“No; I’d be willing to take Bert and quit the lodge,” said Pod.
“Not I,” said Chot “This mystery has aroused my curiosity, and I mean to see the bottom of it before I stir off the island. No matter how strange things may seem, there is a plausible explanation for everything and we’ve got to find it.”
“Chot is right,” said Truem; “there’s nothing supernatural about this. Someone is working a mighty clever scheme—that’s all. I, like Chot, want to get at the bottom of it.”
“And I,” said Tom.
“Oh, you fellows needn’t think Pod and I are going to leave you in the lurch,” said Fleet. “We’re in the thing till the finish, even if it’s our finish too.”
“We know that,” said Chot. “You fellows who are to stand the later watches had better get some sleep. It’s nine-thirty. I’ll corral Hoki and try and cure him of his nervousness. Then I’ll put out the lights and see if I can discover any deep, dark mysteries!”
Pod shuddered slightly at Chot’s words, but Chot laughed.
“Of course you fellows will sleep in the downstairs room, so as to be handy if I want you,” he said. “If you hear the sound of a scuffle or a revolver shot, you’ll know there’s something doing.”
So the other boys went off to bed, Tom and Pod taking the room occupied the previous night by Chot and Tom, and Truem and Fleet using the one occupied by Bert.
“Here, Hoki,” said Chot. “Come out and sit down.”