Impatient at the delay, Linda felt that she had to be at the scene of action, to hear what had happened to the "Doc," who evidently was not on the island. She ran forward, just in time to hear Jake's explanation.
"One fellow made off with the girl in the plane yesterday morning," he said. "The other guy must have beat it later on in the day—while us two was still asleep. Took the boat and the cash. We ain't got nothin' here of any value—outside of food.... Huh! Why, if there ain't Linda herself!"
Angry as she was at this insolent manner of addressing her, Linda could not help smiling at the man's consternation. But she was terribly disappointed to learn that the money was gone. That meant that they had failed to accomplish the main purpose with which she had set out—to restore to the innocent bank depositors the savings which they had lost through no fault of their own.
"Perhaps the money's over on the island in the ocean," she suggested hopefully. "I had to help bury some boxes of jewels there while I was a prisoner—and those may still be there, too. Shall we fly over immediately, Sergeant Worth?"
"You know the way?" the latter inquired, in surprise. His admiration for this plucky girl was growing every minute.
"Oh, yes, I think so. We can make these men direct us if I forget. They are sure to know."
After a hasty search of Black Jack Island was completed—to make sure that the third man was not still in hiding—the party returned to the airplane, and Linda made ready to take off once more. This was an exceedingly difficult feat, with a large plane, but the experienced aviatrix calculated everything before she made the attempt, and the airplane left the ground at the exact time that she had planned. She directed it eastward now, out over the Georgia coast, on to the Atlantic. She remembered the course perfectly, spotting the identical island without any help from the prisoners, and landed on the wide barren beach without any difficulty.
Once they were out of the plane she recalled even the hiding-place, where "Slats" had placed the jewels, and she led the way through the underbrush. Unrolling the stone, and pushing the sand aside at her direction, the detectives brought out the three tin boxes which Linda herself had been forced to help conceal.
Opening them up right there by twisting the locks, the officers gazed at their contents in speechless amazement. Two diamond necklaces, a string of real pearls, innumerable rings and pins and watches. And a bracelet of priceless emeralds!