Mr. Hazlett kicked open the door of the hut and pushed in, searching the half-dark interior. Only the whitened ashes showed a former human occupancy. It was not until, in his despair, he had turned to leave that he saw, fastened by a peg to the inside of the door, a brief note on a bit of paper.
“Mr. Richard Hazlett,” it read. “All well. We sailed about July 30th. Love to the folks.” Signed to this were the names of the three boys.
“God bless them!” he muttered. “They knew I’d come! Why did I not come soon enough! But where did they sail—which way—and what has become of them?”
He turned to the grovelling native.
“You lying coward!” said he. “Take me to them now, or by the Lord you’ll swing for it! Do you hear?”
The old man wept bitterly. “My boys go, too,” he wailed. “Bad mans go, maybe so! Maybe so all dead now!”
In answer he was caught by the arm and hastened back to the gravely waiting boat crew. It was a saddened party which reported the truth on board the Bennington.
“Get under way, Mr. Cummings!” ordered Captain Stephens. “We’ve not lost them yet. The writing is pretty fresh on that note. We haven’t passed them anywhere below, and they must be on their way back to Kadiak.”
Without delay the Bennington once more took up her course and, emerging from the mouth of Kaludiak, headed northward up the east side of the island. Within ten miles the sharp-eyed Aleut detected a flat bit of beach, and the interpreter suggested that a boat be sent ashore to examine it, as it was sometimes used as a camping-place. When the lieutenant returned he reported that he had found poles cut not long before and used as a shelter support. A fire had been built not more than a week ago, in his belief. It might or might not be the camping-place of the missing boys.
The face of Captain Stephens brightened. “Of course it’s those boys!” he said. “I tell you, those youngsters are sailors. We’ll find them all lined up on Kadiak dock waiting for us—and me obliged to report to Washington that I’ve spent two months with this vessel hunting for them! God bless my soul!” However, it was satisfaction and not anxiety which caused his eyes to glisten.