Something whistled by Nat's ear and sank quivering in the ground just ahead of him.
It was a spear. The boy shuddered as he thought how narrowly the cruel weapon had missed sinking between his shoulder blades.
The next instant they were at the boat's side. But the tide had fallen since she was beached, and to their consternation there was quite a distance to push her before she would be afloat.
But they gritted their teeth and caught hold. As they did so, Nat's hand encountered a box lying by the gunwale of the craft.
"What in the world is that?" he asked.
"Oh," panted Cal, "that's the skyrockets. I brought them with the idea of signaling the others if I found you."
"Hooray!" shouted Nat.
The others gazed at him in astonishment. For an instant they thought his mind had given way under the strain of the past twelve hours.
"What's the matter?" asked Captain Akers.
"The rockets—hooray! We'll use them as weapons against the natives!"