"Let us see what it means!" he exclaimed to the senator's son, and they hurried in the direction of the sound with all speed.

Back of the rocks was a grove of plantains, and in the center was the remains of a thatched hut, evidently built by natives years before. On the ground in front of this hut lay Captain Sanders and the sailor, Smiley. Each had his head bound up and each was nursing a bruised ankle.

"Captain Sanders!" cried Dave, in astonishment.

"Dave Porter!" returned the commander of the _Golden Eagle_, joyfully.

"My, but I am glad you have come!"

"You are hurt?"

"Yes. Those scoundrels attacked us from behind and knocked us senseless."

"You mean those three Englishmen?"

"Yes, and that fellow Jasniff was with them."

"But your ankles are hurt, too?" went on Dave.

"We hurt them when we fell into one of the beastly caves, or holes. We were following Jasniff and the Englishmen, and also looking for you and the others. Then those rascals got behind us in some way, and the first thing I knew I got a whack behind the ear that knocked me unconscious."

"And I got the same," said Smiley. "Oh, I wish I had my hands on those villains!"

"They have sailed away," said Roger.

"Away!" cried the captain. "How?"

In a few brief words our hero and his chum told of the advance to the beach and of what they and the others had witnessed. Captain Sanders shook his head, soberly.

"That's too bad," he said. "They've got a good start and it will be hard to follow them."

"How can we follow them, when the _Golden Eagle_ isn't here?" said Dave.

"But she is here-on the other side of the island."

"Oh, are you sure?" cried our hero.

"Yes. I saw her coming in,-when we were on one of the hills. She was minus her foretopmast, which shows she must have suffered some in that hurricane."

"If that's the case, let us get to her with all possible speed, go aboard, and follow the _Aurora_," returned Dave.

CHAPTER XXIX-A CHASE ON THE OCEAN

It took the best part of the afternoon and evening to get the whole party together again, and send word to the mate of the _Golden Eagle_ to bring the vessel around to that side of Cave Island. And while this was being done the hurts Captain Sanders and Smiley had received were cared for as well as the means at hand permitted.

The captain and the wounded sailor had a long story to tell, of how they had followed the three rascally Englishmen and Nick Jasniff, and how the latter had made a compact with the others, so that they would take him with them when they left the island.

"The Englishmen were a bit afraid of the captain of the _Aurora_,"

said Captain Sanders, "and we overheard them discuss the situation.

They knew the captain would want to know what had become of the fourth man he had left here. At last they resolved to try a trick, but they weren't sure it would work. But evidently it did, for the schooner has sailed."

"What was that trick?" asked Dave.

"It seems that when Mr. Borden was on the _Aurora_ he had a headache from the sun and wore smoked gla.s.ses. Is that right, sir?"

"It is," answered Giles Borden. "The glare on the waves was beastly, and I wore the smoked gla.s.ses all day long."

"Well, the rascals planned to have Jasniff impersonate Mr. Borden. One of them, Geswick, exchanged coats and caps with him, and lent him a pair of smoked gla.s.ses, and he was to tie up his cheeks and pretend to be suffering from toothache, and keep to his stateroom as much as possible during the trip."

"Oh, what a thing to do-impersonate me!" roared Giles Borden, in a rage. "Just wait till I confront him!"

"Yes, you'll have to wait," put in Phil, dryly.

"Did you find out where they were going to sail to?" asked Dave, eagerly.

"To San Juan, on the island of Porto Rico. But they may make some stops on the way."

"San Juan," mused Roger. "That's a good many miles from here. Perhaps the _Golden Eagle_ can catch the _Aurora_ before she gets there."

"If they went to San Juan direct I'd advise waiting till they got in that harbor before I'd do anything," said Captain Sanders.

"Why?" asked the boys.

"Because it is one thing to stop them on the high seas and another to stop them in United States waters. Remember, Porto Rico is now a part of Uncle Sam's domain."

"Yes, I'd rather go at them there than on the high seas," answered Dave. "But they mustn't get away again, no matter where we have to tackle them," he added, determinedly.

It was impossible to transfer those ash.o.r.e to the _Golden Eagle_ during the darkness, because of the danger in the breakers, so they had to wait until daylight before departing.

Among those to go were, of course, the sailors who had come ash.o.r.e from the wreck of the _Emma Brower_. Captain Sanders told them they could remain on the island if they wished, but they set up an immediate protest.

"It's not a fit place for any man," said one of the tars. "There is very little game and not much fruit, and one is continually in danger of falling into a hole or a cave. I'll go to Porto Rico gladly, and so will my mates, and we'll work our pa.s.sage, if you're willing."

"All right," said Captain Sanders. "But you'll not have much to do, as we have about all the hands we need."

When aboard the ship, the captain and the boys listened to the story the mate had to tell. Then they learned that the storm had blown the _Golden Eagle_ many miles from Cave Island, and in trying to avoid some of the keys of another island, the vessel had lost the top of one of the masts and the rudder had been damaged. This had necessitated much delay, which accounted for the non-appearance of the vessel when expected.

While making repairs, the vessel had been pa.s.sed by a tramp steamer bound for Trinidad. The captain of the steamer had asked if he could be of a.s.sistance, and after being told no, had given the information that he had picked up three rowboat loads of pa.s.sengers and crew from the ill-fated _Emma Brower_. It may be mentioned here that another boat load from the same vessel managed to reach another island in that vicinity, and in the end it was learned that the going down of the bark was unattended with the loss of a single life.

With so many on board, the accommodations on the _Golden Eagle_ were somewhat crowded. The sailors went with Billy Dill into the forecastle, while Giles Borden was asked to share Captain Sanders'

stateroom. What to do with Link Merwell became a question. In one sense he was a prisoner, yet Dave hated to treat him as such.

"There is the extra pantry," said Captain Sanders. "We can clean that out and put in a cot, and he can use that," and so it was arranged, much to the relief of all of the boys. The pantry had a grating, opening on the main pa.s.sageway, so it made a fairly comfortable stateroom, although rather hot.

"Well, I suppose I've got to take my medicine, when we get back,"