It did not seem that anything further could be forced from his lips. They warned him that they would not hesitate to shoot if he tried to run away, and then they climbed the bank.
"If you want me to lead you," said Mr. Cooler, "come on."
He did not take the path, but plunged into the woods. They kept close to him, watching him.
"If you try to lead us into a trap," said Hodge, "you will be sorry. If we are ambushed here in these woods, my first shot will be at you. I'll fix you, if I never do another thing."
There was nothing like bluster in the words, and Mr. Caleb Cooler knew Bart meant exactly what he said.
"That is all right," nodded the little man. "Shoot away."
He led them toward the glade in which was the mysterious grave. At last they stood around the grave, and he said:
"Here is something I discovered since coming to the island. That name was on the stone before I joined you at the clambake. I forgot to tell you about it."
"Yesterday there was another name on that stone," said Browning. "The new name must have been cut there after we left the island yesterday afternoon."