Adventure stories; Love stories; Treasure troves -- Fiction
Inside the breakwater the sea was almost as smooth as a mirror. The
water was wonderfully transparent, and they could see hundreds of
tropical fish swimming lazily at a great depth. On the beach the waves
lapped in musical ripples, in striking contrast to the thundering surf
on the reef.
The captain wiped his perspiring forehead and drew a long breath of
relief. "So far so good," he remarked. "It won't be long now before
we'll know whether we've come on a fool's errand or not."
"There's one thing about which the map hasn't lied, anyway," said Drew.
"It pointed out the inlet just where we found it. That's a good omen,
it seems to me."
"Let's hope the rest of the map is all right," replied the captain.
"But it's nearly time for dinner now, and we'll have that before going
ashore."
All were so feverishly impatient, now that they were almost in sight of
their goal, that none of them paid much attention to the meal, and it
was soon over.
"Do you s'pose the crew have any idee why we're stopping at this
island?" asked Tyke. There was a grim look on his seamed countenance,
and both the captain and Drew looked at him curiously.
"What's milling in your brain, Tyke?" asked Captain Hamilton. "I've
kept my eyes peeled, and I swear I haven't seen anything more to
suggest treachery. Ditty's on his best behavior----"
"Yes; that's so," agreed Tyke. "But did you spy the men he took with
him in the boat jest now, when he came in here to make soundings?"
"I didn't notice," the captain confessed.
"The orneriest ones of the whole bunch. An', believe me! this is the
wo'st crew of dock scrapings I ever set eyes on," growled Tyke. "Ditty
did a lot of talking in the boat--I watched 'em through my glass. Them
six are his close friends, Cap'n Rufe. They've laid their plans----"
"Holy mackerel!" exclaimed Captain Hamilton. "What are you saying,
Tyke?"
"I've figgered out that we aren't going to have things our own way down
here," the other said earnestly. "I've been waiting for you to say
something, Cap'n Rufe, ever since that Bug-eye accused Allen like he
did. Ditty's on to our game--has been on to it right along--an' he
selected this crew of wharf-rats for a purpose."
"I agree with you, Mr. Grimshaw," Drew declared eagerly. "That's what
Ditty was after when he tried to rob you at the time you were knocked
down by the automobile. You were right. He did push you back in front
of the machine, and then he searched your pockets while you were on the
ground."
"For what?" demanded Captain Hamilton, staring.
"For the paper and the map. Ditty believed Mr. Grimshaw carried that
confession in his pocket," Drew replied.
The master of the schooner rose and began to walk about in excitement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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