“What would you say to my finding the tracks of a peg-legged man coming up out of the sea, crossing the sands of Starfish Cove and disappearing into the trees beyond there?”
The inlet which Bob thus referred to was some three miles distant, with a patch of timber some twenty yards back from the water and a ring of low sandhills behind the woods.
“A peg-legged man?” said Frank. “That certainly sounds piratical. Go on. Your imagination is working well to-day.”
“Did he arrive in a boat?” asked Jack.
Bob nodded.
“Yes. I found where the boat had been run up on the sand. But—he didn’t leave. The boat went away without him. He disappeared inland, and there were no tracks marking his return.” 9
Jack whistled.
“Whew. Did you follow?”
“Did I follow? Huh. You can just bet I did follow. And, say, fellows––”
“What?”