So despondent did he feel over this discovery that had he possessed the strength to do so, he would have swum back to the other island and thrown himself on the mercy of his recent captors. But this was now out of the question.
Unless he could find some way out of his dilemma, it looked as if he would indeed be doomed to leave his bones on those sands. The thought was a dreadful one, and although it was a warm, almost tropical day, the boy shivered and cold sweat ran down his face.
If he were indeed to die there, nobody would ever know his fate, in all probability. He had failed in his mission to recover the papers, too. Altogether he felt in a very miserable frame of mind. It was in this mood that, in order to keep his mind off his predicament, more than anything else, he fell to examining the old boat again. There might be some way to patch her up, he thought desperately, hoping against hope.
Suddenly he made a discovery that set his heart to beating wildly. On the stern board of the boat was cut the name "Good Hope!"
CHAPTER XXV.
THE DEAD MAN'S HOARD.
The "Good Hope!"
What a crowd of memories the name brought buzzing about the boy! The lone derelict, the figure in the mouldering cabin, the—the plan in his pocket!