Somehow the mystery in which the boys had found themselves involved during the past few days instead of becoming clearer was darker than before. Who was their passenger? Why was he so desirous of being carried to Cockburn Island? These questions and many others were discussed in low tones by George and Grant while their passenger remained seated in the bow of the swiftly moving little motor-boat. "Speaking of calm," said the captain breaking in upon the prolonged silence on board, "I knew a man once that was held up three days on one of these islands by a storm. 'Twas a regular no'-easter and blew a gale without stopping. This man I'm telling you about managed to get ashore on one of the islands and couldn't leave until the storm passed and he was picked up by some boat. So you see you needn't get so down-hearted about your friends. Something may have happened to their boat or they may have landed somewhere and maybe they didn't pull their skiff far enough up on the shore. There's a hundred things I can think of to comfort your hearts." "That's good of you," said Grant "I wish I felt about it the way you do." It was dusk when at last the motor-boat drew near the familiar shores of Cockburn Island. "Some boat's ahead of you," called the captain. "See, there's a motor-boat already there at that little landing." The attention not only of the boys but of their other passenger was at once called to the boat in the distance. And it was apparent too that the man was greatly excited by the discovery. As the boys came nearer they both were convinced that they had never seen the boat before. They were able to see that it had been long since it had been painted and its general air of dilapidation was so manifest that under other circumstances the boys would have laughed at its appearance. Occasionally they glanced at the man on board whose surprise and excitement or alarm at the discovery of the presence of the other motor-boat had now become more marked. "Look yonder!" said Grant at last when they were within a few yards of the landing place. "There's somebody coming from the house." Both boys were silent for a brief time as they watched the approaching men. One of them was tall and ungainly and had a strange swinging motion as he walked across the fields. Beside him were two boys. George suddenly grasped his friend by the arm and in a low voice said, "Do you know who those fellows are?" CHAPTER XXIII AN UNEXPECTED MEETING "They look like Fred and John," replied Grant in a whisper. "Where do you suppose they came from?" "I don't care where they came from, the most I want to know is that they are here. You don't suppose they are ghosts, do you?" "I think you would find out whether they were ghosts or not if you tried to throw Fred. Come on, let's go ahead and meet them." Advancing quickly the boys soon drew near the place where the approaching forms were seen.