"Mebbe so, mebbe so, my dear," said Tyke indulgently.
"Hadn't we better take some provisions along?" asked Ruth, as she slipped the cartridges into her revolver and put the weapon in the pocket of the sports skirt that she had donned.
"That won't be necessary," replied the captain. "We'll be back before nightfall. This is just a little preliminary scouting. We won't have time for more than that this afternoon. The real work of searching for the treasure will begin to-morrow."
The preparations finished, the party went on deck.
"Crew had their dinner yet, Mr. Ditty?" Captain Hamilton asked of his first officer.
"My watch have, sir," was the answer. "The others are eating now."
"Pick out half a dozen men and lower the boat," ordered the captain. "We're going ashore for a few hours. We'll be back for supper."
"How long will we lay up here, sir?"
"Can't tell yet. Perhaps two or three days. Possibly a week or more."
"How about shore leave for the men, sir?"