"It's gone--that's sure," was the reply, "but whether it will come back or not----" the lad shrugged his shoulders, a Spanish trick he had acquired lately. "What does it all mean?" asked Beeby. "Is the yacht really gone, Dick?" "Do you see it anywhere?" inquired the young millionaire in his turn, and he swept his hand toward the ocean. "If you do, you have better eyes than I. And the launch seems to have disappeared also." "But I can't understand it," put in Paul. "I guess it's as Frank said," remarked Henry Darby. "The captain saw a storm coming up, and came to get the launch. Then he put out to sea." "He wouldn't do it, and leave us marooned on this island, with nothing to eat," declared Dick, positively. "No, fellows, there's something queer and mysterious about this. Either the yacht and launch suddenly sank, which is out of the question, or they were taken away. Pedro Alantrez," he went on, turning quickly to the young Cuban, "did those kidnappers, who landed you here, go away?" "As far as I know, they did, Senor Hamilton," was the answer. "They anchored about where you say your yacht was, and brought me ashore in a small boat, with some food. Then they rowed back, got up steam, and sailed away, leaving me all alone." "Did you think those men might have stolen your yacht, Dick?" asked Beeby. "I was beginning to think so--in fact, I was sure of it, but if they went away I don't see how they could. They would hardly stay around, after sending word to Senor Alantrez that his son was here, knowing, as they must have, that he would come to get him. It wouldn't be safe for them. No, they probably have gone, but there may be Cuban pirates, or some other criminals, on this island, who sneaked around when we were inland, and took the launch and yacht." "But they'd have to overpower Captain Barton and the crew to do such a thing," objected Frank Bender. "Well, that's possible," argued Dick, "especially if they sneaked up on the _Albatross_ in the launch. Captain Barton and the others, seeing the yacht's launch approach, wouldn't suspect anything until it was too late. I'm afraid something serious may have happened to them. Did you notice any signs of pirates, or other desperate characters, on the island since you have been here?" asked Dick, of the young Cuban. "No, senor, but then I did not explore this place much. I was too full of grief. I merely erected a signal on the other side of the island, and was coming to do the same here, when I met you." There was silence for a few minutes, while the grim, dismal fact that they were marooned on a lonely and seldom-visited island, sank deeper into the minds of the young millionaire and his chums. They gazed helplessly across the stretch of ocean, which was fast becoming covered with a haze, added to which the falling darkness made it impossible to make out objects more than a short distance away.