“Yes, we escaped, but no thanks to you!” exclaimed Frank sternly. “You meant us to be drowned, but we found a way out, and now we have you just where we want you, you rascal! You’ll tell us what we want to know, you’ll clear up the mystery of Paul Gale, and you’ll confess what you want of this motor boat now, I guess.”
“Suppose I refuse?”
“Then we’ll take you before the authorities.”
“Ha! Ha! A likely story. Marooned on this lonely island you can’t do much. You see I happen to know your boat is gone, and—”
“Gone, yes, because you took her,” interrupted Andy.
“No, I didn’t take either your sailboat or the rowboat,” spoke the man simply. “I wanted to, but some one else got ahead of me. I had to row away from the island as the storm came up, and it was no joke, either.”
“Then who did take our boats?” asked Andy blankly.
“I don’t know,” replied the man. “But I do know that you have more than you bargain for if you think you can make me talk. There is no one on this island but ourselves, now that Splane played me a mean trick, and deserted. Talk of authorities! Ha! Ha! It’s a joke,” and he pretended to be amused.
“We’ll soon be off the island,” said Frank, with more confidence than he felt. “Our father will be looking for us, and may arrive at any minute.”
The man uttered an exclamation beneath his breath. Evidently he had not counted on this. The two boys stood regarding him. Now that they had him, they hardly knew what to do with the fellow.