Tom also whispered to Nicky. The latter, rather surprised at his formerly cool chum, who had kept his head admirably during their adventures among the Incas, was about to make a retort that would shame Tom, but he shut his lips, for once controlling his impulses.
“There is nothing to fear,” declared the captain and Nicky echoed his words stoutly, as did Cliff. Nicky and Mr. Neale rowed away.
It was a short row to the islet, although they proceeded slowly because of the darkness and the proximity of coral under the water. The light disappeared before they reached the island. They could see quite plainly in the starlight that there was nothing on the small coral Key except the palm tree.
“Strange,” observed Mr. Neale.
“Maybe it was just some odd reflection of light from a star on the coral,” Nicky said. “Only—it moved!”
“Perhaps our imagination helped,” Mr. Neale said, and that was the explanation he insisted upon when they returned to the Treasure Belle. The others accepted it, Cliff calmly, Tom rather silently. Only Sam objected.
“No star, sar!” he declared. “We would still see the light—and no star is blue. But——”
He drew closer to the little riding light which was on the mast and which they used as their only illumination that evening. “Back in my island there is a story, sar, that when a treasure is in danger ghosts appear to scare people away and when a treasure is not being guarded by ghosts there is a light hovering over the spot where it is buried!”
“Well, that is great!” declared Nicky eagerly. “All we have to do then is to go there tomorrow and get the treasure!”
Although neither Tom nor Sam fully agreed that there was nothing to menace their personal welfare, they retired with the others. Sam curled up, as usual, in the cockpit, and the three chums laid themselves on the roof of the cabin, on blankets, their air pillows inflated and under their heads.