"It was a grand old scare, all right, and one we won't ever forget, believe me; but there's one thing that tickles me half to death, Jack. We know now where the queer old boxes went to, even if we are up in the air about what was in them. And the chances are we may find that out before we're done with this business; because those men ought to come down and ask if anybody got hurt by their silly Fourth of July fireworks display. There's the camp, boys. Whoopee!"
CHAPTER XXVII
ANOTHER THREATENING PERIL
Loud cheers greeted the appearance of the seven scouts, as they hurried forward into the camp. And when those who had remained with the tents saw the various scratches, contusions and bumps that adorned most of the returned boys' faces, they were burning with eagerness to hear the details of the adventure.
Such a clatter of tongues as ensued, as every fellow tried to tell his version of the happening. If half that was said were written down, it would require many more chapters to give the details.
Gradually, however, each stay-at-home scout began to get a pretty clear idea of the series of adventures that had befallen their mates in trying to explore the mysteries of the island. They understood all about the wild man, and what the consensus among the seven explorers seemed to be concerning the strangers who occupied the island, and were conducting such an amazing series of experiments, even making use of an aeroplane to accomplish their ends.
The guesses that followed were legion, yet Paul, who listened patiently to the most astounding theories, shook his head in the end.
"I don't believe any of us have hit on the right thing yet, fellows," he said. "But there's meat in a number of the guesses you've made, and perhaps we'll get the story after a while. But how about grub; we're as hungry as bears?"
"Never expected to join you at lunch, for a fact," grinned Bobolink; "but then, we made better time than we ever thought we could on the return journey. Talk to me about a prize spurrin' a fellow on to do his level best—the whip that does it is to put a first-class scare in him. Then you're goin' to see some runnin' that takes the cake. Wheel didn't we sprint, though? Bet you I jumped clear over a log that stood six feet high from the ground—more or less."
It happened that the stay-at-home scouts had just prepared their noon meal at the time the explosion occurred that made the whole island tremble. That had startled them so much that they had not had the heart to think of sitting down because of anxiety about the fate of their chums.