“Unless some one else has been here before us and taken it away,” answered Jack. “Don’t be too much disappointed if we find it gone. These pirate treasures have been hunted for years by thousands of treasure seekers.”
“Well, I’m goin’ to make certain if it’s here or not before I leave this island!” answered the lanky sailor, determinedly.
It was now growing dark, the setting sun casting long and grotesque shadows across the hollow where they were traveling. Soon night came on, just at a time when they were trying to decide where the center of the jagged bowl might be.
“We’ll probably have to stay here all night,” said Jack. “I don’t believe we can do much in the darkness.”
“Oh, come on! Let’s do what we can,” cried Andy, eagerly. He was so excited that for the time being he had almost forgotten his hurt ankle.
The other boys were equally interested, and it must be confessed that the lanky sailor was as wild as any of them. He, too, had forgotten all about his injured leg, and he strode on over the rocks, looking in every direction for some sign that might indicate where the pirates’ gold was hidden.
It was now so dark that they had only the searchlight to guide them, and this seemed to be growing dimmer.
“I suppose the battery is giving out,” said Jack, and then the thought occurred to each of them: What would they do if the flashlight failed? They would then be left in utter darkness, and even though they carried matches in a waterproof box there was nothing at hand with which to build a fire.
They stumbled along for a hundred feet or more over the rough rocks, and then Fred gave a sudden cry:
“Look there! Can that be the place?”