Bee smiled. “Do you know, fellows, I’m sort of getting to like Bill. He’s got a sense of humor, hasn’t he? That was a nice delicate touch of his when he brought out the wrong boat-hook!”
“Huh!” grunted Hal disgustedly.
When they reached Nobody’s Island Hal insisted on carrying away from the launch and the dory everything removable and would have taken the rudder-wheel off had not Jack pointed out the difficulty of re-attaching the wire rope. When they reached the tent Hal gave an exclamation of triumph.
“There!” he proclaimed. “I guess I’m not such an idiot as you fellows think! Somebody’s been here since we left. Look at those boxes. We didn’t leave them that way.”
“That’s so,” acknowledged Jack.
“Here’s a footmark that doesn’t belong to any of us, either,” announced Bee, pointing to the imprint at the opening of the tent of a broad-soled shoe. “Dollars to doughnuts, fellows, it was Honest Bill again.”
Jack began to laugh. “Well, that’s rather a good one on us, isn’t it?” he asked. “While we were ransacking Bill’s castle he came and paid us the same compliment!”
Bee grinned delightedly. “That’s what! Isn’t he the funny old cut-up?”
“I don’t see any fun in it,” grumbled Hal. “Instead of laughing your fool heads off you’d better see what he’s stolen!”
But after an examination of their belongings it was not apparent that anything was missing. Hal refused to believe such a thing possible for awhile, and when convinced declared that their visitor couldn’t have been Bill Glass. “He’d never have come here and not swiped something,” insisted Hal with deep conviction. “It wouldn’t be like him.”