“Why, yes, if he chanced to meet them, and they were willing to have him. But would he go and leave you behind?”
“He might, especially if he found out I was captured, or that I had let you have what jewels I was carrying.”
“If he went with those Englishmen he would be foolish to let them know about the jewels, for they would rob him, just as they robbed Giles Borden,” continued our hero, and then he realized that here was a new peril to face. If the Englishmen got their hands on the jewels it might be next to impossible to recover the gems, especially if the rascals managed to get away from Cave Island.
Presently our hero saw a column of smoke arising in another portion of the island. He watched it for several minutes and then gave a cry of satisfaction.
“I know where they are!”
“You mean your crowd?” queried Merwell.
“Yes. Phil is signaling to me, by means of a column of smoke such as some Indians out west use. We learned the trick when we were at Star Ranch. Come on, we’ll soon be with them. It isn’t very far.”
Dave had come down from his high perch in a hurry, and in a very short time was ready to leave the spot. Merwell gave a deep sigh, for he did not relish confronting his former schoolmates.
“It’s tough luck, but I suppose I’ve got to stand it,” he murmured, as he followed Dave, after the fire had been extinguished. “When a fellow makes a fool of himself he’s got to take the consequences.” And this remark was so true that Dave did not dispute it.
On they went through the forest and then over a rocky hill. Three times they came close to falling into the treacherous holes in which the island abounded, and the last time poor Merwell got a fall that almost sprained his ankle.