“Oh, I came in a—er—in a motor boat, run by a friend of mine. He—er—he said he would call for me later,” stammered the stranger.
The Rover boys listened to this conversation with interest, and gradually drew closer, as the stranger came from the rocks to talk to Darkingham and the others.
“Say, are you the fellow who abducted a lady!” cried Larkspur.
At this direct question the stranger started. “Why—er—what makes you ask—er—that question?” he stammered.
“We know some fellows who are looking for a lady who was abducted—at least, that is the story they told,” answered Koswell.
“Where did you see those fellows?” asked the stranger, and now he was plainly excited.
“They were here awhile ago.”
“Here—on this island?”
“At the dock—but they didn’t land—we didn’t let ’em,” said Larkspur.
“Humph!” The stranger was thoughtful for a moment. “No, I don’t know anything about a lady who was abducted,” he said slowly. “I am just roaming around a bit. As soon as my friend comes back with the motor boat I’ll leave the island. If I had known it was private property I shouldn’t have come ashore at all.”