“It may be Indians,” said Harry, after he too had taken a long look.
“Injuns,” snorted old Quatty, “dems no Injuns. Dat ain’t de color ob Injuns’ smoke. Ah knows whar ah is now ah do—dat’s de place where dose men you come all dis way ter look foh makes de debbil stuff dat blows de holes in de ground.”
A hasty consultation between the boys followed. At the distance they then were from the islet it was unlikely that their presence in the air had been noted. It would be useless to keep on in broad daylight as their usefulness might end as soon as the plotters discovered their presence and knew their plant had been discovered. On all accounts it seemed best to camp on the mound-builders’ island for the night and wireless to Camp Walrus their views.
Accordingly the aeroplane was put about and a short time after was resting on the summit of the mound-builders’ hill. The boys were far from satisfied with the location but there was no other available landing-place and they decided to run the risk of being sighted before dark.
The wireless apparatus was at once put in order for the transmission of messages and Frank started to call Camp Walrus. Again and again the spark leaped crackling across the gap,—transmitting the call of C-W, C-W, C-W,—before an answer came.
Everything, it seemed, was going on well at the camp and they had heard that morning from the Tarantula. The destroyer was cruising about the archipelago awaiting news of the success or failure of the boys’ expedition and Frank, as he was doubtful of being able to “pick up” the vessel at the distance inland they then were, asked Lathrop to transmit to Lieutenant Selby the news that they had discovered the hiding-place of the plotters and would inform him of their next move when they made it. The instrument was then cut out and the usual preparations for making camp gone about, with Quatty’s assistance.
This done the boys, guns in hand, started to explore the mound on which they found themselves. A steep path, apparently well trodden once but now overgrown with creepers and weeds, led to its base. There was nothing else remarkable about it, except, as has been said, its bald summit. It swarmed with game, however, and several doves, quail and rabbits fell to the boys’ guns during the afternoon. Quatty cooked the game deliciously in an oven of his own invention. He first dug a hole which he lined with stones, heated almost red hot in a fire previously prepared. This done he lined it again with green stuff and covered the whole with leaves and branches. Then he covered in the entire oven with more leaves and tapped them off with earth at the top to enable it to retain the heat.
“Now we leab ole Muvver Erf to do our cookin’,” he remarked when he had completed these preparations.
The next task to occupy the boys’ attention was the setting up of the canvas boat. The craft was a large pea-pod shaped pocket of the strongest grade of brown duck, which was stretched into boat form by steel spreaders and held rigidly in shape by locking clamps. It was a boat eminently fitted to navigate the Everglades, where there are no sharp rocks or rapid waters to be encountered, though hardly suited for more strenuous work. It was about twenty feet in length and capable of carrying five hundred pounds. The boys carried the compact bundle in which it was packed to the water’s edge and put it together there. When afloat on the water it looked not unlike a big, brown pumpkin seed.
“Now where’s de poles?” asked Quatty, looking about him.