CHAPTER XVII
THE WONDERFUL PORTABLE FORT
On the return of the party to their home that evening the events of the day were discussed to the exclusion of everything else, and now was the opportunity for the boys to learn something about the other cave, of which John had given a meager account.
"Would you object to telling us what the wonderful things were which you saw in the cave at the western part of the island?" was Tom's inquiry.
"Not in the least. The ship on which we sailed from San Francisco contained the charts of several caves, one of which was that of the cave I referred to. I saw the treasure there with my own eyes, and I can direct you to it, because, notwithstanding the stress of my surroundings, I took the bearings, on the following day, and it will not be difficult to locate it."
"Did you remember the circumstances of the visit to the place where we were being pursued by the savages?"
John looked at the Professor, and then at the boys. "I do not remember such an occurrence," he answered.
"But I would like to ask the Professor a question," exclaimed George. "What was it that made you give us that quick advice to leave the mouth of the cave when we wanted it as a hiding place?"
"I saw from the carefully hidden, but trodden, path, that some one must have used it as a place of refuge, and concluded that as it was so near the village it might have been some of the clans of the tribe, either as a place of concealment from their enemies, in case of attack, or by some of the so-called religious communities which many of the tribes have."
"In what way did you discover that this cave had been charted?"