"Vot kindt up a pird vos a varmint?" asked Hans. "You don'd remember dot I haf efer seen von, do I?"
"It is large enough to make a fish chowder," explained Merry.
"Vot vos I gifin' you?" cried Hans. "Who efer heart a pird uf dot could make a vish-chowter! I vos guyin' you, I oxpect."
Browning threw him the painter as they came alongside, and soon the girls were safely on the yacht.
"Come back as soon as you have fixed it with Miss Gale," said Bruce, "and we will go onto the island and investigate."
Frank nodded and then went below. In a few minutes he came out laughing and assured the girls that it was all right. Then he dropped into the boat again, and soon he and Browning were on Devil Island.
They pulled the boat up on the beach and made it fast. Frank took the rifle, and Bruce looked at his revolver, which he had slipped into his pocket before leaving the yacht the first time. The White Wings was riding at anchor within easy speaking distance of the shore.
"Which way shall we go?" asked Bruce.
"The buildings are on the other side of the island," said Merry. "Let's go straight across."