“That puzzles me, I’ll admit,” acknowledged my Uncle. “Bry and Nux may have seen the thieves get away with Sam, and followed after them, to try to rescue him. That’s the only way I can figure it out just now. But we’re losing time, Major. What’s to be done?”
“Two things. Get back the gold, and shoot down the robbers like dogs. They can’t get away, you know. They’re somewhere on this island, and I mean to find them.”
“There’s the ship.”
“What of it?”
“If they get aboard and sail away we’ll be in a bad box.”
“How can they get aboard? We’ve got the small boats.”
“They can make a raft, or even swim out to the ship,” returned Uncle Naboth, shrewdly. “I tell you, Major, you’re wasting time. Why don’t you do something?”
The Major glanced at him as if undecided whether to be angry with him or not. But Mr. Perkins was undoubtedly right, and the miners were gathering outside the door with curses and threats against the men who had robbed them, for the news had quickly spread throughout the camp.
So their leader sent six men, heavily armed, in the ship’s longboat to board the “Flipper” and protect the vessel from being captured. These were all his own men, for he still suspected that the “Flipper’s” crew were in some way implicated in the theft.
Then he picked four miners and four of the sailors to form a party to search for the robbers, and decided to lead the band himself and to take Uncle Naboth with him. The rest of the men were ordered to resume their work of washing out gold.