“Why, when we all came ashore to see why you boys did not come back, I just naturally sneaked away.”
“You all came ashore!” echoed Case. “Do you mean to say that there is no one in the boat? No one on board at all?”
“There wasn’t when I came away!” admitted Jule, sheepishly.
“That’s a nice thing, too!” cried Case, reprovingly.
Without waiting to further discuss the situation, anxious only for the safety of their friends and the boat, the three made their way through the black jungle at reckless speed. The night had cleared a trifle, and now and then a glance upward, through the jealous foliage of the trees and creepers, revealed a star looking down into the aisles of the wood.
Now and then they came to a little glade clearer of undergrowth than the general run of the jungle through which they were struggling, and at such time, with only the complaints of the creatures of the forest about them, they halted and listened. Presently, during such a halt, they heard a shot, and then the sharp, snappy, full-throated barking of a dog.
“Captain Joe!” Jule cried.
“He’s on the boat?” asked Frank.
“Sure he is, unless he’s found the key and unlocked the cabin door,” replied Jule, with a grin.
“If they get hold of Captain Joe,” Case observed, not without a grin of satisfaction, “they’ll know they’ve come to a scrapper.”