Grabbing the wharf planks, Matt gave a pull that sent the boat in between the piles. He could hear shouts of wild suspicion coming from Captain Pons and Captain Arco. Unable to figure out what impelled Matt to vanish under the wharf, they jumped to the conclusion that he was doing something he ought not to do.
Paying no attention to the frantic voices, or the frenzied tramping on the planks overhead, the young motorist continued to drag the boat onward toward the shore. Several yards back from the edge of the wharf, the bow of the boat struck against a timber that had one end imbedded in the sand, while the other end rose upward, clear of the water.
The human form Matt had seen was lying upon the timber. The man made no move to escape, or to protect himself, and Matt was not long in discovering that he was either dead or unconscious.
For a moment Matt's heart was in his throat. His fears, even against his better judgment, made him apprehensive that this form, lying helplessly on the timber under the wharf, might be that of one of his friends.
Close examination, however, proved his fears groundless. The man was under medium height and had a tawny skin. He was barefooted, bareheaded, and stripped to his waist. Rolling him into the boat, Matt drew the light craft back into the daylight at the edge of the wharf.
"What under the canopy are you about, Matt?" called Glennie, from the edge of the wharf. Then, seeing the man in the bottom of the boat, he gave vent to an astonished whistle. "That's what you went under the wharf for, eh? Where was that fellow?"
"He was lying on a timber, just out of the water," answered Matt. "The question is, where did he come from, and what was he doing there?"
"He looks as though he was stripped for swimming."
"And he worked so hard in the water, and in getting ashore, that he gave out and lost consciousness as soon as he pulled himself upon that timber. The fact that he was under the wharf proves that he didn't want anybody to find him. He's a Jap, Glennie."
A yell escaped Captain Pons, and he began talking excitedly and pointing his finger at the Jap.