"Some day," laughed Jimmie, "some guy will come here an' move the bloomm' place away without bein' caught at it. Why didn't some one wake up?"
"I didn't wake up," said the Captain, "but that is no proof that others did not. You can't trust these Filipinos. The people of the pueblo might have helped them away."
"Exactly!" said Ned.
"If they left in a canoe," Frank suggested, "we may be able to overtake them."
"In this maze of islands!" cried the Captain. "I should say not."
"We'll get a ride anyway," Jimmie observed.
"If you'll tell Jack to get the Manhattan ready," Ned said, "we'll take a run out toward that rough-looking bit of land over there toward the coast of China."
The boy darted away, and Ned directed the Captain's steps to the spot where the canoe had been beached. After inspecting the thickets into which the canoe had been drawn when taken from the water, the two, Ned in the lead, pressed through the tangle which lined the bank until they came to a clear space strewn with food tins which had the appearance of having been opened within a few hours.
"They waited here," he said, "and ate while they waited. I found the key here, and not at the point where the boat was pulled from the river. The box to which it belongs was opened here and new papers put into it. At least some papers which it had contained were removed. They were burned one by one in that thicket ahead."
The Captain looked Ned over from head to foot and laughed.