His companions were awake and stirring about. Chris was busily engaged in cooking dinner, while the rest were applying salve and bandages to their sore hands.
Charley greeted his chum with an affectionate smile. "How's the foot?" he inquired.
"Coming on all right," said Walter, cheerfully. "How about you, feeling better?"
"Feeling fine and dandy," declared the other, "and I am as hungry as a wolf. I remember you had some bad news to tell me. Let's hear it. I feel able to face all kinds of trouble now."
"I don't know as it is exactly bad news for us," said his chum. "In a way it doesn't concern us at all, unless we want to make it our business."
"You are getting my curiosity aroused," Charley laughed. "Let's hear this news of yours."
"The night you all left me in Clearwater, I did not go to a boarding house to stop. It had cost quite a bit to have my ankle fixed up and I did not have much money left and I was afraid to spend what little I had, for I knew, if you fellows were not successful in your trip, there was going to be mighty hard times ahead. I went out on the dock and looked around but I didn't quite fancy sleeping there so I went back uptown and hung around until the stores closed. I was getting pretty sleepy by this time, so I went down again to the bay and looked around until I found what I wanted, a skiff pulled up high and dry on the sand. There were some old nets in the bottom and I crawled in, stretched out on one of the nets, and pulled the other one over me, getting my head under a seat to keep out the dew. I went to sleep as cozy as a bug in a rug. I don't know how long I had slept when I woke up to the sound of voices. Four men were sitting on the edge of my skiff talking together. It was too dark to see their faces but I knew one of the voices. It was Hunter's and you can bet your life I laid mighty still and listened.
"They were talking about us at first and it made my blood boil to hear them chuckling over the harm they had done us, but there was nothing I could do but lay quiet and stand it. They talked about the cache and wondered where we had hidden the liquor. At last they came to what, I guess, was the real object of their meeting where no one could hear them. Having disposed of us, as they thought, they have arranged to bring in another large lot of aguardiente."
"When?" Charley demanded, eagerly.