Tom caught their arms, and with a swift whisper and a nod toward a moving figure on the islet, caused them to begin to wave their hands and to beckon, all looking out toward the Gulf.
Tom had espied a creeping figure, low on the ground. Tew, with some purpose in his mind, had landed on the islet and crept across to the side nearest the stranded vessel. Cliff covered him and called softly, “Stay where you are, Mr. Tew!”
The figure on the ground flattened and stopped.
“I won’t hurt you—I wa’n’t goin’ to hurt you!” he called softly. “How clost are they?”
“About half a mile off the coast,” Nicky answered, hoping his untruth would be forgiven under the circumstances.
“I just wanted to warn you—if you let them take you off, don’t say nothing about us—and then no harm’ll come to you. But if any of us gets nabbed—we’ll take care not all are—we’ll hunt you down if it takes all our lives!”
“All right!” called Tom quickly, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Tew waited a moment, then seemed to decide that he had better not stay there since they had discovered him and he could not watch. He crept back out of sight at the far side of the islet, behind its small, tangled trees and bushes, and the chums turned again to their plan.
“One of you go down and see if the cabin doors can be fastened,” Nicky urged. “Tom—you go! Cliff, can’t that skylight on top of the cabin be battened down?”
“Yes—there’s a covering—but——”