"No, but we found his remains, together with the boat to which he had been tied, on the shore of an island south of this."
"Then it is true, after all!" he muttered.
"Did you know about it?" asked John, who was the interested one now.
"No, this is sad news to me. His name was Clifford,—Ralph S. Clifford, and when he and Walter undertook,—"
The boys were all impatience now, as George cried out: "Walter! did you know Walter?"
"Yes; he was my companion for a time. He and I were making explorations on the island on which we were wrecked, and when the two undertook to go on a search, to ascertain what the island was like, I was too ill to go with them. Walter returned, and told me of meeting with a band of savages on the[p. 108] western side of the mountain, and of the capture of Clifford by the natives."
"Did you know a man by the name of Wright?"
"No, I never heard of any one by that name in this section of the globe."
"Do you know what became of Walter?"
"I was about to say, that we went north along the shore, and camped near the beach, and there found a boat, rather crudely made, with which we proposed sailing around the island. Before we could complete our arrangements, Walter disappeared."