“Could it be possible? If it only were!”
To the boys he said nothing, but Johnny saw an unaccountable new light of hope in his eyes. “I wonder,” he said, “if this man could have discovered the chests and brought them ashore for safe keeping?”
“I have been wondering that myself,” said the Professor. “It’s worth looking into.”
“In the meanwhile, where is he?” asked Pant.
“The natives may have done for him,” suggested Johnny.
A cloud passed over the Professor’s face. “Let us hope not,” he said quickly. After a moment’s thought, he added: “We must search the island thoroughly. We must find the chests and that man.”
“Do you know,” he said suddenly, drawing an object from his pocket, “that is the razor I learned to shave with when a boy? It was my father’s—an old-styled one, called a ‘pipe razor.’ There was never a better made. I found it in that shack just now.”
The two boys stared but asked no questions.
A few minutes later, while the Professor was gone for a bucket of water, the boys held a brief consultation. “It’s all right to search the island,” said Johnny; “I don’t like the idea of owning up we’re beaten myself, but how about those natives?”
“It’ll be pretty bad if they once land,” said Pant, “but perhaps we can prevent them from landing.”