"Couldn't we blast a channel?" asked Mr. Tupper.
The captain merely gave him a reproachful glance.
"To be sure," replied Chesty Todd, seriously. "We'll have Kane invent a sort of dynamite that will blast the rocks and won't hurt the ship. Good idea, Mr. Tupper. Clever, sir; very clever."
Mr. Tupper glared at the boy resentfully, but his wife said in a mild tone of rebuke: "Really, Martin, my dear, the suggestion was idiotic."
The steward came crawling toward them with a coffeepot, followed by a man juggling a tray of cups. It was quite an acrobatic feat to navigate the incline, but they succeeded and everyone accepted the coffee gratefully.
"This place is nothing but a rock; an extinct volcano, probably," remarked Madeline, gazing thoughtfully over the island.
Chesty, having finished his coffee, climbed to the elevated side opposite.
"Here's a far better view of the place," he called. "It's quite a——" He stopped short, staring fixedly at a white speck far up on the bluff beside the low mountain.
They waited breathlessly for him to continue. Then Steve, reading the expression on Chesty's face, quickly clambered to a place beside him. As he looked he began to tremble and his face grew red and then pallid.
"Mr. Cumberford," called the press agent, "bring your glasses, please."