"You shall go, Aleck," answered Mr. Rover, who knew he could depend upon the colored man in any emergency.
"I hope you find Dick, and Tom and Sam," said Dora. "It was foolish for them to go off alone."
"And don't let Merrick hurt anybody," pleaded Nellie.
It was quickly decided that the party to go ashore should be composed of Mr. Rover, Bahama Bill, Aleck, and the three boys. Nearly everybody went armed, and the party carried with them a small electric searchlight, run by a "pocket" battery, and two oil lanterns. They also took with them some provisions, and a pick, a shovel and a crowbar, for Bahama Bill said there might be some digging to do to get at the treasure.
Had it not been for the small searchlight it would have been next to impossible to find the opening through the reef during the night. But the light was all that was needed, and they came through with little more than a shower of spray touching them. Bahama Bill and Mr. Rover rowed the boat and soon brought the craft to a point where they disembarked without difficulty.
"The boys did not land here," said Anderson Rover, after a look along the sandy shore for footprints. "But they must have come in somewhere around here."
"Let's call for them," suggested Songbird, and this was done, but no reply came back.
"They have started on the hunt for the cave, just as I supposed they would," said Mr. Rover.
"Den let us git aftah dem directly," said Aleck. "I feels like I could tramp all night widout half tryin'!"
Tying up the rowboat, and shouldering their tools and provisions, they set off along the shore of Horseshoe Bay, just as the three Rover boys had done. Bahama Bill led the way, with Mr. Rover beside him, carrying the electric light, which gave out fully as much light as did the acetylene gas lamp carried by Merrick.