This from Frank, whose eyes were shining with a spirit the boys never seen there before.
“Get them?” repeated Jule. “Of course he got them, and handed them to me, and we beat it for the boat, and the Englishmen followed with a mob at their heels, and we hotfooted it down the street.”
“But Captain Joe——”
“Yes, I know he got to the dock a long time before we did, for we got sidetracked and had to hide from the mob in an old warehouse. It was while we were in there that Captain Joe left us, and came after you.”
“But the mob never found us,” Alex exclaimed, “until we broke and ran for the river. I guess the Englishmen are looking for us back there in the warehouse yet.”
“The papers?” asked Frank. “Where are they?”
Alex laid a packet on the deck by his side.
“What are they?” he asked, provokingly holding them down with one hand as Frank, catching sight of one, reached for them.
“Maps of Cloud island!” was the quick reply.