"Yes, why?" echoed Chutney, and then no one spoke for a full minute.
"What was to prevent them from continuing on their way?" resumed the colonel finally. "They had a raft and paddles; the water was all around them. What caused their death?"
"Starvation," suggested the Greek.
"It was not starvation that killed them," exclaimed Guy, who had turned back to the center of the island. "Here is a bag of dates and dried meat all shriveled and moldy. They met their death in some horribly sudden fashion, that is certain. How do you account for their skeletons being torn apart and the bones flung together? Could starvation do that?"
"It was serpents," said the Greek; and that brief sentence made their blood run cold.
"Yes," continued Canaris, observing the doubt in their faces; "they must have been surprised in the night and crushed to death. That alone can account for their broken bones. But, remember, all this was thirty years ago or more."
"Yes, you are right, Canaris," said Chutney. "I believe, upon my word, what you say is true. The monstrous serpents of the cavern devoured them."
Sir Arthur beat a rapid retreat to the canoe, and the rest were not slow in following his example.
"Let us get away from this horrible spot as quickly as possible," said the colonel; "and, besides, we are losing precious time on this lake. We must seek the outlet at once and resume the journey."
They paddled gladly away from the Isle of Skeletons, as the colonel insisted on naming it, and steered as straight a course as possible.