“Give them back to me!” Chet shouted so loudly that the boys out on the deck entered the cabin and stood in an astonished group about the two.
Clay, grasping the bag and the lose gems, held his hands high above his head.
“Where did you get them?” he persisted.
“Give them back to me!” yelled Chet. “You’ve been following me for this, have you? You’re all as bad as the river thieves I’ve met up with! Give them to me!”
“What do you think of the little one for a diamond dip?” asked Alex., pointing at the flushed face of the agitated boy. “He’s some clever!”
“I reckon he belongs with Red, the Robber, all right!” Jule put in.
“He seems to be pretty well fixed!” laughed Case. “Those gems are worth more than a hundred thousand dollars! Did you swipe them from the men who robbed the Rock Island warehouse, kid?” he added.
Chet turned a flaming face toward this new accuser.
“Don’t you dare call me a thief!” he shouted. “The diamonds are mine! I never stole them. Give them back to me, you—you—river pirates!”
“That’s good, coming from him!” grinned Alex. “Come on, little one, and tell us who these stones belong to.”