“You are both very much mistaken. There is nothing crooked about my visits to the island. Still, I wouldn’t want you to be running to Mr. Jefferson and bothering him with a silly story that would only cause a lot of trouble. Now, I’ve changed my mind about going to the island to-morrow. I’ll go the day after to-morrow, instead.”

“How about our hundred dollars?”

“It’s an outrageous price. Fifty dollars——”

“No! A hundred or nothing.”

Hanleigh sighed.

“I haven’t got that much money with me. You boys seem to think I’m made of money.”

“You were willing to spend a good fat sum to buy the island,” Nash reminded him. “There’s something fishy about the whole affair. Is there a gold mine on that island?”

Hanleigh laughed uneasily.

“You’re worrying yourselves about something that doesn’t concern you in the least. Give me a day to raise the money and you shall have it.”

Nash glanced significantly at his chum.