Bruce could make nothing out of the lettering until he discovered that the writer had run two or three words together and had misspelled “week”; after that the message suddenly flashed out plainly enough.
“Gone a week. Thief stole marten fur. Rotten luck. Look young birch-tree.”
It took Bruce but a moment to find the young birch-tree with smooth white bark, on which a longer message was written a little more plainly. [[237]]
“We go back to lake,” read the message. “Bad luck here. Intend to go to Michipicoten Island, and to Island of Yellow Sands. Rotten luck here. Maybe the yellow sand is gold. If we catch the thief, he will never steal again.
”
And then Bruce gave a yell. “Come here, friends!” he called. “I have found a message from Jack Dutton.” [[238]]
CHAPTER XXX
GANAWA IS FRIGHTENED
“Where is Michipicoten Island? Where is the Island of Yellow Sands? How far is it? Have you ever been there?” These and other questions the lads asked of Ganawa.