What's that?" - -"That treasure belongs to my father and myself." - -Daley looked sheepish, then surly. - -"If you should get hold of it what could you do with it?" pursued Dave. -"You can't spend it on the Windjammers' Island. You can never get it -away from there except in a stanch vessel, such as may not come along -for years. I should think," added Dave, "after all the trouble you have -seen grow out of the Hankers stealing what was not their own, you would -take a new tack." - -"How, a new tack?" demanded Daley, surlily surveying Dave from under his -bushy, bent brows. - -"Be square and honest. The _Raven_ people have deceived you. I have a -proposition to make you. Put this whole matter in my hands, promise to -help me work it out as I think best, and I'll guarantee you two things." - -"What are they?" demanded Daley. - -"First, that I will soon locate the hiding-place of the treasure--which -you never may." - -"That's so," mumbled one of Daley's companions, "everything has been -queered that we tried to do so far." - -"Secondly," added Dave, "when that treasure is found, I promise, if you -come in with me, to give each of you a liberal share of it." - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - A PERILOUS CRUISE - - -The sailor Daley sat down quietly in the bow of the yawl, his face -beaming. - -"Do you mean that, Fearless?" he said. - -"I certainly do," answered Dave. - -"You want us to side with you?" - -"I have said so, Mr. Daley, haven't I?" asked Dave pleasantly. - -"Make it a bargain, Daley," advised one of his companions eagerly. -"He's a smart lad, and his talk is square, although we have treated him -low and shabby." - -"Never mind that," said Dave lightly. "You were in bad company, that's -all. Make it business, up and down. My father and I came here to get a -fortune which we had rightfully inherited. The Hankers have tried to -steal it. We shall get that fortune yet. Isn't it better for you -people to be in on the winning side?" - -"Fearless," said Daley, "there's my hand. It's a compact, is it?" - -"True and faithful," answered Dave, and they shook hands all around. -"Now let me tell you that the _Swallow_ is in fine trim, is cruising -around these waters somewhere. She is bound, of course, to land on the -Windjammers' Island. Get these boats there if you know how to do it, -and we'll soon get into some kind of action that is bound to bring us up -against Captain Broadbeam and the others, who will be true friends to -you if you'll only do the right thing." - -Dave felt that he had gained a decided victory in making these men his -allies. Without their help he could not reach land. They could guide -him to the land camp of Captain Nesik. The four of them could resist -attacks of the natives if they ran across them, where one might fail. - -Dave reasoned that if the men changed their minds later and attempted -any treachery, it would be at a time when he and his friends were -prepared to meet and thwart it. - -Dave had confidence in the belief that in some way he would find the -_Swallow_ or the _Swallow_ would find him. - -His previous stirring adventures, among the Windjammers and with the -_Raven_ crowd, had brought hardship and endurance that made him now -hopeful and courageous and quick to see a way to meet a situation and -conquer it. - -In fact, Dave's career had made considerable of a man of him. It had -taught him self-reliance, and he was pleased to notice how readily the -three castaways recognized him as a leader. - -They acted like new men under the spur of new hopes. They evidently -believed in Dave. It was some time, however, before Daley would consent -to forego his thirstings for revenge against Nesik and the Hankers. - -"Don't you go for to spoil everything by thinking up a rumpus," advised -one of the sailor's companions. "Young Fearless means what he says. -Let's rest on that, say I, and follow his orders." - -"I have none to give at present," said Dave. "When I do, I am sure we -will work in harmony all right. Mr. Daley, you are the pilot. Can we -reach the Windjammers' Island in any way?" - -"I know the point of the compass all right," asserted Daley. "The -course may be a little blind until this mist rises, but--to your oars, -men, and strike due west. That way," and Daley indicated the direction. -"Get aboard, Fearless. It's most comfortable in the stern." - -"Shall we tow the smaller boat?" inquired the young diver. - -"What's the use? We don't need it, and it would only hamper us. There -you are, neat and tidy." - -They cast the smaller boat adrift. Dave settled down comfortably in the -stern of the larger yawl. - -"My!" he soliloquized, "when I think of my forlorn chances when I went -overboard from the _Swallow_ last night and this comfort and security, -I'm a very thankful boy." - -Dave had not had a wink of sleep for over thirty-six hours. He began to -doze. Daley, noticing this, ceased his chatter with his companions. -Dave was soon fast asleep. - -He roused up with a vivid start some hours later. He had slept so -profoundly, owing to a natural weariness and exhaustion after his -arduous experiences, that he had not even been disturbed by a howling -tempest that had come up. - -The mist had dispersed, and it was night. A furious gale was blowing, -and the frail yawl was riding on high waves. - -Daley had crawled along the boat. He was shaking Dave vigorously by the -arm. At the same time, bringing his lips close to Dave's ear, he -shouted loudly a word that aroused Dave like an electric shock: - -"Land!" - -"What--where?" cried Dave, starting up. - -"Steady, mate," warned Daley, holding Dave back in the seat. "Get your -peepers wide open and all your senses woke up. Drop the oars," he -yelled to his companions, "they're only in the way. Let her swing. -It's drift or drown now, sure." - -Dave sat for a moment grasping the sides of the yawl, and realizing that -they were being driven along at a fearful rate of speed. Daley and his -companions, too, were holding on for life. - -"You said land," Dave shouted, trying to raise his voice above the roar -of the tempest. - -"Yes," answered Daley. "Now then, when we top a wave, look -sharp--there!" - -Daley pointed, and Dave fixed his glance steadily in the direction -indicated. - -"I see nothing," he said as they went up, down, and up again. "What did -you mean?" - -"A light--there it is." - -"I see it," cried Dave. - -"It must be a fire alongshore somewhere, probably the Windjammers' -Island," declared Daley. - -Dave continued to look. He studied the light each time he was afforded -an opportunity. This was only when they climbed some mighty wave, and -only for a few seconds. - -"You are wrong, Mr. Daley," said Dave finally. - -"Wrong about what? It's a light, I tell you." - -"Yes, but not a shore light." - -"You don't know that." - -"Yes, I do. It moves as we move, only more steadily. It is some -vessel," declared Dave. "I wouldn't wonder if it was the _Swallow_." - -The mere conjecture excited Daley greatly. The men worked at the oars -again. This, however, proved lost energy. When it resulted in one of -the oars being torn from the grasp of its holder, and cast adrift into -the sea, Daley uttered a heart-rending groan. - -One of his mates, however, suggested something--this was to use his coat -as a kind of sail. He and the other oarsman attempted this. - -"We're going in the direction of the light, sure," cried Daley -jubilantly. - -"We're going down!" shouted the man who had suggested the impromptu -sail. - -Dave saw that all was over. Whether the use of the sail hastened the -situation, or the little craft would have been overturned anyway by the -gigantic wind that suddenly struck it, he had no time to conjecture. - -In an instant the yawl was raised by a mighty force. It flopped over -flat, spilling out all hands. - -Dave saw his companions hurled from his sight like disappearing -phantoms. His hand was held by the wrist in a rope loop he had clung to -for protection since waking up. - -Dave went over with the boat, under with it, and was unable to -disentangle his wrist. His arm seemed broken. He was whipped about in -a frightful manner. - -Twice his head struck the keel of the scudding yawl, twice he was -submerged, choked and blinded. - -A third contact with the yawl landed a hard blow right across the -temple, and Dave Fearless lost consciousness. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - LANDED - - -Dave must have gone through a fearful experience during the next hour. -Its details he never knew. Familiar with the chances and accidents of -the seafaring situation from childhood, however, when he opened his eyes -again he could figure out how kind his natural element had been to him. - -He lay on a sandy shore. When his senses first came back a positive -thrill permeated his frame. - -A joyful cry arose to his lips. It was irrepressible. He was bruised, -battered, soaked through, but the realization that he had landed, that -he once more rested on firm hard soil, overcame every sensation of -discomfort and pain. - -"Landed," murmured Dave, in great delight, and that was the only idea he -could take into his confused mind for the moment. - -He opened his eyes. It was clear starlight. He lay on a sandy beach. -The waves lapped him to the knees. Beside him was the yawl, stove in at -one side. He was still attached to it by the wrist held firmly in the -rope loop. - -The yawl had proved a loyal convoy. As the tempest swept it along, Dave -must have been held at least a part of the time out of the water. This -had saved his life. Perhaps, he thought, he might at times also have -lain across the upturned keel of the yawl. - -At all events he was saved. There was not a bone in his body that did -not ache. His wrist was swollen greatly and the arm was numb to the -shoulder. - -"I'm badly battered," reflected Dave. "I must get my arm loose some -way." - -The youth groped in his pocket with his free hand. It was a laborious -task getting into the soaked garment. When he got his pocket knife out, -Dave had to open it with his teeth. - -He managed to cut the rope that imprisoned him, and fell away from the -yawl with a feeling of great relief. Then he lay on the ground flat on -his back, and for some moments tried to think of nothing but absolute -rest and comfort. - -Dave struggled to an upright position finally. He was amazed at his -weakness and helplessness. Twice his feet refused to hold him up, and -he fell down. His injured arm was perfectly numb and flabby at his -side. - -"This won't do at all," he thought, arousing himself. "I'm awful -thirsty, too. Well, I may be able to crawl." - -Dave attempted to go up the beach. About a hundred feet away, through -breaks in a belt of green trees, he could catch the sparkle of water -running over the rocks. - -The moon had come up during all these various efforts to get into -action. Dave could see his way clearly. He made in the direction of -the water. - -After slowly and painfully progressing for perhaps a hundred feet Dave -found that his blood had begun to circulate. He pulled himself to his -feet by means of some high bushes he had reached by this time. - -Each moment his control increased over the numbed joints and muscles. - -"This is better," said he, with satisfaction, as after some stumbling -steps, with the aid of a dead tree branch, he was able to limp upright -though slowly. - -Dave reached the water, a mere rill gushing down the shore bluff over -some rocks. It was clear and sparkling, and he took a deep draught of -the life-giving element that invigorated him greatly. - -"Hungry," thought Dave next. "Thanks to Stoodles--good!" - -Right at his side Dave discovered a bush full of pods. When on the -Windjammers' Island with Stoodles, the latter had shown him this very -bush. Upon it grew pods full of kernels that tasted like cocoa. Dave -ate plentifully, though it was not a very satisfying meal. - -"Now then," he spoke. "Oh, how could I have forgotten them!" he cried -with sudden self-reproachfulness. - -It was quite natural in his forlorn, confused condition that Dave should -first of all have thought only of himself. Still, his deep anxiety, -poignantly aroused now as he thought of Daley and the others who had -been in the yawl with him, showed his heart to be in the right place. - -He hurried down to the beach again, in his solicitude for his late -companions forgetting how crippled he was, and had several falls. - -"It's no use," said Dave sadly, after over an hour's search along the -lonely shore. "They must have perished, Daley and the others." - -The conviction saddened the youth for a long time. He sat down thinking -over things for nearly an hour. - -"I don't know where I am," he said, rising to his feet, "and I must -trust to luck as to what is best next to do. This must be the -Windjammers' Island. I think I could tell if I could get to some high -point overlooking it or a part of it." - -Dave looked doubtfully up beyond the shore cliffs where the higher hills -showed. It looked to be a pretty hard task to scale those heights in -his present battered-up condition. - -"I'm going to try it, anyhow," decided Dave, and he did. - -"I can't go any farther--at least not just now," said Dave, an hour -later. - -He sank down on a moss-covered rock overlooking a kind of valley. Its -other side, however, was higher up than the point where he was. - -"I think another hundred feet will bring me to where I can get a good -view," thought the young diver; "that is in daylight, and daylight will -soon be here." - -The pods, which tasted like cocoa, had been filling to Dave, but not -exactly satisfying. - -"It's like a fellow eating candy when he needs beefsteak," he mused. "I -shall have to hunt up something more substantial later on." - -From his previous acquaintance with the island Dave knew that there were -many kinds of shellfish to be found, besides berries and other fruits, -for the searching. He was not one bit afraid that he would have to -starve. - -"I must watch out for the natives, too," he continued. "I must devise -some kind of a weapon of defense." - -Dave thought over these things, lying restfully on the rock. He had -about decided to resume his journey, calculating how long it would take -him to reach a certain point on which his eyes were fixed. - -"Hello!" he exclaimed suddenly, sitting bolt-upright. - -What had attracted Dave's attention was a light. It had appeared -suddenly on a ledge, almost at the top of the hill he was bent on -climbing. - -It was no fixed light, but a broad swaying jet of fire. Whoever held it -was evidently swinging a lighted wisp of straw or something of that -sort. - -"I wonder what that means," mused Dave. "I wonder who it can be. -Probably a native. But, native or otherwise, there is method in the way -that light is moving. Yes, it certainly is a signal." - -Such Dave decided it surely to be after watching the light for some -minutes. - -It described circular and other figures. It seemed directed at a point -somewhere down the valley. - -"I would like to know what is going on up there," said Dave, rousing up. -"It would give me an inkling as to whom I have to deal with and where I -really am." - -After a further rest of a few minutes the young diver resumed the ascent -of the hill. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - A REMARKABLE SCENE - - -"Well, this is queer." - -Dave Fearless looked curious and acted as if startled. By the time he -had got near to the ledge where he had seen the mysterious signal, -daylight had come. - -Long since that illumination had been discontinued. Dave had paused -with due caution as he approached its cause. He had lurked behind a big -rock fronting the shelf of stone. - -No other sound or presence was indicated, and after a spell of -watchfulness Dave decided to approach closer. It was as he peered -around the edge of a cavelike opening fronting the ravine that he -uttered the words: - -"Well, this is queer." - -The cave extended back into the hill a long way. Dave could decide this -by the shadows cast by a light that burned about fifteen feet from its -opening. A rude earthen pot of native construction was filled with some -kind of oil. A wick, made out of some fibrous plant, burned within it. - -This light illuminated a long broad piece of matting laid across the -floor of the cave. As Dave examined the various articles spread out on -this mat, he was filled with amazement. - -There were all kinds of dishes, such as Dave had seen in the homes of -the Windjammers. These were made of thin bark and decorated with figures -of flowers and birds outlined in berry stains. - -"The wonder of it all, though," said Dave; "food, and such food--all -kinds." - -In the dishes were berries and other fruits, a kind of tapioca bread -also. Then there were meats, all cooked and cold, and some fish the -same. There were also two quite tastefully made bowls filled with a -clear white liquid that Dave took to be cocoanut milk. - -Dave watched for a long time. The display tempted his appetite -prodigiously. - -"Of course there's a proprietor for all this elegant layout," said Dave. -"What's the occasion of it? Where is he?" - -Dave sent a piece of stone rattling noisily into the cave, then a -second. He waited and listened. - -"I don't believe there is anyone in there," he decided. "I can't resist -it. I don't know who this feast is spread for, but I want a share of -it." - -Dave stepped forward boldly now. His audacity was increased as he made -out a spear standing against a rock. Dave took the precaution to arm -himself with this. Then he came still nearer to the food. - -Whoever had prepared the feast was, in Dave's estimation, a most -admirable cook. The various articles he sampled tasted most appetizing. - -"Fine as home cooking," said Dave, with satisfaction, stepping back from -the mat. "One man wouldn't have all that stuff for breakfast, though. -Is it some native ceremonial like Stoodles has told me about? Or does -the man expect friends? That's it," Dave reasoned it out. "Maybe he -has gone to meet them. I had better make myself scarce." - -Dave was now satisfied that he was really on the Windjammers' Island. -The articles in the cave were in a measure familiar to him. Then, too, a -glance from the cliffs as he had ascended them had shown a distant -coastline, suggesting precisely the spot where Captain Broadbeam, -himself, and the others had been marooned. - -Dave resolved to appropriate the weapon he had taken up. He started to -leave the cave and retrace his steps to the beach. At the entrance he -paused abruptly and started back. - -"Too late," he exclaimed; "someone is coming." - -Dave had almost run out upon two men. A curious circumstance prevented -them seeing him. They were approaching from the direction opposite to -that from which he himself had come in reaching the cave. - -Both were natives. The minute Dave saw them he instantly recognized -them as belonging to the Windjammers' tribe of which his friend Pat -Stoodles had once been king. - -One of them was a thin, mean-looking fellow, scrawny and wild-eyed. He -was creeping on hands and knees along the path. His pose and manner -suggested the utmost humility. - -The other was a man gayly decked out. He wore a richly embroidered skin -across his shoulders and a necklace of gaudy shells. He had a kind of -mace in his hand. The lordly manner in which he carried his head -indicated extreme pride and importance. - -"Why," said Dave, backing into the gloomy depths of the cave, "that is -the same dress the man wore who was the great priest of the tribe when I -was on the Windjammers' Island the first time." - -There seemed to be no doubt but that Dave was back on the old -stamping-ground of Pat Stoodles. He was not at all sorry for this. It -was the destination of the _Swallow_. Perhaps the steamer had already -reached it. - -"Things are working easier for me than I had any right to expect," -reflected Dave, "only I must keep out of the clutches of any of the -natives till I locate my friends." - -Dave got behind an obscure rock. From there he peered intently at the -two men who now entered the cave; the one crawling on his hands and -knees, the other maintaining still his lofty bearing of superiority. - -Reaching the mat, the guide arose to his feet. He showed the greatest -humility and respect in all that he did. - -He made a gesture to have his visitor sit down to the feast. The latter -shook his head in great disdain. - -Then the evident resident of the cave groaned and wept and rolled all -over on the ground as if in the deepest despair. In a mournful -sing-song voice he seemed to make an appeal to his august visitor to -grant some prayer. - -The priest finally stamped his foot and spoke some quick words. The -other arose. The priest, fixing a menacing eye upon him, advanced, and -putting out a hand, tried to pull aside the garment which the man wore -on the upper part of his body. - -The poor wretch seemed frantic. He clung close to the garment, seeming -especially anxious not to expose his back or shoulders. - -The priest, however, managed to tear the front of the garment open. -Then Dave half understood the situation from something he remembered to -have heard Stoodles tell about on a previous occasion. - -A peculiar mark, a circle inclosing a cross, was visible on the chest of -the suppliant. - -"I know what that means," mused Dave. "They brand their criminals, drive -them away, and if they ever approach the tribe again, they burn them -alive. That is the outcast brand. Stoodles told me so when he was on -this island with me." - -The refugee cowered with shame. Then he kicked aside some of the dishes -of the feast which his august visitor had spurned. - -"I'm glad of that," thought Dave. "Now he won't be likely to notice -that I have been trespassing." - -The outcast went to a sort of shelf in the cave. He came back, poising -a small earthen crock in his hand. - -He began a quick talk to the priest in a louder, more assured tone. The -latter suddenly changed his manner. His eyes sparkled. He looked eager -and excited. - -The outcast seemed to be giving a most glowing description of the -contents of the little crock. Dave tried to follow his meaning. - -"He is saying," translated Dave to himself, "that he has great -quantities of whatever the crock contains--lots of it, heaps of it--I -see. Now he has interested the priest. He is offering to buy his -citizenship back into the tribe, that looks sure. Ah, he is showing -what he has in the crock. Gracious!" - -Dave forgot all prudence. He was so interested that he slipped out from -hiding to gaze at the contents of the crock, now poured out rapidly by -the outcast upon the food mat. - -Fortunately the two men were equally engrossed. What the outcast had -poured out of the crock were half a hundred or more pure gold coins! - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - THE OUTCAST'S SECRET - - -The young ocean diver had a right to be astonished and interested. The -first moment his eyes landed on the coins the outcast had exhibited, he -felt sure they were part of the ocean treasure. - -They were similar in size to the bulk of the pieces brought up from the -ocean bed in the diving bell. They looked the same at a distance. -Besides, where on this rarely visited island would the native get such a -hoard except from the treasure heap? - -The priest gathered up a lot of the coins. They manifestly pleased him. -He laughed with glee and clinked them musically together in his hands. - -Then he seemed to ask the outcast a great many questions. He stamped -his feet as the latter appeared to evade direct answers. - -"It's plain," said the anxiously watchful Dave, "those coins came from -our stolen store. This native knows where it is." - -Dave thought this a great discovery. From the way the outcast pointed -Dave decided the bulk of the treasure was at a distance somewhere. - -"I don't believe he has told the priest where," Dave surmised. "He -seems bargaining to have the outcast edict removed, then he will pay a -much greater amount. That's the way all this jabbering looks. Ah, they -have come to an agreement." - -The priest had become very gracious now. He pointed, too, in his rapid -talk as if agreeing to return to the royal village and acted as if some -proposal was to be made to the native king. - -"I hope I can get out of here before they bring any more people," -thought Dave. "I can't do it just now, though, that is sure." - -The priest went away. The outcast began to array himself in new -apparel. He grinned and chuckled and acted as if delighted. Dave -figured out that he had bought his pardon. - -Clearing the mat the native sat down in its center, first surrounding -himself with a variety of native weapons. - -"He is going to receive his company in state," decided Dare. "I simply -couldn't get past him without being seen. He is heavily armed, too. -Well, I'll have to wait patiently and watch out for my chance to -escape." - -One hour went by, two hours. Dave did not dare to stir from the covert -in the cave where he crouched. Once the idea was suggested to his mind -of overcoming the native who possessed a secret of such importance to -him. The next moment, however, he saw how foolish this would be. Even -if he succeeded, what could he do with the man, on his hands alone, not -knowing the whereabouts of his friends, and his captive speaking a -language he could not understand? - -Dave was thinking over all these things when there came a sudden climax -to the situation. - -Without warning a dozen armed natives dashed past him with echoing -yells. - -It was patent to Dave that these men, apprized by the priest, had been -instructed to steal into the cave by another entrance than the front one -known to them and seize the outcast. - -It looked as if the law of the island would not allow the king to treat -on any terms whatever with an outcast. All the poor fellow's -negotiations, therefore, seemed to have gone for naught. He must have -realized treachery. He must have guessed that he would now be taken to -the king as a captive, his secret tortured out of him, and the voice of -the populace might demand that he be burned alive. - -At all events he acted with acute alarm. He was on his feet in an -instant. Dave saw him clear the entrance to the cave in a flash. The -men who had burst so quickly upon the scene dashed out after him. - -Dave could not help running to the entrance of the cave to see how -things turned out. The fugitive had gone west away from the coast. Dave -saw him far outdistance his pursuers. Darts and spears were hurled after -him, but they all missed him. He finally disappeared into a grove, and -distance shut out his pursuers as well. - -Dave seized his spear and started promptly in the direction of the sea. -In his brief survey from the heights he had made out the high plateau -which he and Stoodles and Bob Vilett had once crossed in joining their -friends on the other side of the island. - -"It's due north, and it looks to be only about ten miles distant," -calculated Dave. "I know that from the plateau we could see all over -the island. If I could reach it, and the _Swallow_ has arrived, I -certainly could make her out. Yes, I must try to get to the plateau." - -Dave used due haste in descending the cliff by the route he had come. -He had the idea in his mind of trying to mend up the yawl on the beach. -Then he would wait for dark and skirt the coast in the direction of the -plateau. - -He was glad when he got down to the shore bluffs. He planned how he -would fix the hole in the side of the yawl and make some oars. - -"I will make an inspection of the boat," he thought, going towards it -across the beach. "I did not notice it particularly, and maybe it isn't -much damaged." - -The yawl lay keel upwards, as it had landed with him and as he had left -it earlier in the morning. - -As he got nearer he saw that several boards were badly sprung. They -were, however, all above the waterline. - -"I think I can manage to make it seaworthy for a little cruise," said -Dave. "Wonder if she is damaged inside." - -Dave stooped, put his hand under the side of the yawl, and gave the boat -a tremendous lift and a push. - -Over she went, but to disclose a fact that gave Dave a decided shock. - -Three natives had lain in hiding under the yawl. They arose -simultaneously. Three spears were leveled at Dave, and he knew he was a -prisoner. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - A DAY OF ADVENTURES - - -The three spears held Dave in a circle. The spearsmen advanced them -nearer and nearer till they hemmed Dave in dangerously. He had placed -his own weapon on the ground while attending to the boat, so he was -entirely unarmed. - -Dave could do nothing but quietly await the further action of his -captors. They regarded him fiercely. Then there was a confab among -them. - -Two of them finally dropped their spears, leaving their companion to -guard Dave. They went to the nearest bushes and secured some stringy -vines of great strength. - -They tied Dave's arms behind him. One of the men pointed west, in which -direction the priest had gone. It seemed that the native village was -located west. - -A second of the trio dissented from the proposition made. He pointed -down the shore a bit and talked volubly. Then the two went away, giving -some directions to Dave's guard. - -The latter, prodding Dave with the spear, made him go towards the shore -bluffs. He forced him up an incline. There he secured a thick flexible -vine, passed it through Dave's arms, and tied the other end around a -tree. - -He then threw himself on the ground and reclined there lazily. - -From where he was Dave could look down the beach. He comprehended that -the savages had come across the yawl and had probably seen his -footmarks. They had calculated he would return and had hidden under the -boat. Now, judging from the actions of the two natives down the beach, -they were hunting for other footmarks. - -At least it looked so to Dave. They seemed to locate some disturbance -in the sand like a trail. They followed it up this course, which took -them finally out of view of Dave. - -Dave's guard reclined at the edge of the bluff, looking out at the sea. -His spear lay beside him. - -"I wish he would go to sleep," thought Dave. "With time given I'd -bargain to get free from these flimsy bonds, if I had to gnaw through -this big vine with my teeth." - -The native, however, had no idea of going to sleep. He turned regularly -about every two minutes to look at his captive. - -Suddenly Dave saw the man start to rise up as if in great alarm. A look -of horror was in his gleaming eyes. With a yell he toppled backwards. -The amazed Dave saw him roll down the bluff incline. The native turned -over and over, his head struck a great rock in the way with a fearful -click. The blood flew from the wound and deluged the native's face and -he lay like one dead, his body suspended over a bent sapling. - -"Why," exclaimed the startled Dave, "what made him do that? Mercy!" - -A lithe, sinuous form cut the air, coming from the thick shrubbery just -back of Dave. It landed where the native had sat. Dave understood now. -It was a panther. - -His blood ran cold as the animal, disappointed of its expected prey, -turned quickly, facing him. From former experiences on the island Dave -knew that he confronted a foe dangerous and bloodthirsty in the extreme. - -The native panther was feared by the natives greatly. It was a small -animal, but ferocious to a degree and enormously strong in forefeet and -teeth. - -Dave, bound, unarmed, felt himself completely at the mercy of the -animal. He shrank back, naturally, as it began to describe a -semicircle. It crept low to the ground, uttering a harsh, hissing -snarl. Its eyes were fixed intently on its intended victim. - -Dave watched the fatal circle narrow. The panther came to a pause, a -crouch. It shot up from the ground. - -Dave had prepared for this first onset. He realized, however, that, -helpless as he was, his agility could not eventually save him. - -The youth made a leap as the panther sprang at him. Through a -remarkable circumstance Dave's rush drew the big vine out. The panther -met it coming up, was caught across the breast, and was sent hurtling -back violently. - -It fell to the ground, Dave ran at it. He ventured boldly, for the -chances of escape were desperate. Dave delivered one kick at the -prostrate animal. His foot partly landed in its gaping mouth. - -"It's incredible!" cried Dave. - -He was lost in wonderment. That resolute kick had worked marvels. As -Dave looked at the ground he saw several teeth there and a trail of -blood. Their owner had rolled back and had gone over the bluff as the -native Had gone, uttering several frightful snarls. - -"Will it come back again?" panted Dave. "A surprising adventure--I can -hardly realize it. Yes, it is returning--no, human voices. Men, mates!" -shouted Dave, "this way, this way!" - -With anxious heart elate Dave had caught the voice of more than one -person. Then a word in English, and he recognized the voice of Daley. - -"Hello, where are you?" responded Daley's tones, their owner beating his -way through the dense foliage. - -"Young Fearless! We've found him," he cried, staring hard. "Turned up -again, eh, lad?" - -"I'm mighty glad you have," said Dave rapidly. "What, the three of you, -and safe and sound?" he added, as two others joined their leader. - -"We were looking for you," announced Daley. "Here, one of you has a -pocket knife. Cut the lad loose." - -"You were looking for me?" repeated Dave wonderingly. - -"To be sure," nodded Daley. "We washed ashore last night all safe and -trim, as you see." - -"Yes, but not near here, for I looked for a trace of you," said Dave. - -"No, it must have been a good ten miles to the south, lad. We made this -way, and saw those natives get under that boat. We were unarmed and -hid. When those two up the beach left you in charge of the fellow here, -we rounded into the bluffs and searched for you. Where is the fellow, -anyhow?" - -Dave narrated what had taken place. Daley looked pretty serious. - -"We're in a nest of them, it seems," he remarked, taking up the spear -belonging to Dave's guard. "Come on, mates; let's make a tight run for -it while the coast is still clear of them." - -Daley's plan was a simple one and Dave allowed it to prevail. It was to -get north as fast and far as they could before they were discovered by -more natives. - -"They're thick back of the coast, just hereabouts," said Daley. "We -heard their yells several times in our jaunt down shore, and saw several -of them. Keep in the cover of the bluff, and let us try to round that -cape yonder. From what I remember here before, the cyclone pretty well -cleaned out the north end of the island." - -"That is true," said Dave, "and the natives probably shun it on that -account." - -Their progress was very satisfactory. The cape that Daley had alluded -to was reached about two hours later. - -It presented a sheer high wall to the sea and gave a fine view of the -island for miles around. It was wooded to within about fifty feet of the -edge. - -They were all terribly tired out and badly torn with thorns and -brambles. As they came out into clear space, Daley and his companions -threw themselves down on the ground, nearly exhausted. - -Dave, starting to follow their example, paused, uttered a great shout, -and ran to the sheer edge of the cliff. - -"Hello, there--what's doing, mate?" challenged Daley, in some wonder. - -"See! see! see!" cried Dave, pointing down at the sea with shining -eyes--"the _Swallow_!" - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - ON BOARD THE "SWALLOW" - - -"Captain Broadbeam, come here, please." - -"Why, lad, what's the matter?" - -Bob Vilett had spoken in a way that might well have excited the surprise -of the commander of the steamer. - -For over ten minutes Bob had stood at the side, gazing through a -spyglass landwards. Now of a sudden the glass dropped in his nerveless -hand. Bob began to tremble, and he had called to the friendly captain -like one in distress. - -"Those natives up to some more high jinks?" said Broadbeam, coming up to -Bob. - -"No, no, captain! Look--look! Quick, captain!" - -"Toplights and gaffsails, what's this now?" demanded Broadbeam, as Bob -extended the glass, looking pale and agitated. - -"Look at the high cape cliff, captain," urged Bob. "See if I'm -mistaken." - -"Dave Fearless!" fairly roared the old sea veteran the minute he put the -glass to his eyes. - -"You are sure, captain?" cried Bob, in great excitement. - -The captain had been staggered at his surprising first view through the -spyglass. Now he looked again. - -"Dave! Ah, a glad sight," he went on. "Some men with him--look like -sailors. Fearless! Amos Fearless! Where is he? Old friend, your son -is alive!" - -Those of the crew in sight and hearing stared quite wonderingly at their -captain. They had rarely seen him so moved as when he ran towards the -cabin, shouting the name of his friend. - -"What is that?" said the old diver, coming up the cabin stairs. - -"Dave is alive." - -"My son alive," cried Amos Fearless, turning white, and in a momentary -weakness holding to a rail for support. - -"Yes, he is--ashore there." - -"Oh, are you sure?" - -"Go look for yourself. Hurrah!" - -Captain Broadbeam was beside himself with genuine gladness. - -He clamped his big paw of a hand across his old friend's arm and fairly -dragged him across the deck. - -"Yes, it's Dave," cried the happy father, taking a look through the -spyglass. Then he handed it back to Bob Vilett. The old diver turned -his face away. It was wet with tears of thankfulness and joy. - -Captain Broadbeam moved about the deck too excited to stand still. - -"I felt it in my bones! Didn't I say it all along?" he spoke. "Didn't -I stick to it that a lad born to the sea would find a way out of it? -Below there, Adams," he hailed to the engineer, "how's she working?" - -"Bad, sir; mortal bad," reported the engineer. - -There was something serious the matter with the _Swallow_. There had -been since the night previous. - -Dave Fearless had not been missed from the ship until that morning. -Then they had searched everywhere for him. It became patent after an -investigation that he had been swept overboard. - -There was little chance to look for him. The storm that had given Dave -and his refugee friends, Daley and the others, such a terrible -experience, had dealt the stanch little steamer a severe blow. - -There had been times during the tempest when the _Swallow_ was thrown -about like an eggshell in the grasp of a giant. She was cast on her -beam-ends more than once. - -The steamer outrode the storm just in time. She could not have stood -another hour of that terrible tossing about and wrenching. - -With a grave face Adams had called Captain Broadbeam down into the -engine room to see the damage that had been done. - -The engine was fairly out of commission. One driving rod was bent badly, -some of the minor mechanism was clear out of gear. - -"It's land and a quiet harbor mighty quick, sir," reported the -experienced engineer, "or trouble if another storm strikes us on the -open sea." - -"You are right, Adams," said the captain, after due investigation. "We -must make land somehow, somewhere. The _Swallow_ is badly crippled." - -"You see, sir," observed Adams, "I have rigged up a temporary makeshift -for a driving rod. It may give out at any moment under strain. If we -can work our way easy like and crawl to harborage, in a few days with -some blacksmithing we might forge or rig up some new parts." - -It was just after this that land was discovered, and Stoodles came into -a general consultation as an authority that they were surely approaching -the Windjammers' Island. - -Their former experience in these same waters was of value now. Adams -advised that they get close to the shore and line it, looking for a -temporary harbor. - -Bob Vilett had a valuable suggestion to make. He was in a pretty gloomy -mood over the unknown fate of his chum, for whom they had spent two -hours with all the small boats out. - -Bob, however, had to stick to his duty. It nearly broke his heart to -witness the prostration of the old diver, but as he thought of -something, he went to the captain. - -"When we were here before, captain," he said, "you remember the natural -harbor where we found the old derelict vessel?" - -"Why," said Broadbeam, "the very thing. Thanks for the suggestion, lad. -If we can reach that spot we are safe from any bother from the natives -here and from any storm that may come up. Tell Adams." - -The _Swallow_ had been discovered by the natives about an hour later. -These came to the beach in several places. They made a great ado. -Whole processions came into view. At one place they brought down a -covered platform borne by four men. Upon this platform was a great -earthen pot filled with some smoking material. - -"What are they up to, Pat?" the captain asked Stoodles. - -"Begorra, it's the ould magic spell of their high-priests to send us bad -luck," answered the Irishman. - -The various incantations of the natives went on nearly under the eyes of -those on board of the _Swallow_ for some time. Then the visitations to -the beach ceased. It was now about half an hour later that Bob Vilett -had discovered Dave Fearless on the cape cliff where the young diver and -his three companions had just arrived. - -While Mr. Fearless was gazing anxiously ashore and Bob was tracing every -movement of his distant chum through the spyglass, Captain Broadbeam was -giving quick orders to his men. - -A boat was to go ashore at once and a signal given from the deck of the -_Swallow_ that Dave would understand. - -"Don't delay, my friends," the excited Stoodles kept urging the sailors. -"Let us get into action before my former subjects come into sight -again." - -All was ready, boat, men, and weapons, to start to the succor of Dave, -when Bob Vilett uttered a shout of dismay. - -"Oh, captain," he cried, running up to the commander of the _Swallow_, -"it's too late." - -"How's this? What do you mean?" demanded the captain. - -He snatched the glass from Bob's hand and took a look himself. Then he -uttered a hollow groan. - -Dave and the others were still visible on the cliff, but over a hundred -natives had suddenly swarmed about them. - -As he looked, the captain saw these surround Dave and the others. They -were seized, bound, and carried off into the forest before his very -eyes. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - THE ISLAND HARBOR - - -The great joy that the friends of Dave Fearless had experienced, at -discovering him almost in reach, now gave way to great anxiety as he -seemed lost to them again. - -Bob Vilett was summoned to the engine room by his superior. Amos -Fearless went back to the cabin, looking dejected and sad. - -Captain Broadbeam fumed secretly. He paced the deck rapidly, going -through considerable mental perturbation. - -Pat Stoodles saw the expedition ashore abandoned. - -He knew the captain's fiery moods and kept out of the way for a spell. -When the _Swallow_ turned her head directly north he approached -Broadbeam. - -"It's on your way you'd be going, captain dear?" mildly observed -Stoodles. - -"Don't you see I am?" challenged Broadbeam petulantly. - -"It's disturbed ye are, I see," said the plausible Irishman. "Ochone, -ye may well be. Wirra-wirra! that fine broth of a boy, Dave Fearless, -abandoned to his fate. Deserted by his friends." - -"Who's abandoning him, who's deserting him?" flamed out the captain. - -"That's it. I was asking your honor," said Stoodles innocently. "Of -course ye have plans to assist the lad. I know the island. Wasn't I -their king once on a time? Make me your confidant, captain dear. -What's your plans?" - -"I'll show those bloodthirsty villains soon," declared Broadbeam, -shaking his ponderous fist at the island. "I'm going around to anchor -in the cove at the northwest end of the island." - -"I see," nodded Stoodles thoughtfully. "A foine spot. And then, -captain?" - -"Every man aboard armed to the teeth, and let those savages look out. -My duty is first to my ship. When I have her safe at anchorage it's -Dave Fearless, first, last, and all the time." - -"Captain," observed Stoodles enthusiastically, "you're a jewel!" - -Stoodles went apart by himself, smiling and apparently intensely -satisfied. He seemed planning something all the rest of the time it -took to go about one-third around the island. - -The sheltered cove into which the _Swallow_ finally ran was located at a -remote and unfrequented part of the island. - -It was here that on a former occasion a derelict had lain shut in, -undiscovered for a long time, by great forests and guarded by steep -cliffs towards the sea. - -The ravages of a great cyclone were visible here and there as the -_Swallow_ neared its port. The steamer ran under a network of vines that -hung like a curtain across the front of this singular cove. - -The first thing done, once a permanent mooring was made, was to carry a -portable forge ashore. Adams, the engineer, selected two of the crew -who had some knowledge of blacksmithing. - -"We'll have the _Swallow_ in taut trim inside of three days, captain," -Adams promised. - -"Good," nodded the commander. "I leave it to you. Now then, to adopt -some plan to reach Dave Fearless." - -The boatswain came up and touched his cap respectfully. - -"What is it, Drake?" inquired Broadbeam. - -"That man, Gerstein." - -"Well, what about him?" - -"Uneasy, sir. I've been watching him closely. I found a package of -food and a knife and a pistol hidden under his bunk this morning." - -"You did, eh?" muttered the captain thoughtfully. "Preparing to bolt, -you think?" - -"I know it." - -"Won't do," advised Broadbeam tersely. "Lock him up." - -"In irons, captain?" - -"No, the hold storeroom is safe and sound. Put him there. We mustn't -let the man escape until we know what he knows." - -Captain Broadbeam had a long talk with Amos Fearless. He decided that -early the next morning they would make up a strong party, well armed, -and march on the native town of the Windjammers. - -"Come in here, my friends," said the captain to Pat Stoodles and Bob -Vilett, at the end of his talk with Mr. Fearless. - -He then told them of his decision. Stoodles did not say much. Bob was -pleased and eager to start on the foray. - -"I hope we shall be in time," sighed Dave's father anxiously. "Those -natives may even now have killed their captives." - -"You're wrong there, Mr. Fearless," declared Stoodles, with confidence. -"Listen, sir. Wasn't I once king of that fine lot of natives? Don't I -know their ways? Very well, my friends, if you will look at the moon -to-night you will find it on the lasht quarther. The Windjammers never -kill a prisoner except from a new moon up to a full moon." - -"Is that true, Pat?" asked Captain Broadbeam. - -"True to the letther, sir--who knows betther than I, who have had -experience? Yes, sir, they won't harm the lad or his comrades for over -a week at the least, unless in a fight or an accident. Those natives -who came out on the big rock had come there to cast another spell on the -ship. Dave couldn't get away seawards without dropping into the sea. -He couldn't fight half the tribe. He's given in quietly, as we saw, -sir. They'll shut him up; that's all for the present. We'll get him -out; that's all for the future. Now, captain dear, I've got something -of a favor to ask of you." - -"All right, Pat, what is it?" - -"Don't march down on the Windjammers. I've said nothing against your -plans until the right moment." - -"Well?" asked Broadbeam. - -"I've a betther plan than your own to offer. Listen, sir--the most you -can muster is half a dozen able men." - -"A dozen, fully." - -"And leave the ship unguarded? All right, captain, call it a dozen. -What then? You march on a thousand natives. No, no, sir," said -Stoodles, shaking his head solemnly, "they would wipe you off the face -of the earth, first move. Don't be foolish, sir. Let me thry." - -"Try what?" - -"To rescue me young friend, Dave Fearless. Captain, you remember how I -hocused them and came it over them when you were here before?" - -"Yes, Pat, I have a very vivid memory of some of your whimsical doings," -answered the captain, smiling. - -"Then one favor, captain: loan me Bob Vilett and a few traps I need. -Give me two days to bring back Dave Fearless." - -Amos Fearless looked anxious, the captain undecided. - -"Do it, captain," urged Bob Vilett eagerly. "I have great faith in Mr. -Stoodles." - -The captain reflected seriously for a moment or two. He glanced at the -old diver. The latter nodded. Anything that might affect his son's -welfare appealed to him strongly. - -"Do it, then," said Captain Broadbeam, "only, remember, you two take -your own risks." - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - THE HOUSE OF TEARS - - -"Hooray!" said Pat Stoodles, as soon as they were out of the presence of -Captain Broadbeam and the diver. - -"All right now, eh?" insinuated Bob curiously. - -"Shure I am. Now, my friend, I've done you the honor of selecting you -to go with me. You're willing?" - -"Try me," cried Bob stanchly. - -"The first thing," said Stoodles, "is to see Doctor Barrell." - -"What! You're not thinking of taking him with us?" cried Bob. - -"Not at all," responded Stoodles, "but I do want to take with me -something he has got." - -"And what's that, Pat?" asked Bob. - -"His phonnygraph." - -"Aha, I see," cried Bob, grinning. "The time you visited your subjects -before you worked on their superstitious fears by rubbing phosphorus on -your face. This time----" - -"I'm reckoning on giving them a spaach, lad. Lave that end to me. What -I want you to do is to make another of those paper balloons you sent up -into the air the Fourth of July out at sea." - -"Sure," said Bob; "a dozen, if you like." - -"No, make two, for one might get disabled. Have you any of the fireworks -left?" - -"No, but I can make almost any kind of a sizzer with powder and fuses -the purser will let me have." - -"All right," approved Stoodles. "I may want to send up a balloon at the -proper moment. If I do, I want it to send out lots of sparks when it -gets aloft." - -"You leave all that to me, Mr. Stoodles," said Bob. "I'll guarantee a -perfect job." - -"It's all for Dave's sake, lad, so I know you will," declared Stoodles. - -The eccentric but loyal Irishman now went to the stateroom occupied by -Doctor Barrell. - -"Docther," he said, entering the presence of the old scientist, "I'd be -telling you something." - -Doctor Barrell was very busy examining some seaweed specimens he had -fished up in the cove, but he graciously received the visitor, who was -quite a favorite with him. - -"Speak right out, Mr. Stoodles," he said. - -Pat narrated his plans in behalf of Dave Fearless. Doctor Barrell was -interested. - -"And how can I help you?" he inquired, when Stoodles had finished -talking. - -"Docther dear, it's the loan of your phonnygraph I'd be wanting." - -Doctor Barrell looked serious. He had a remarkably fine phonograph -outfit, receiver and transmitter attachments, and all up to date. - -This he greatly valued, for he was accustomed to talk his scientific -deductions into a receiver, preserving the records for future reference -when he got back to the United States. - -"Tell me about what you want to reach, Mr. Stoodles," said the kindly -old fellow, "and I'll see if I can fix you out properly." - -Stoodles explained his scheme. After that he was shut up with the -doctor for several hours. When he rejoined Bob his face was beaming. - -"It's all right, lad," he reported. "Ah, but a wise old fellow is -Docther Barrell. It'll be amazing what we are going to do to the -natives." - -It was just before dusk that evening when Stoodles and Bob left the -_Swallow_. They each carried a good-sized parcel. The captain had seen -to it that they were furnished with small-arms. - -The ship's yawl took them out of the cove and landed them about five -miles down shore, the boatswain in charge. - -"It's understood, then," said Drake, "that we be here again with the -boat at six, twelve, and six to-morrow?" - -"If we're alive and well," answered Stoodles, "you'll find us on hand on -one of those three occasions." - -"That has saved us a long, hard tramp," said Bob, shouldering his load -as they started inland. - -"Two-thirds of the journey, lad, if the native town is where I think it -is," answered Stoodles. "Now, everything depends on getting to the town -and into it without being seen." - -"Yes," assented Bob, "and it may prove a hard task." - -"Not if you do exactly as I say," declared Stoodles. "Just follow me. -I know all the short cuts." - -The journey was not a pleasant one. There was no beaten path to follow. -They had to breast their way at places through whole acres of thorny -bushes. At other places they had some steep rocks to climb. - -They rested frequently. It was about two hours later when Stoodles -pressed through the last canes of a great brake with an expression of -intense satisfaction. - -"The hardest part of our tramp is over and done with, lad," he -announced. - -"That's good news," said Bob, who was pretty tired. - -"Now you rest here till I get up into a tree and take a peep in a -certain direction." - -Stoodles selected a high, lonely tree near at hand, and was soon up -among its loftiest branches. He came down speedily. - -"It's all right, Bob," he stated. "A mile more and we will be at the -edge of the town." - -"The new town?" asked Bob. "The old one was destroyed by the cyclone, -you know." - -"Yes, the new town. It's not far away. I can tell by the lights." - -It was now, as they reached a moderately level plateau, that they found -paths evidently used regularly by the natives. - -One of these lay right through a large field of flowers that resembled -poppies. These appeared to be under cultivation. - -"What's the flower garden for?" asked Bob. - -"These are the royal flowers, lad," explained the Irishman. "They use -them for royal celebrations and funerals. Bad cess to it! If we should -be found here by the natives." - -"Why?" inquired Bob. - -"Taboo. No one is allowed here except the women who give their life to -tending to the flowers, unless by direct permission of the native king." - -"Well," observed Bob quizzically, "you had ought to be able to get a -free pass, seeing that you was king once." - -Stoodles chuckled as if some pleasant idea was suggested to his mind. - -"I'll be king again," he observed. "I've got to be. 'Tis only for an -hour maybe, but Dave Fearless and I want to make that ten thousand -dollars." - -"What ten thousand dollars?" asked Bob eagerly, as Stoodles paused in -some confusion. - -"You'd better ask Dave that," suggested Stoodles. - -"Oh, I know what you are hinting at," said Bob. "It's some schemes -concerning those two boxes Dave got at Minotaur Island." - -"Ah, is it now?" said Stoodles, with an expression of vacancy on his -face. - -"I am sure it is," persisted Bob, "and I know what is in those boxes." - -"Hear him! Well, well!" commented Stoodles. - -"It's a little printing outfit. Pat, what are you and Dave going to mix -up these natives with a printing outfit for? Won't you tell me?" - -"Lad," pronounced Stoodles solemnly, "that is a dark and deadly saycret -for the present." - -Bob had to be satisfied with this. He followed his guide in silence. -Stoodles halted. - -"Do you see that old building yonder?" he asked of his companion. - -"Yes," nodded Bob, curiously regarding a rude broad hut occupying an -elevated space just beyond the flower field. - -"Well, take my bundle. That's it. Now don't sthir till I come out. -Crouch down among these bushes. I've got to get into that building to -make my plans good." - -"What is it, anyhow?" inquired Bob. - -"They call it the House of Tears," was the rather singular reply of -Stoodles. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - READY FOR ACTION - - -"I wonder what he has gone in there for?" thought Bob Vilett, as -Stoodles disappeared in the direction of the House of Tears. - -Bob had not long to wait. Stoodles came back as silently as he had -gone. - -"Aisy, lad!" he warned. "There's people about." - -"I don't see any." - -"In the pagoda yonder. There's a dozen or more mourners, all widows." - -"Oh, I understand why it is called the House of Tears now," said Bob. - -"I was in on them with a stumble. By good luck the lights were low for -one thing, and they were all given up to their groaning and mourning. -Well, I got these two, anyhow." - -"Two what?" interrogated Bob. "Oh, I see," he added, as he made out two -curious garments in the hands of his companion. - -Spreading one out at a time, Stoodles showed Bob what they were. - -"Any royal mourner," he explained, "wears one of these constantly for a -full month after the death of a relative. They are taboo all that time. -They must not be hindered. They are free to go where they choose." - -"Good," commented Bob, "they'll help us out, then, won't they?" - -"Yes. Get into this one, lad; it's the shortest," said Stoodles. - -The garment was of one piece, covering a person from head to foot. Its -top was a cap with holes for the eyes only. - -When the two friends were arrayed in the garments they presented queer -figures. Each carried his bundle under its ample folds. - -The next half-hour was an interesting one for Bob. He simply followed -Stoodles. Somehow he could not help but have confidence in the whimsical -old fellow. For one thing, Stoodles certainly knew his ground well from -experience. Besides that, he had been successful in carrying his point -when he had before visited the native town when they were marooned on -the island by the _Raven_ crowd. - -It was now past midnight. As they progressed Bob could see that they -were nearing a lot of habitations. - -For the most part the native village made up of squalid-looking huts. - -Here and there, however, were some more pretentious structures. So far -they had not met a single person. - -"The palace, the home of the king, that same," said Stoodles, as they -paused near the largest building they had yet seen. - -"What's the programme?" asked Bob. - -"You see that little pagoda attached behind?" - -Bob nodded affirmatively. - -"That is the council temple. I must get in there." - -"It looks easy," said Bob. "Those sides of matting are not hard to -break through." - -"No, but the place is guarded day and night by as many as six natives," -explained Stoodles. "They sleep all around the curtained dais that -holds the royal throne. Lad, I must get to that throne." - -"All right," said Bob. "And what am I to do?" - -"Listen very carefully. You see that big rock in the center of the -square yonder?" - -"With a great bowl-like thing at the top of it?" asked Bob. - -"Yes. That is the public tribune, or place where the king's messengers -make announcements to the people. That big bowl is filled with a -perfumed water once a year, and the people pass under it while the high -priest of the tribe throws a few drops over each of them." - -"Go ahead," said Bob, "this is kind of interesting." - -"Now then," pursued Stoodles, "I have planned out just what I want to -have you do. Don't make any miss, lad." - -"I'll make no miss--you just instruct me," said Bob. - -"You are to climb up into that bowl. It's perfectly dry now. It's deep -enough to hold you and all your traps. In just an hour you fire off a -revolver, its full round of charges. Get your balloon ready. I'll hand -you up the phonnygraph. Start it up--that's all." - -"But what's going to come of it all?" - -"You will soon see that." - -"And what am I to do when the performance is over?" demanded Bob. - -"I'll see that you are properly taken care of," declared Stoodles. - -"All right," said Bob. "I suppose you know what you are about, but it's -a pretty elaborate programme you are laying out." - -"Oh, I know how to hocus these superstitious people, that's all," said -Stoodles lightly. "I've done it before, you know." - -Stoodles took Bob over to the public tribune. Everybody in the village -seemed to be asleep. They were apparently unnoticed and undisturbed as -they got the bundles up into the great bowl. - -Bob climbed in after. Stoodles gave him a few last words of direction. -Then he started off to carry out his own part of the programme. - -The side of the great earthen bowl in which Bob now found himself was -perforated all around the scalloped outer edges. Bob kept Stoodles in -sight as long as he could by peering through one of these. - -"He has gone in the direction of the royal council room," thought Bob. -"This is a queer go. I wonder how it will turn out? In an hour, he -said--all right." - -Bob looked at his watch, flashing a match for the purpose. Then he -arranged the various paraphernalia that were to take part in Pat -Stoodles' programme. - -He got the phonograph placed to suit him and ready for action at a -moment's notice. Bob also prepared one of the small paper balloons so he -could light the alcohol sponge on the wire on its bottom without -igniting the tissue paper. A perforated asbestos globe he had himself -designed, enabled him to do this with facility. - -The native village slept. No sound broke the silence of the mystic -midnight hour. - -Bob again consulted his watch. The hour prescribed by Stoodles had -passed. - -"Everything must have worked smoothly with Pat," thought the young -engineer. "I'm due to start the ball rolling all right. Here goes!" - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - IN THE ROYAL PALACE - - -Bang, bang, bang, bang! - -Such a vivid, unfamiliar racket had seemingly never before disturbed the -native town of the Island Windjammers. - -The whole settlement seemed to wake up at once. Bob Vilett was fairly -startled at the result of his sharp rapid fusillade. - -He had a heap to do, however, and he had no time to observe what was -going on outside. - -The balloon called first for Bob's attention. The shots alone had not -directed the excited natives to the public tribune. The balloon, rising -majestically, centered all eyes on that central meeting-place. - -A hush of awe hung over the crowd. Bob started up the phonograph. - -He did not know what the little machine was saying. He could only -surmise that it was grinding out a speech from Stoodles. Loud and -sonorous rang forth the tones of the fertile-minded Milesian. - -Bob, venturing to peer from the bowl that encased him, was truly amazed. - -Most of the crowd that had gathered stood perfectly still. Some of the -more superstitious, at a sight of the strange balloon, had fallen -prostrate in terror. - -The speech now coming forth from the phonograph had a wonderful effect. -It seemed to transfix the people. There was not a murmur, a stir, until -the last word had issued from the phonograph. Then babel broke loose, -the spot was deserted by magic. Men shouted, yelled, ran over each -other in a pell-mell dash in the direction of the king's palace. - -Bob tried hard to guess out the situation. He could only reason that the -speech in the old familiar tones of their former king, coming from an -unseen, mysterious source, had duly impressed the people. The shots, -the balloon now dropping a vivid trail of sparks far aloft, had added to -the general effect. - -"I suppose I'm due to wait here until further orders," ruminated Bob. -"I'd like to know what is going on in the palace, though." - -Bob got restive thinking about this. The commotion and excitement -around the palace were momentarily increasing. - -"I can be of no further use here," thought Bob. "I don't see how -Stoodles is going to get me out of here without giving the natives a -hint as to my agency in sending up the fireworks and playing the -phonograph. I'm going to get out of this; yes, I am." - -Bob was an impatient, persistent sort of a fellow. Having made up his -mind to leave his hiding-place, he promptly succeeded in getting out of -the bowl and down onto the ground. - -"I'm safe in this outlandish garment Pat gave me," reasoned Bob, -securing his belongings under its folds. "I'm going to join the -procession and see what is going on." - -Bob pressed on the outskirts of the howling, excited mob that surrounded -the palace. Then he edged his way in among them. - -He found out that the robe he wore was indeed "taboo." People made way -for him. Thus proceeding, Bob got finally right up to the little pagoda -that Stoodles had designated to him as the royal council room. - -Its entrance was choked and crowded with natives trying to enter. - -Bob kept working his way farther and farther along. At last he squeezed -past two great greasy sentinels and saw Pat Stoodles. - -The Milesian sat on a heap of skins next to a throne raised on a dais. -Upon the throne itself sat a dusky native. Bob decided, from his manner -and the deference with which he was treated by the others, that he must -be the king. - -All around were savages, more or less decorated in a way not common with -the simple natives. - -These persons, Bob knew, must comprise the nobility and the high-priests -of the tribe. - -Stoodles was speaking volubly, and seemed to take his honors and the -situation in an easy, familiar way. - -Of course Bob could not understand the native tongue, but he quickly saw -that in some way the shrewd Milesian had got things on a most friendly -basis with the tribe and its leaders. - -"I wish I could get nearer and attract his attention," thought Bob. "I -want him to know I have left the public square. I'll venture it. Pat!" - -The next moment Bob Vilett was sorry he had spoken. He had not realized -that to utter a word unbidden in the royal council room without royal -permission was to court the severest public censure. - -Four guards grabbed him up in a moment. All those around the royal dais -looked towards the present center of commotion in amazement. - -Bob struggled in the grasp of his fierce captors, but was hampered by -the bundles he carried. Suddenly one of the guards discovered he had -shoes on. They tore away the garment encircling him. Some hurried -words were called out to the king. In stern tones that monarch -responded. - -Bob could tell from the menacing manner of the guards that he was being -borne away to punishment. - -"Stoodles! Pat Stoodles!" he shouted at the top of his voice. - -"Aha!" he heard Stoodles exclaim, and then the Milesian added words in -the native language. - -The guards looked amazed. They received a new order from the king. Bob -was carried to the foot of the dais. - -"Make a bow," suggested Stoodles, and Bob did so. Stoodles no longer -wore the mourning garb. That on Bob was riddled. - -"It's all roight. I was soon coming after you," said Stoodles. -"Everything is fixed." - -"How fixed?" inquired the wondering Bob. - -"Don't you see," insinuated the smiling Stoodles, with a gracious wave -of his hand, "nothing is too good for me or my friends?" - -"How did you work it?" asked Bob, feeling perfectly safe and easy now. - -"That phonnygraph recited a great spaach of mine. It told the people -that they would find their old king, myself, seated on the throne here. -Why, lad, when they did find me I could have ousted the new king in a -minute. I was magnanimous, though. I only asked some information. I -told him he could keep his throne in peace." - -The king and his counselors stared at the twain as they conversed, but -did not interrupt. - -"Whisht, lad!" continued Stoodles, with a chuckle. "They've given me -some great information." - -"What is it?" asked Bob. - -"The _Raven_ crowd are alive. I have found out where they are." - -"Good!" said Bob. - -"I have threatened all kinds of fire gods and cyclone demons unless they -set Dave Fearless free." - -"Will they?" asked Bob eagerly. - -"Shure they will. He'll be here safe and sound in a few minutes. -There's the guards they sent for him now." - -Some natives bearing spears came hurrying into the room. There arose a -great excited jabber. Stoodles rose up in manifest disappointment. - -"What about Dave?" persisted Bob. - -"Ochone!" cried Pat Stoodles. "Dave has spoiled everything!" - -"Spoiled everything?" repeated Bob. - -"Yes; Dave has escaped." - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - THE CAPTIVES - - -"Mr. Daley, you are a brave man." - -"Glad of the compliment, Dave Fearless. I hope I deserve it." - -"You certainly do," asserted Dave warmly. "But where are Jones and -Lewis?" - -Daley, who had flushed with pleasure at the handsome compliment bestowed -by the young friend he was learning to like and respect, scowled and -muttered angrily at this allusion to the companions who had been -captured with them by the natives on the cape bluff. - -"They're cowards, that's what they are," cried Daley angrily, "the -miserable villains." - -"Well, I hope they got away safely, anyhow," said Dave simply. - -"They don't deserve it," growled Daley. "Now then, lad, so far so good. -But what next?" - -"That's so," remarked Dave Fearless. "What next, indeed?" - -It was the second day after their capture. Dave and Daley were in a -queer environment, to explain which it is necessary to go back to the -hour when they were discovered on the cape bluff by the natives. - -Their great joy at the discovery of the _Swallow_ so near at hand off -the island coast, had been quickly shadowed. - -As Dave's anxious friends had seen through the spyglass from the deck of -the steamer, the arrival of a large body of natives had put an end to -the freedom of the young ocean diver and his companions. All four were -surrounded and bound. - -While some of the savages went on with their fetich ceremonies on the -bluff to cast an evil spell on the _Swallow_, the others marched the -captives to the native town. - -There they were placed in a wretched hut, without any roof. The hut -filled a cavity in the ground. About a dozen natives squatted on the -surrounding level, and were thus enabled to keep the captives constantly -in sight. - -The rest of that day and the next passed in this irksome confinement. -The prisoners were given food and water, but the great vigilance of -their guards was not relaxed. - -There was not the least opportunity afforded to escape. - -When night came again, Daley and the others went to sleep. They had -become disheartened. Dave, however, never gave up. Escape was -constantly in his mind. His chance came at midnight. - -Dave did not know it then, but Stoodles and Bob Vilett were responsible -for the opportunity afforded. - -Of a sudden, Dave caught the sounds of great commotion in the center of -the native village, from which their prison place was quite remote. - -Some men came running by, shouting loudly to the guards. Dave was -amazed to see the last two of these spring to their feet in great -excitement. They babbled like frightened monkeys. Then, with frantic -yells, they dashed away towards the village. - -It took Dave Fearless less than a minute to arouse his sleeping -companions. It took less than another minute to show them that a golden -opportunity for escape was presented. - -It had not been a question of getting rid of their bonds at any time. -These had grown loose from their twisting about during the day. It was -the work of but a moment to cast them to the ground. - -"There is not a single guard left," said Dave. "Something great and -exciting is evidently happening at the native village. Work fast, men. -We must get out of the enclosure some way quick as we can. Then a dash -for the timber yonder." - -Daley braced himself against the side wall of the enclosure. Dave -mounted to his shoulders. As soon as he got safely over on the solid -ground, Dave secured some poles. These he slanted down into the prison -place. The others scrambled up them with agility and had soon joined -him. - -"What's that?" demanded Daley suddenly. "There it is again. No, gone. -Something like a big fireball. The trees shut it out. Now then, -Fearless, lead the way." - -Daley had caught a momentary glimpse of the balloon Bob Vilett had sent -aloft. Had Dave seen this, it might have suggested the near proximity -of friends from the _Swallow_ and have changed his plans. - -As it was, he, like his companions, had only one thought in view--to get -to a safe distance before the guards might return, discover their -absence, and arouse the tribe to a general pursuit. - -The refugees were most fortunate in their movements for the next few -hours. Dave had struck out due west. They soon passed all signs of -habitations. - -It was two o'clock in the morning when they halted. The others lay down -on the ground. Dave rested a few minutes. Then he arose and walked a -short distance from the spot. - -He was intent on studying their surroundings and learning what prospect -lay beyond a sharp rise just in their course to the west. - -The moon shone brightly, but by spells clouds occasionally crossed the -sky. Dave had to wait for these fitful illuminations to pick his -course. - -Near to the top of the rise Dave halted, studied a slight glare, and -then started on again with caution. - -"A fire," he said. "Yes, I can smell smoke. Natives around a camp-fire? -I guess that much. I must hurry back to the others and make back tracks -double-quick." - -Dave hastened along fast and recklessly. The sure proximity of enemies -had startled him. - -"What's this?" he gasped suddenly, lost his footing, took a header, and -plunged into complete darkness. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - A THRILLING ADVENTURE - - -Dave had fallen down a hole covered with a thin network of branches and -leaves. He knew it to be a trap, a pitfall, as he began his descent. -There was a strong rancid smell about the spot, and the earth and the -branches were thickly covered with grease. - -Dave went shooting, feet first, down a smooth slant. He landed with a -shock. Then he rebounded, lost his balance, and fell flat. - -With a thrill he struck something moving, something that grunted, and -tore away from him. It seemed covered with sharp, ugly bristles that -had penetrated his hands like thorns. - -Dave sprang to his feet in alarm. Fierce echoing grunts filled the -place, a pit of considerable size. He quickly drew out a match and -flared it. - -"A wild boar," said Dave, and as he took in his situation he was swept -off his feet with a new shock. - -The momentary illumination had fully apprized Dave of his environment. -The pit was a trap, its entrance scented and greased to attract victims. - -A strong home-made rope was attached to a stake in its center. Its end -was a loop. This loop now inclosed the neck of the boar, choking and -imprisoning it. In fact, the fierce animal was fairly frantic. - -The loop must have been placed in some way near to decoy food, -tightening and securing its victim at a touch. - -Now rushing around, the boar had swept Dave off his footing with the -taut rope at which it struggled. It was upon him in an instant. Mad -with pain and fright it tried to gore and crush him. - -Dave managed to roll and squirm beyond its reach. Breathless and -bewildered, he hurriedly drew out his pocket knife, opening its largest -blade. - -With blazing eyes the maddened animal made another rush at Dave. He -went flat. Its tusk penetrated a double thickness of his clothing. It -tugged at him, panting, grunting, squealing. - -Snip-snip--Dave was all mixed up in the rope, almost helplessly at the -mercy of the animal. He slashed out with the knife, but struck the rope -instead of the boar. - -The rope parted. Dave was dragged over the pit floor, his clothing -firmly held by the spike-like tusk of the boar. - -He had to go along, whether he would or not. Dave grasped one bristly -ear of the boar. - -"Whew!" he uttered, mind and body in such a turmoil that he could not -realize what had happened till it was all over. - -The boar, freed, had made a dash out of the pit. It seemed to Dave that -it took some avenue of exit different to the slant down which he himself -had tumbled into the pit. - -At all events, he found himself in the open air, but borne along at a -terrific rate of speed. He could hardly cling to the animal. - -He let go his grasp entirely as the boar scaled a rise and toppled over. -Dave, however, could not disengage his clothing. Then he was conscious -of rolling over and over. The big animal seemed to fade from view in a -swift flight. Dave's head struck something and he lost his senses. - -When Dave came back to consciousness, there was no mistake as to his -situation. A single glance enlightened him. - -A dozen natives were working around a charcoal fire. They seemed to be -hardening spear-heads, darts, and other weapons used by the Windjammers -as weapons of war. - -Near by was a square hut. Its door stood open, the only aperture it -contained. Its top was flat and sunken, and leaning up against the -sides of this parapet-like inclosure Dave noticed numberless weapons. - -Dave lay flat on the ground, feet and hands both tied. The wild boar -was nowhere in evidence. The natives were going on with their work. - -"Weapon-makers," said Dave. "They seem to be finishing up their work, -for the fire is going out." - -Finally one of the men--there were four of them--finished holding a lot -of spear-ends in the fire. He came and looked at Dave, discovered his -eyes were open, and spoke some quick words to him. - -Dave shook his head to indicate that he did not understand. A few -minutes later all four men piled the various articles they had been -burning upon a sort of litter. - -They seemed about to carry this into the hut. Each took a corner of the -litter. - -Here something happened. Dave almost imagined himself in a dream, as he -saw a swift form burst from some bushes near at hand. - -It was Daley. He was armed with a great knotted club. Evidently he had -been watching for just this opportunity to interest himself in behalf of -his young friend and overpower his captors. - -The four natives employed at the litter had no time or chance to defend -themselves. - -Whack! Whack! In turn two of them went flat with broken heads. - -Whack! Whack! Their companions toppled over, and the litter fell to -the ground. - -"Up with you," roared the giant sailor, a cyclone of strength and -resolution now. - -He grabbed up Dave bodily, ran towards the hut, dropped Dave, closed the -door, barred it, and stood panting and trembling with excitement as he -proceeded to release his companion. - -It was then that Dave Fearless made that fervid remark: - -"Mr. Daley, you are a brave man!" - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - THE POISONED DARTS - - -It was after a brief, hurried conversation that Dave and Daley began an -inspection of their surroundings. - -"You ask what next?" said Dave, stirring about to ease his cramped limbs -and snapping a match. "I think we had first better learn the condition -of the enemy." - -"Hey, don't do that, lad!" called out Daley quickly, as Dave moved as if -to open the barred door and peer out. - -"There's no other way of finding out what we want to know," said Dave. - -"Yes, there is!" declared Daley. "I just saw a ladder in a corner here. -It leads to the roof, I think." - -"Try it and see," suggested Dave, which they did. - -"All right," announced Daley, as they came out on a square roof like a -platform, "we can get a famous idea of the rights of things from here." - -Dave surveyed the prospect in great curiosity. The roof resembled an -arsenal. There were hundreds and hundreds of all kinds of spears, -pikes, and darts. - -Some were made up in bundles, some were leaning against the rising -parapet as if slanted to catch the sunlight. In the center of the roof -was a little raised platform. This held a lot of spears and darts, the -heads resting in a big flat bowl full of some dark-colored liquid. - -"There they are," announced Dave, glancing down at the spot where they -had last seen his recent captors. - -Daley, too, viewed the quartette. Two of them had fully recovered from -their injuries. One was squatted on the ground, holding his head between -his knees and rocking to and fro and moaning. - -The fourth lay flat on the ground, still insensible, but the two able -natives were rubbing him to restore him to consciousness. - -"We're safe enough here," remarked Daley, with some satisfaction. "They -can't possibly get in--they won't try." - -"No, we seem to have a whole armory at our disposal," said Dave. -"Stoodles taught me to use the dart pretty well." - -"We could hold those fellows at bay for a long time." - -"Just so," nodded Dave, "provided we are not starved out. You know it -is folly to think of staying here if we can possibly get away. They -would soon bring an army to surround us, and then all chances of escape -would be gone." - -"I knocked them out once," said Daley. "We'll try it again if you say -so. It would be equal chances if those two cowards, Jones and Lewis, -hadn't shown the white feather, after promising to join me and help me. -The minute I pointed out the natives here to them, they cut stick for -dear life." - -"Well, they must take care of themselves, after this. Wait, we won't -venture out yet, Mr. Daley. See, the fellows have got in trim to -challenge us." - -The four natives were now fully recovered from Daley's vigorous -onslaught, it seemed. - -They consulted and chattered, with frequent glances up at the enemy in -possession of their stronghold. - -One of them, evidently the leader of the group, worked himself up into a -perfect fever of excitement and rage. - -He approached nearer to the hut and shouted up a loud rigmarole to Dave -and Daley. Suddenly wheeling around, he seized a dart from the heap on -the litter. - -So rapid and expert was he that even though the man dodged, it pierced -Daley's cap through and through, showing its tremendous force by -carrying the headgear fully twenty feet beyond the roof of the hut. - -"Aha, two can play at that game, my friend," said Daley. - -He seized a dart and hurled it back at the men. They laughed at him -derisively as it struck the ground lightly and harmlessly beyond them. -Even Dave had to smile at the sailor's sheer clumsiness. - -Now the refugees had to duck down frequently, for all four of the -natives began to shower the darts at them. - -"I will try a hand," suggested Dave at last. "These on this little -platform seem better made than the others. Hi-aa-ooa!" yelled Dave, -standing up and poising the dart. He used the great war-cry of the -tribe that Pat Stoodles had taught him in a moment of leisure. - -The minute Dave raised the weapon a frightful uproar arose from the four -men. Their eyes seemed fixed in horror on the poised dart. Like -lightning they turned. In a flash they took to the nearest covert and -hid themselves. - -"Well, well!" cried the amused Daley, "that's a sudden change of front. -Lad, there's some meaning to that move." - -"Why, yes," said Dave thoughtfully; "they acted as if they were scared -to death. I wonder why?" - -He paused and turned the dart over in his hand, studying it critically. - -"Say, Mr. Daley," he observed, "do you suppose this is some peculiar -kind of a weapon that they attach taboo or some of their queer -outlandish superstitions to?" - -"Drop it!" all of a sudden almost screamed Daley. - -He dashed the dart from the hands of his companion in a most startling -way. - -"Why, Mr. Daley----" began Dave in astonishment. - -"Don't you ever go to feeling the points of those darts again, boy," -said Daley seriously. "Look here." - -He drew Dave nearer to the little platform in the center of the roof. - -"I've guessed it out," said Daley. "Yes, it must be so. See that -liquid stuff the dart heads are resting in--see the rattlesnake heads in -a heap yonder?" - -"Why," exclaimed Dave comprehendingly; "poison!" - -"Poison of the most deadly kind, lad!" declared Daley. "We've got them -now. They won't dare to show their heads as long as we shake one of -those poisoned darts at them. Only be careful how you handle them. They -are sure, sudden death. One of the _Raven_ crew was struck with one of -them in an attack the first time we landed here. He died in an hour." - -The camp-fire burned down gradually. Their enemies remained under cover. -The clouds grew heavier, and there was finally no moonlight or other -illumination of the scene. - -"It will be daylight soon," remarked Dave, after a long spell of -silence. "Mr. Daley, we mustn't stay here." - -"Right, mate. I've been thinking of that myself." - -"See here," said Dave, going to the remotest corner of the roof away -from the front of the hut. "There's a tree with some branches in reach. -Let us take that route. The trees are thick, clear over to what looks -like some kind of a corral yonder." - -"An excellent idea," voted Daley. "Well, try it, lad." - -Dave's suggestion was a pronounced success. They got to the first tree, -to a second, to a third. Apparently their escape was unobserved by the -natives. - -"We're safe enough now," said Daley. "I say, lad, look down. Whatever -are those queer-looking animals?" - -"Horses," said Dave, straining his gaze at a kind of corral, inside of -which half a dozen animals were tethered. - -"They don't look United States like," observed Daley. - -"No; they are called _dadons_. They are very rare here, Stoodles told -me. I never saw but one before." - -"Suppose----" began Daley, descending to the ground. Then suddenly he -exclaimed: "They're after us!" - -From the nearest bushes some darts cut the air as the two refugees -reached the ground. The next moment, showing that they had been aware of -their movements all along and were awaiting just this opportunity to -attack them, the four weapon-makers burst into view. - -"Run for it!" shouted Daley. - -"This way," directed Dave, dashing towards the corral. "Out with your -knife, Mr. Daley. Cut the tether of one of those _dadons_. I'll do the -same. We may escape those natives yet." - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - A WILD RIDE - - -"All aboard, mate!" shouted Daley. - -"Keep together," called out Dave. - -"It's going to be a tussle," panted the sailor. "My, but she's a -skittish one." - -Daley had mounted one of the _dadons_ after cutting its tether. Dave -had succeeded in landing himself on the back of another. - -The _dadons_ were horses in all things except a peculiarly long mane and -a head shaped like that of a zebra. - -The minute Dave got mounted he managed to form the tether into a kind of -a nose loop, but he could get no control of the animal under him. He -could simply hold on. - -Both _dadons_ were wildly averse to being ridden. That on which Daley -rode made a blind dash through the corral ropes, and Dave's animal -followed him. - -Some darts rained about the fugitives for a minute or two. - -Then disappointed howls alone told of the natives they had eluded. - -"Try to stop," shouted Dave to Daley, who was in the lead, after they -had made a reckless rush of fully two miles across a great level stretch -of heather. - -But Daley did not hear Dave or was unable to heed him. He kept straight -on. The heather ended. A great range of hills presented. As Daley and -his steed turned into these, Dave lost sight of them. - -He had given a thought to Jones and Lewis and felt it his and Daley's -duty to look up the fellows, even if their courage had failed them at a -critical moment. - -Dave, however, could not stop the _dadon_ he rode. The animal was -perfectly uncontrollable. It went like a flash, snorting frightfully, -blindly grazing tree branches that hung over the rough route, and once -or twice Dave was nearly swept from its back. - -He could now only assume that Daley was somewhere ahead, that sooner or -later the animal the sailor rode, superior to Dave's own in speed, would -tire out and slow down. - -"We mustn't become separated," Dave told himself. "Ah, there he is." - -Dave caught a flashing view of steed and rider at a break in the hills. -Then they disappeared. He held on tightly, hoping his tarpan would -follow its mate. - -It was now daylight. The scenery about was indescribably wild and -grand. Now they had reached a broad and level plateau. There would be -a clear space, then a dense timber stretch. - -This alternation kept up for many a mile. - -"Where is Daley?" was the anxious theme of Dave's thoughts. "I am going -to control this animal," he decided doughtily, a minute later. - -Dave tried to form the loose end of the tether into some kind of a -bridle. Jolted about, forced to cling closely at least with one hand -all of the time, however, for fear he would be thrown off, Dave had to -abandon this experiment. - -"The sea!" he cried suddenly, catching a distant view of it. "That's -all right," said Dave. "Whether ahead or behind, Daley will make for -the seashore. Maybe he's there now. Whoa! Whoa! I've got to jump. -Too late!" - -The animal had been dashing down an incline for some time. Emerging -from a belt of verdure with startling suddenness, a sheer dip to the -edge of a cliff was visible. - -The _dadon_ could not stay its course. It fairly slipped the length of -the dip. So fast did the animal go that Dave had not time to leave its -back before its flying hoofs had struck nothingness. - -Forty feet down a dead-water bay showed, dotted with islands. The -sensation of descent was one of breathlessness. - -The animal struck the water squarely with its forefeet. Steed and rider -were borne under completely. - -Dave arose, free from the animal at last. - -He floated, catching his breath, and saw the _dadon_ swim towards the -shore and go scampering out of sight along the wooded beach. - -"Well," commented Dave, "here's an adventure. I'm thankful for whole -bones. I hope that Daley has fared quite as luckily." - -Dave swam ashore. He sat down by some bushes and took off his coat, to -dry it in the sun. Under the bushes was plenty of dead wood, and he -reached out and secured two pieces to form a sort of clothes-bar. - -These he had arranged in due order. Dave reached for a third piece. He -seized what he supposed to be a fragment of old wood. It felt soft, -yielding, and drew away from his hand with startling suddenness. - -"Eh, why," cried Dave. "A human foot!" - -The object had disappeared, but there was a rustling under the dense -foliage of the bushes. - -"I'll have this out," declared Dave, and jumped to his feet and pulled -aside the bushes. - -Cowering on the ground, his face showing alarm and suffering, a pitiful, -pleading look in his eyes, was a dusky native. - -"The outcast--the man I saw with the priest of the tribe two days ago," -exclaimed Dave. "Yes, it's the same man." - -Dave was tremendously worked up at this recognition. He stood regarding -the native speculatively. He fully realized that this meeting might -mean a great deal to himself and his friends. - -Had he not seen the person now before him give a lot of the treasure -gold pieces to the priest of the tribe? - -Was he not then as now persuaded that the outcast knew where the rest of -the treasure was secreted? - -"Why," said Dave, "this man holds the key to the whole situation. Now -then, my friend, you and I must understand one another." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - - FOUND! - - -Dave Fearless pulled farther away the bushes that still half-screened -the native. The man sat up, and spoke some words feebly. Dave shook his -head. The man sank back dejectedly, knowing now that Dave could not -understand him. - -Dave saw that the man was hurt and helpless. He tried to find out how. -The outcast's face expressed some relief as Dave gently lifted one arm -and then the other. Then the outcast pointed to one lower limb. - -Dave moved this. The man winced. Dave's face grew serious. - -"His left leg is broken," said Dave. "Too bad!" - -Dave found that the man's kneebone was completely shattered. He seemed -to have had a terrible fall. As Dave proceeded with his ministrations -gently, the man pointed to the cliff. - -"Fell over there, eh?" translated Dave, nodding as the man went on with -expressive gestures. "Pursued by many, many. Yes, I see. You want to -go farther? That way? The island out there? My man, I don't think you -will stand much moving." - -Dave spent an hour bathing the injured limb and setting it in splints. -It was a crude surgical operation and must have pained the sufferer -intensely, but the very fact of kindly attention and treatment seemed to -cheer up the poor fellow. - -"I've certainly got a new and great responsibility on my hands," thought -Dave. "What am I going to do now? If he is recaptured, he will -probably be sacrificed. If he is left here alone, he will starve and -die of neglect. Yes," said Dave firmly, "black or white, friend or foe, -the poor fellow relies on my sympathy. He is going to get it, too, to -the fullest extent. I won't desert him." - -Dave busied himself looking for food. He hoped that Daley or the other -two men might show up. He was near the sea. The _Swallow_ might happen -by. - -"Well, you're a persistent sort of a fellow," commented Dave, as the -outcast for the twentieth time or more pointed to the island he had -first indicated in the same pleading way. "What do you want to go there -for?" - -The outcast put his finger in the sand and traced a boat there. - -"Ah, some kind of a craft on that island," guessed Dave. "Do you mean -that? All right, I'll investigate." - -Dave disrobed and swam to the island the man had pointed out. - -He went all over it, and finally, among a thick clump of reeds, he came -across a canoe. "Good!" cried Dave, feeling that he had been well -rewarded for his care to the sufferer. "Why, it's a splendid little -craft, paddles and all. The man must have brought it here and hidden -it. He made for this spot when pursued." - -When Dave got back to his patient with the canoe, the latter could not -conceal his satisfaction and delight. - -He motioned Dave to drag the canoe close up to him, which Dave did. He -reached over into the bow and pulled out a bag made of skin. - -This he handed to Dave with a free, hearty gesture, indicating that it -was a gift. - -Dave opened the bag. His pulses beat pretty high. His hopes grew -immensely. - -"More of the gold--the same gold, part of the treasure!" he exclaimed, -with glowing eyes. "I was surely right. This man knows all about the -treasure." - -Dave looked at the outcast speculatively. He wondered how he could make -him indicate more. He, too, began tracing in the sand. It was an -intricate and laborious task. At the end of an hour Dave looked -triumphant. - -"It's plain as day!" he cried, preparing the canoe for a voyage. "The -man indicates that this gold is a mere sample of what he can produce. -It is hidden on an island west. He pokes dots in the outline he draws, -as if it is full of caves. He is angry at the treachery of the -Windjammers. He will have nothing further to do with them. If I will -cure him up, he will take me to the treasure. If I will stay his friend -and carry him away from his enemies, he will give up all the gold--all -of it. Oh! a famous bargain. Well, I simply must find the _Swallow_ -now." - -Dave got afloat. He put some soft grasses in the bottom of the canoe -and made the invalid comfortable. - -They got out to sea, and the youth progressed with some skill, for it -was not his first experience with the paddles. - -During the ensuing ten hours Dave did not see any craft afloat or person -ashore. He kept going north. - -"Somewhere along the coast I am bound to run across the _Swallow_," he -confidently told himself. - -Dave was utterly worn out as dusk began to come down over land and sea. -He did not cease his paddling, however, tired as he was. Some distance -away he had made out a familiar landmark. - -The shades of night were falling as Dave drove the canoe past the -natural curtain of vines that hid the cave for which he was making. - -"Oh, see!" - -He dropped the paddles and sat like one transfixed. A glorious picture -was outlined by a cheerful camp-fire ashore. - -It showed animated figures preparing an evening meal--comfort, good -cheer, homelikeness. - -But most of all, the radiant flare showed the stanch dear old steamer, -the _Swallow_, in a safe harbor and in friendly hands. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - - DISASTER - - -It would be impossible to do full justice to the joy and excitement -occasioned by the return of Dave Fearless to the _Swallow_. - -Dave had come up to the steamer unperceived. He knew how to get to the -old familiar deck without being discovered. - -His first rush was for the dear old father, seated on a stool watching -the cheerful scene ashore, but all the time thinking of his missing son. - -There was an affectionate greeting between these two who thought so much -of one another. Then Captain Broadbeam nearly wrung Dave's hand lame, -trying to express his delight at seeing him once more safe and sound -aboard the _Swallow_. - -"Mr. Stoodles away--and Bob, too?" exclaimed Dave disappointedly, a -little later, as he was told of the happenings with his friends since he -had last seen them. "That is unfortunate. I hope they will soon return -safely. In fact, it is almost indispensable that Mr. Stoodles see the -poor native I brought aboard with me." - -"He'll have to see him soon, then," said Doctor Barrell, shaking his -head seriously. "The man is in pretty bad condition, Dave. I doubt if I -can pull him through." - -"He is the possessor of a great secret," said Dave. "Let me tell you -about it." - -"I hope Stoodles comes back in time to talk with the outcast," said Amos -Fearless anxiously, after Dave had told his story. - -The next morning there was some disturbing news to report by the -boatswain. Gerstein had escaped during the night, taking the best -equipped of the small yawls with him. - -Then there were two days of solicitous nursing of the outcast and -anxious waiting for the return of Stoodles and Bob. - -One morning a loud cheer brought the coterie at the captain's table in -great haste and excitement on deck. - -Stoodles and Bob had arrived by the overland route. - -There was a vast babel of talk and welcome lasting over an hour, while -all matters were mutually explained. - -"I'm so solid with the present government of the Windjammers," boasted -Pat proudly, "that I could command legions and phalanxes at my instant -beck and call." - -"That is good, Mr. Stoodles," smiled Dave. "So you had them out looking -everywhere for me, did you?" - -"Yes, and I promised them that a fearful visitation of fire--some of -Bob's foine fireworks--would disrupt the nation if within three days you -were not found." - -"Well, Stoodles," said Captain Broadbeam, "we may need the help of the -natives when we get farther along. For the present, however, there is -only one thing to do. Get into shape to go for that treasure. The -_Swallow_ is all fixed up. We are in perfect sailing trim. We know -that Nesik and his crowd are still alive, but we need have no fear of -them without a ship to harbor them. Another thing--Gerstein's escape is -unfortunate. He may get to his friends and warn them. In the morning -we will start to hunt up the treasure." - -"Gerstein may get there first," suggested Dave. - -"Suppose he does. He's got no ship to carry the treasure away in. I -see possible fighting ahead if we run across Nesik and the Hankers, but -we've got the upper hand of them. Dave, lad, take Stoodles down to see -the native you brought here. Try to find out something definite about -the hiding-place of the treasure, will you, Pat?" - -"Shure, I will," declared Stoodles. - -"Oh, the man will tell you freely--I know it from his gestures to me!" -declared Dave. "He was very low last night, though. Come, Mr. Stoodles, -I will take you to him, let him know that you are my friend, and the -rest will be easy." - -They went to the forecastle. The boatswain met them at the door of the -little compartment that marked the hospital of the ship. - -"Mr. Stoodles is to see the sick native, Mr. Drake," said Dave. - -The boatswain looked very somber. - -"Mr. Stoodles is too late," he pronounced solemnly. - -"Too late?" echoed Dave. - -"Yes; the poor fellow died an hour ago." - -Dave went back to the cabin with the sad news. Stoodles expressed a -curiosity to see the outcast, and the boatswain accompanied him to the -hospital. - -When later Dave looked for Pat, the Milesian sent word by the boatswain -that he was very busy and would see his friend in the morning. - -It was about two hours after midnight that Dave awoke with a great -start. As he sprang to the floor from his berth Bob Vilett dashed into -the stateroom. - -"Dave, Dave!" he cried. "It's all up with us." - -"Now what----" began Dave. He was interrupted by great tramping on the -deck and the sound of pistol-shots. - -Dave hurried on his clothes and rushed after Bob to the deck. - -A blow from a marlinspike sent Bob flat and a rough stranger grabbed -Dave as he appeared. - -Captain Broadbeam and his crew were hemmed in near the bow, held at bay -by a dozen armed men. - -With a sinking heart Dave realized what had happened--the brave little -_Swallow_ was in the hands of their enemies: Captain Nesik of the -_Raven_, the Hankers, and all that rascally crew. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - - A LUCKY FIND - - -"Land ahead!" sang out Captain Broadbeam's terrific voice in foghorn -bass. - -"We'll never reach it," declared Bob Vilett. - -"Begorra, this is the worst yet," observed Pat Stoodles. - -"Steady; be ready to jump if the raft tips," said Dave Fearless. - -Fog, blackness, rain, and tempest surrounded the crew of the _Swallow_. -A critical moment, indeed, had arrived in their experiences. - -The capture of the _Swallow_ early that morning had been effected by -their enemies within an hour. The attack had been a vast surprise. No -one had anticipated it, no one was prepared to meet it. - -Superior numbers, desperate men heavily armed, had simply overpowered -those on board of the steamer two at a time. - -The bound captives were put ashore. With sad hearts they saw the -_Swallow_ sail out of the secret cove in the hands of their enemies. -Dave's hardest trial was to listen to the triumphant taunts of Bart -Hankers. The elder Hankers gloated over Amos Fearless. - -Captain Nesik goaded Captain Broadbeam to the verge of madness with his -mean sneers. - -Then they steamed away, the captives got loose from their bonds, and -there they were, faced with the very worst fortune, it seemed, where a -few hours previous good luck only had smiled on them. - -"I've an idea," said Pat Stoodles at once. - -"Well, what is it?" asked Broadbeam. - -"Put afther the rascals." - -"Of course we will do that," said the captain, "and mighty smart, too. -Don't give up, lads," he cried encouragingly to those around him. -"We've the will, we'll find a way. Something tells me those thieving -buccaneers haven't the intelligence or grit to hold a good point when -they make it." - -"Captain," said Stoodles, with a sudden air of importance, "if you will -all come to the native village with me, I'll bargain to have you -conveyed where you like in all the royal canoes of the tribe." - -"It would take too much time--it might complicate matters. The sight of -so many of us might change the ideas of the natives as to a friendly -welcome," said Broadbeam. - -"Why not make a raft, then?" suggested Doctor Barrell. - -"Where to go?" asked Bob Vilett, who was quite dejected over the bad -turn in affairs. - -"In search of the threasure, shure," said Pat. - -"We don't know where it is," said Bob. "We might search for forty years -and not find a trace of the treasure." - -"Not at all," put in Dave sharply. "Find an island full of caves, and -we have the location. I am sure of that from what the outcast native -imparted to me." - -"And I," announced Pat Stoodles suddenly. "Begorra, I'm the lad who can -put my finger right on the one particular cave where the threasure is -stored." - -All hands looked at Stoodles in a sort of dubious amazement. - -"Is that true, Mr. Stoodles?" asked Doctor Barrell. - -"Shure it is." - -"How can you know that?" inquired Dave. - -"The outcast tould me." - -"Told you. Why, he was dead when you saw him," said Dave. - -"The outcast tould me," reiterated Pat solemnly. "Not another wurred -now. I am spaking from facts. Get afloat, make for the lasht of the -three western islands. Land me. I'll take you to the threasure -blindfold." - -They set to work at once to make a raft. This was not difficult, for -plenty of excellent material was at hand. It was late afternoon when -they got afloat. At ten o'clock that evening, caught in a terrible -storm, the appearance of breakers denoted the nearness of land. - -"Jump for your lives!" suddenly rang out the voice of Captain Broadbeam. - -The raft had struck an immense rock and was splintered to pieces by the -contact. Now it was a wild swim for shore in the boiling surf. - -Captain Broadbeam anxiously and eagerly counted his men a few minutes -later as they ranged on the beach. - -"None lost," he announced gladly. "Where are we, Stoodles?" - -"I can't exactly tell, your honor, but I should say on the second -western island. I'll take a short trip and report, sir." - -Stoodles strolled away in one direction; Dave, ever active, went in -another. - -In half an hour Stoodles was back to the little group of refugees with -the statement that they were on the second west island, as he had -guessed before. - -"Dave seems to be gone a long time," observed Amos Fearless, after an -hour had passed by, during which they all busied themselves in securing -such pieces of the wrecked raft as came ashore. - -Suddenly Dave appeared. He was out of breath, he had been running fast. -Something of suppressed excitement in his manner showed itself plainly. - -"What are you saving all that wreckage for?" he asked Bob Vilett. - -"Why, to make a new raft, of course." - -"Don't waste your time," advised Dave, with a quick, glad laugh. -"Captain, father, men, follow me! I've found the _Swallow_." - -"What!" shouted Captain Broadbeam, transfixed. - -"She is anchored not a mile to the north. Six men left in charge of her -are all stupid with drink on her deck. I crept aboard, bound them all, -and the _Swallow_ is ours once more." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII - - CONCLUSION - - -"What are the sticks for, Mr. Stoodles?" asked Dave Fearless. - -"Shure, they're reed torches." - -"Oh, we have to have a light, have we?" asked Bob Vilett. - -"Shure, ye have. It's simmering darkness we're going into." - -"This is the famous cave island, is it?" said Dave. "Well, it deserves -the name. Why, it's a regular honeycomb." - -"No sign of Nesik and the others yet," said Captain Broadbeam. "I -wonder what has become of them?" - -"That's aisy to surmise, captain," declared Pat Stoodles. "They left -the fellows aboard the _Swallow_ to guzzle and get sthupid while they -took a yawl and came here to remove the threasure." - -"Yes, you must remember," said Dave, "that their whole plan all along -has been to delude their crew into the belief that the treasure went -down in the _Swallow_.'" - -"Wan, two, three, four, five," spoke Stoodles, patrolling a patch of -beach, and looking up and counting along the immense row of fissures and -openings in the solid rock. "The lasht one I indicate is the place we -must go into." - -"You mean to say," observed Dave, "that the treasure is hidden in that -cave." - -"Thanks to you I mane to say it, and sthick to it, too, my brave lad," -cried Pat exuberantly. - -"Thanks to me?" repeated Dave blankly. - -"Begorra, yes." - -"You puzzle me, Mr. Stoodles." - -"Arrah, then, out with it: The outcast was dead when I saw him, but I -happened to notice that his back was tattooed. It took me eight hours -to make out the marks. I can spake the native dialect well enough, but -the script was hard to figure out. But I did it." - -"And what did it tell?" asked Dave interestedly. - -"Well, two outcasts had found the gold. So as not to forget exactly -where it was, one tattooed a diagram or chart, or whatever you may call -it, on the back of the other. One of them died a little later. That's -all, come on." - -The wonders of the next two hours, those who followed the guidance of -Pat Stoodles never forgot. It was like a visit to fairy-land. They -penetrated underground chambers of dazzling magnificence, the torches -illuminating walls and roofs of glittering splendor. - -At last, in a depression of a great rock-crystal stone, they came across -a heap of straw. - -Pulling it aside, a golden gleam dazzled the eager eyes of the -onlookers. - -"It's there! Oh, it's there!" cried the enraptured Dave Fearless. - -The ocean treasure, again recovered, lay before them. - -It had come so easily, so naturally, that there was something unreal -about the whole thing. - -The moment could not help but be filled with the intensest joy and -excitement. Yet in a plain, practical, business way they went to work -to encase the great mountain of loose golden coins in sacks which they -had brought with them. - -It was nightfall when they had got the golden hoard all on board of the -_Swallow_, and safely stored in the hold of the stanch little steamer -that had carried them through so many adventures and perils in safety up -to this supreme moment of their lives. - -What of Nesik and his cohorts? Fifty times during the evening this -theme was earnestly discussed. - -Dave Fearless sat thinking over this and many other things late that -night, enjoying the cool, refreshing breeze as he lay comfortably in a -hammock. - -Suddenly he jumped upright with a shock. A form dripping with water -clambered into view. He landed on the deck, staring wildly about him. - -"Someone, quick!" he gasped. "I'm done out. Quick, Fearless! Start -the steamer, quick! Danger--explosion!" - -"Daley!" shouted Dave. And then, as the man fell like a clod at his -feet, he ran right down into the engine room. - -Something told Dave that this man was giving an important friendly -warning. - -He fairly pulled Bob Adams from his bunk. He ordered him to start the -engines at once. He ran to the cabin and roused Captain Broadbeam. - -"What's this--the steamer going?" cried Broadbeam. - -"Yes, something is wrong," gasped Dave. "Come on deck--the mischief!" - -A frightful roar rent the air. The whole ship shivered. Just behind -him as he came up on deck Dave saw a mighty flare, a great lifting of -the waters. Then all was still. - -It was not until the following morning, when Daley recovered -consciousness, that they knew the terrible peril they had escaped -through his friendly intervention. - -It seemed that he had managed to get to the second west island. He was -nearly starved when he ran across Nesik and the others. - -He decided it was politic to make friends with them. The night previous -he was the only trusted one of the crew that Nesik and the Hankers took -in the yawl that went for the treasure. - -"They got the gold," narrated Daley. - -"Oh, they did?" muttered Captain Broadbeam, with a jolly smile. - -"I helped them--in bags just as Gerstein had left it." - -"Smart boy, that same Gerstein!" chuckled Pat Stoodles. - -"Then they discovered that you people had recaptured the _Swallow_," -continued Daley. "All day they hid with the yawl in a little cave. They -decided you people would be too watchful to ever afford them a chance to -again get possession of the steamer. You certainly would try to find -them. Gerstein submitted a diabolical plan. They had some dynamite -used in clearing away a stopped-up passageway in the cave. They made up -a float, fused the dynamite, and with a cord guided it down the beach -towards you. I got away from them." - -"And warned us in time, brave mate!" cried Captain Broadbeam, heartily -grasping the sailor's hand. "We're your friends for life." - -The _Swallow_ did not leave the Windjammers' Island for a week. During -that time Stoodles made several visits to the natives. On one of these -he and Dave took with them the two boxes Dave had purchased at Minotaur -Island. - -They returned feeling pretty good over something accomplished, and -refused to discuss it with the intensely curious Bob Vilett. - -Jones and Lewis were found and taken aboard of the _Swallow_, which -started homeward-bound at last. - -At Mercury Island their prisoners from the _Raven_ were set ashore. Of -Captain Nesik, the Hankers, and the others not a trace had been found. - -Dave and his friends well knew that a terrible disappointment had faced -the plotters when they came to discover that the bags they had secured -in one of the caves did not contain the gold. - -The native outcasts they were certain had removed the gold to the place -where they found it, filling the bags with something heavy and replacing -these at the original hiding-place. - -Amos Fearless gave his friends a royal banquet the day the _Swallow_ -arrived at San Francisco. - -Each one, down to the humblest sailor, received a generous share of the -ocean treasure they had suffered so much to secure. - -The rest of the gold was shipped by rail to Quanatack, and Doctor -Barren's curiosities to the Government at Washington. - -Captain Broadbeam, Doctor Barrell, Pat Stoodles, and Bob Vilett were -special guests of Dave and his father in the new beautiful home they -bought on Long Island Sound. - -"Dave, when are you ever going to tell us that secret of yours and -Stoodles' about those two boxes you took from Minotaur Island?" asked -Bob one evening, as they all sat on the broad veranda of the Fearless -home, enjoying the lovely evening. - -"Oh, that is only a side issue now," smiled Dave, "seeing we got the -treasure." - -"A great scheme, though," said Stoodles. "I'll tell it. Dave simply got -the royal sanction at the Windjammers' Island to establish a postal -service. We did it up officially before the whole tribe. We printed -ten thousand postage stamps." - -"And as we control the whole issue," said Dave, "of course we can charge -our own price for them as rarities." - -The old ocean diver and his son were sorry when their loyal friends had -to leave them for the duties of life that called them to business. - -They saw much of one another, however, from time to time. Each was -splendidly provided for out of the ocean treasure. Good fortune did not -spoil any of them, and each settled down to a practical, useful, and -happy life. - - - - - THE END - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - The Young Reporter Series - - - By HOWARD R. GARIS - - 12mo. cloth, illustrated and with full colored jacket - -Fascinating stories of great mysteries and extreme perils--the life of a -daring young reporter for a metropolitan daily, written by one who was -himself a reporter for sixteen years. - - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AT THE BIG FLOOD -Or the Perils of News Gathering - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AND THE LAND SWINDLERS -Or The Queer Adventures in a Great City - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE -Or A Strange Disappearance - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AND THE BANK MYSTERY -Or Stirring Doings in Wall Street - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AND THE STOLEN BOY -Or A Chase on the Great Lakes - -THE YOUNG REPORTER AT THE BATTLE FRONT -Or a War Correspondent's Double Mission - - - - Joe Strong Series - - 12mo, cloth, colored jacket and Illustrated - -Vance Barnum is a real treasure when it comes to telling about how -magicians do their weird tricks, how the circus acrobats pull off their -various stunts, how the "fishman" remains under water so long, how the -mid-air performers loop the loop and how the slackwire fellow keeps from -tumbling. He has been through it all and he writes freely for the boys -from his vast experience. They are real stories bound to hold their -audiences breathlessly. - - -JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD -Or Mysteries of Magic Exposed - -JOE STRONG ON THE TRAPEZE -Or The Daring Feats of a Young Circus Performer - -JOE STRONG, THE BOY FISH -Or Marvellous Doings in a Big Tank - -JOE STRONG ON THE HIGH WIRE -Or A Motorcycle of the Air - -JOE STRONG AND HIS WINGS OF STEEL -Or A Young Acrobat in the Clouds - -JOE STRONG AND HIS BOX OF MYSTERY -Or The Ten Thousand Dollar Prize Trick - -JOE STRONG, THE BOY FIRE-EATER -Or The Most Dangerous Performance on Record - - - - Army Boys Series - - By HOMER RANDALL - - 12mo, cloth, Illustrated and with colored jacket - -Here we have true-to-life pictures of what our brave soldier boys did, -in the training camps, aboard the transport, and on the battlefields of -France. 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