“I do. I believe it is all a part of a scheme to rob him and us. Those men wanted to get him out of the way so they could plunder our camp. I guess they thought we were boys who had never been out alone before.”
“They think differently now,” observed Bob. “I reckon my bullet went uncomfortably close to some of ’em.”
“We may have scared them off for the time being,” went on Jerry, “but we’ve got to be on the watch. Our camp represents a lot of wealth to those colored men, and they’ll stop at nothing, short of a gun, to get it. It’ll have to be watch and watch after this.”
“You’re right,” agreed Ned. “We should have done it at first. But it’s not too late, thanks to the fish-line burglar alarm.”
The boys arranged to spend the rest of the night taking turns at standing guard, but their precautions were needless, for they were not disturbed again. In the morning they made a more careful examination and, by the tracks in the mud, came to the conclusion that at least five men had endeavored to loot the camp.
“What about the professor?” asked Bob, when they had discussed the occurrences of the night.
“I’m worried about him,” admitted Jerry. “He’s such an innocent and trusting gentleman that he’d do anything those scoundrels asked him to. I suppose by this time they have him several miles away from here.”
“Do you think they’ll harm him?” asked Ned.
“Maybe not. They’ll certainly rob him, and they may turn him adrift in the everglades, and that’s the worst thing they could do. He’ll never be able to find his way out.”