Promptly while still talking the boys had released Jim, who got on his feet sputtering and angry.

"Hold on, Jim," expostulated Berwick. "It's all your own fault. You brought it on yourself. But, I say, Juarez, where did you come from?"

"Just came on from home," said Juarez. "Thought I'd give _you_ a surprise."

"You did all right," laughed Berwick. "It seems to have been a surprise party all around."

"Ho!" cried Jo, "that ain't all, we've got a bigger surprise yet."

"What is that?"

"What do you say to a trip to the South Seas and a search for a treasure island?"

"For a what?"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Jim, who had been slowly recovering his good humor.

"A trip to the South Seas," reiterated Jo.

"I say," interposed Berwick, "I thought you said, Jim, that the first thing you were going to do was to get dinner. I begin to feel a hollowness in my interior that needs attention. Suppose we postpone explanations until we have had something to eat."

"Now, you're talking sense," agreed Tom. "And we'll hunt up the professor and have him, too."

"The professor!" exclaimed Jim. "Who is he?"

"Oh, the professor with a name as long as the alphabet," replied Jo. "He can explain better than we can."

"The professor with the long name!" cried Jim and Berwick simultaneously. "What do you know about such a man?"

"Nothing," replied the boys, "except that he has engaged us to go on the Storm King for a treasure hunt. What is the matter with him?"

"Well, that beats all!" said Berwick weakly.

"What's all the palaver about anyhow?" demanded Jo. "I thought we were going to get something to eat before we had any more talk."

"Come on," said Berwick. "I know I'm dreaming, but want to get the dinner before I wake up."

"Where is the professor?" demanded Jim.

"He's at the Golden Gate Hotel," answered Jo. "We all came on together and went to the hotel. Then we came out to hunt you up. We were going to get a boat and row out to the Sea Eagle."

"Lucky you didn't," returned Jim. "Old Bill Broome has got the Sea Eagle again."

"He has!" cried Jo and Tom in consternation, "what did you let him take her for?"

"That was unavoidable," volunteered Berwick. "He has some illegal claim which Jim can't upset, the lawyers say."

"Can't we get her back again?" asked Juarez.

"We certainly will," answered Jim, "now that you are all here. I'm awfully glad to have your help."

"Let's go and see the professor," suggested Juarez. "Perhaps he will help us out."

"Of course, he will," said Tom. "He'll know just what to do."

"Which is more than we do," remarked Berwick to himself.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PROFESSOR'S STORY.

It was only a short walk to the Golden Gate Hotel, where they found that the professor was in his room. They sent to him to ask if he would see them. A moment later the bellboy returned, accompanied by a spare but sinuously built man of medium height. It was difficult to judge his age, though Jim conjectured him to be about forty. Still, he might have been either ten years older or younger. He had a sharp but pleasant face that had been warmed to a deep brown by the ardent rays of the tropic sun.

His moustache and full beard in the fashion of the day, was dark brown, almost black, and was closely trimmed like his hair, which was quite gray--an individual that you would know at once as a man that had done something worth while. His movements were deliberate, but so easy and graceful that there was not a fraction of wasted effort, and much quicker than they appeared to be. His eyes were clear and penetrating, and, as Juarez expressed it, "seemed to look right through you."

"That's the professor," whispered Jo to Jim as the man came into the rotunda where the boys were waiting. "There isn't much of him, but he's all there."

Coming toward them, he cast a rapid glance over the group that seemed to appraise them all in one moment.

"You are James Darlington," he said in a pleasant drawl, advancing to Jim with outstretched hand. "I would recognize you anywhere from your likeness to your brothers. I am very glad to meet you. And," turning to the engineer.

"Mr. Berwick," answered Jim. "He is the chief engineer of the Sea Eagle."

"Glad to know you, Mr. Berwick," said the professor. "I suppose, Mr. Darlington, that these young gentlemen have told you about my expedition. Not yet. Oh, by the way, have you dined? No? So much the better. Neither have I, so we will have dinner first and our talk later."

"But," objected Jim.

"Objection overruled," returned the professor promptly. "You are my guests to-night. I hope you are hungry."

"No," replied Berwick, "we are way beyond that. We're starved."

"Then we won't delay any longer," returned the professor with a low laugh that was pleasant to hear, and leading the way to the dining room.

"Shall I order the meal?" he asked, when they were seated at the table.

"There are some dishes they have here that I can specially recommend."

"All right," said Tom. "I'm ready to tackle anything."

When the meal, during which all reference to the purpose which had brought them together was strictly tabooed, was over, the professor invited them to his rooms and told them to make themselves at home, and he would explain the purpose he had in view.

"Now," began the professor, settling himself in a big chair and lighting a curious looking pipe, "where shall I start?"

"That's a queer looking pipe," interjected Tom, who had been regarding the object with a good deal of interest.

"It is a little odd," agreed the professor. "What do you think it is?"