"It won't take long to walk across the key," Jim said as he followed close behind the leader; "an' if we keep straight ahead there's no chance of gettin' lost."
"We can go on for awhile, at any rate," Harry replied, "and if the distance is too great there's nothing to prevent us from turning around."
Harry sprung forward with a shout as he pointed to a small dark object.— ([See page 155.])
It was destined, however, that they should not penetrate very far into the interior of the island. Walter had led the party little more than a quarter of a mile when he halted in front of a veritable hut in the midst of a palmetto thicket.
Just for an instant the boys believed the key was inhabited; but as they pushed further among the luxuriant vegetation that question was settled, at least so far as this particular building was concerned. It had originally been a rude affair about ten feet square, and evidently built from the fragments of a vessel, but was now little more than a pile of timbers. One end and part of a side yet remained standing, the balance thrown down as if decay rather than man or the fury of the elements had caused the collapse.
The boys walked around it, trying to peer under the rotten planks in the hope of seeing some evidences of its former occupancy, until Walter said impatiently:
"There's nothing here worth looking at, so let's go on."
"Wait a bit," Jim replied, as he began overhauling the ruins. "If we could find two or three sound planks Bob would think we'd made a fair day's work, 'cause he needs a good deal of lumber."
Harry had not thought it possible the discovery could be of any value until this suggestion of Jim's, and then he worked with a will among the ruins, knowing full well how delighted the old sailor would be with two or three stout timbers.