Upon the resumption of work, after a long and enjoyable spell in which pipes and yarns held full sway, strong moorings were laid in the narrow part of the lagoon for the two sea-planes. There seemed every indication of the glorious weather holding, otherwise Claverhouse would not have run the risk of leaving his precious charges afloat. Nevertheless, he was determined to push on with the construction of the hangars, which were to be made so strongly that they would successfully resist the tropical gales. Before nightfall the big store was ready for the roof of palm-leaf thatch. The shore-party made themselves at home, and the men told off to sleep on board prepared to return. "Where's your young brother?" asked Villiers. "With Claverhouse, I think," replied Beverley. "Well, he isn't," corrected Jack. "Alec's just gone down to the boat." Bobby ran down to the beach and hailed the airman. "Not a sign of him," replied Claverhouse. "I thought he'd return straight to the camp. We'll have to send out a search-party. The island isn't so very big, but he may have lost his way." There was no lack of volunteers. Every man ashore, from Harborough to Pete, expressed his willingness to look for the missing Dick. The fall of night hampered their task, and at the end of a couple of hours' strenuous search the party reassembled on the beach with their aim unattained. "The moon will be up in another twenty minutes," announced Harborough, who felt himself responsible for having dispatched the young huntsman on his shooting expedition. "Who'll have another shot?" "We'll carry on till we find him, sir," was the unanimous response. CHAPTER XIX Missing "Hanged if I can wait about for the moon to rise, Jack. It will be two mortal hours before it's much use to us," declared Bobby Beverley. "Game to carry on at once?" "Right-o," assented Villiers; "but I'm afraid we won't do much. Can't see your hand in front of your face, so to speak. Wish we had a good dog here." "We'll try with the Aldis," rejoined Beverley. "Right-o," agreed his chum for the second time. "Let's get a move on." From the store they procured an Aldis lamp and battery. The lamp, primarily intended for flashing signals (it was powerful enough to enable a message to be sent over a distance of five miles in broad daylight), could be used as a miniature and portable searchlight, although the weight of the case containing the cells was considerable. "Perhaps," suggested Villiers, as the two men plunged into the coco-palm groves, "perhaps the young blighter's taken it into his head to scale one of the peaks and can't find his way down." "Hope not," replied Beverley. "Dashed if I fancy climbing a thousand feet or so of lava rock. 'Sides, he must have heard us shouting all over the show." "Possibly," admitted Villiers. "But he might not be able to let us know." "Had a rifle."