"There's somebody calling us," remarked Bud at this point.
"Yes, I get 'im," returned Hal. "Why, it's the mysterious guy who tried to head us off night before last and yesterday."
Both boys read the "mysterious guy's" first send with eager impatience.
It was as follows:
"He's making sport of you. Mark my word, when you reach the island, he'll be gone."
"Keep out, you pirate," ordered Hal.
"All right, but you'll call yourselves a bunch of fools."
The next instant the "island prisoner" broke in thus:
"Hurry; they are after me. I think they are the ones who marooned me here. Their boat looks like yours, I guess."
"See!" exclaimed Bud. "This makes things look bad. If those fellows are robbers they're armed. We haven't a gun on board, and if we had we wouldn't want to get in a fight over an affair that looks more like a joke than a tragedy."
"And yet it may be a tragedy," said Hal.