"Lor' bless you!" returned the man, "there ain't no cannibals in these parts."
"Well," said Norris, "you can take it from me, there's no less than a dozen cannibals on this here island right now, and a white skunk is their leader."
The man had no reply. He looked a little nonplused.
"Well, boys," said Norris, "I guess we'll hike along."
And we moved off, leaving the man staring after us.
It was nearing noon, so we moved directly west. We had promised to be back at mid-day.
"I don't like the looks of those men," said Robert. "And that fellow we talked with—I think he pretended to be surprised when you told him about the black men."
"They don't any of them shine with honesty, that's certain," said Norris. "We'll have to have another look at their place, and their boat."
He had some thought he didn't express.
"What do you suppose they're digging for?" I asked.