"Beggin' your pardon, sir, it was not the tree to which I was alluding Captain Schuyler, Mr. Jones, sir. It's the tree near the stream, not on our side, but on the other side, sir—the tree where you can't see much of a hole, sir, with branches low down, Cap'n, and big roots, Mr. Jones, sir, and——"
"Well! well! When you have finished with your addendas and appendixes, we'd like to hear what you really have to tell us."
"Cap'n, sir, Mr. Jones, beggin' your pardon, to be short, sir——"
"To be short!" groaned the Skipper, with a weary look at me.
"In short, sir, that tree's full of the—most—mur—der—ous—lot—of—weapons—you—ever—see."
"Weapons!" roared the Skipper.
"Yessir. Chock-a-block, sir. The most mur-der-ous——"
"Wheugh!" ejaculated the Skipper.
"Weapons!" said I. "It is a lucky find, Bo's'n. They may be very useful to us. At all events, you had better go and get them and hide them up here in the cave. We don't know who may find them next."
"Mr. Jones, you seem to have forgotten that I am the head of this expedition. Please allow me to give orders on board this ship."