"Why don't we take the whole thing to the Naval Station at Key West?" Danny suggested. "They have all kinds of records there of old ships that went down in hurricanes."

"Good idea," George said. She was about to roll the note and put it back in the bottle, when Bess stopped her.

"Don't do that," her cousin advised. "It was hard enough to get it out the first time. Shoving it back in the bottle won't make it any more authentic, you know."

George laughed and slipped the message in her pocket, then replaced the cork in the bottle. "My dear cousin, you're right for a change."

"I'm right more often than you want to admit," Bess said haughtily.

Danny grinned and started the Pirate's Pirate's engine. Soon they approached Crocodile Island. The girls used the binoculars to search for the periscope in the deep, green channel, but did not see it. They circled the island from a distance and noticed a sign at the landing platform: NO VISITORS TODAY. engine. Soon they approached Crocodile Island. The girls used the binoculars to search for the periscope in the deep, green channel, but did not see it. They circled the island from a distance and noticed a sign at the landing platform: NO VISITORS TODAY.

"They're keeping everyone out," Danny said. "No activity at all. I wonder for how long."

Nancy shrugged. "Let's just keep going around the island. Maybe we'll see something sooner or later."

They had almost completed the second circle when they heard an agonizing cry from somewhere on the island!

CHAPTER X.

The Runaway's Clues.

BESS turned pale. "Wh-what was that?"

Before anyone could guess, there were more bloodcurdling screams from the island.

"Maybe a crocodile got one of the workers!" George cried out in alarm.

Just then a young bearded man raced from behind the mangrove trees into the water. He splashed through the shallow area, and when he reached the green channel began to swim.

Seeing the nearby boat, he cried out, "Save me! Save me!"

Danny guided the skiff alongside the frantic swimmer, and the girls pulled him aboard. His eyes were bulging with terror, and his legs were bleeding profusely.

Danny quickly got a first-aid kit from a locker and handed it to the girls. They carefully washed the stranger's wounds and applied a soothing salve.

"What happened to you?" Nancy asked him.

"Just-just don't take me back to the island, please!" the young man pleaded.

"Of course not. Did a crocodile bite you?"

"No, no! I was beaten with one of the sharp hooked poles they use on the reptiles."

"How dreadful!" Bess said. "Why would anyone do that to you?"

"Because I didn't clean the pits to suit the boss. Oh, he has a terrible temper!"

Nancy wound a bandage around the man's left leg, while George attended to the right one.

Danny looked back to see if they were being followed, then asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"To Key Biscayne," the fugitive replied.

The young people heard the sound of an engine and noticed a fast motorboat coming up in the deep channel toward the island.

Just then a man appeared at the sh.o.r.e, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Colombo! Colombo, where are you? You can't run away! Where are you, Colombo?"

The runaway lay down in the bottom of the skiff, well protected by the three girls. He trembled with fright.

Danny put on extra power, and the Pirate Pirate skipped speedily across the bay. The man on sh.o.r.e continued to yell for Colombo, but suddenly he addressed the skipper of a pa.s.sing motorboat. skipped speedily across the bay. The man on sh.o.r.e continued to yell for Colombo, but suddenly he addressed the skipper of a pa.s.sing motorboat.

"Follow the Pirate Pirate!" he ordered, pointing.

"The water's not deep enough," the skipper replied, much to the relief of Danny and his pa.s.sengers.

The fugitive sighed, and Nancy asked him who he was and what had happened on Crocodile Island.

"My name is Colombo Banks. I'm from New Orleans, but I came here to get a job. I was hired to work on Crocodile Island. At first I liked it, but then the bosses became very cruel."

"In what way?" Nancy asked.

Colombo said that although he had requested permission to make a trip into Biscayne Bay on his free days, he had always been refused.

"I began to wonder why, and finally decided that the members of the Crocodile Ecology Company were doing something underhanded. Perhaps they didn't want me to leave and tell people what I had seen or heard."

"What did you see and hear?" George spoke up.

Colombo told them that a speedboat called The Whisper The Whisper came and went mysteriously. came and went mysteriously.

"Mysteriously? How?" Nancy asked.

"Often it docks or leaves in the middle of the night, and I was never allowed to watch what was going on. The bosses made me sleep on the far side of the island with one other man named Sol. He's black and a great guy. We were friends, but four other fellows who work there stay in the main house with the bosses."

"How mean!" Bess exclaimed.

Colombo went on, "I decided to find out what was going on. At night I would sneak out of my cabin and go to the main part of the island. Many times I saw Mr. Sacco and Mr. Gimler at the landing dock, but usually they whispered and I couldn't overhear anything.

"Once, however, Gimler spoke loud enough to a man I'd never seen. 'They want five hundred,' the boss said. 'Can you carry that many?' Unfortunately I couldn't make out the answer."

"Whom was he talking to?" George inquired.

"The skipper of The Whisper The Whisper."

"Do you think they were referring to crocodiles?" Danny asked.

"I don't know."

"Do they ever transport crocs in The Whisper The Whisper?"

"No," Colombo replied, then added, "I was scolded a good deal, mostly for no reason. It seemed as if the bosses had a grudge against me. I think they figured I knew more than I really do."

"That's possible," Nancy said thoughtfully.

"I wanted to leave the job," Colombo went on, "but they would never let me. A few times I tried to sneak up to the visitors and ask for a ride. But one of the workmen who lived with the bosses always chased me away."

"Did Sacco and Gimler ever have anything delivered to the island, or did they do the shopping themselves?" Nancy asked.

Colombo said that as far as he knew all supplies were brought in by The Whisper The Whisper, and whenever any of the men left, they used that boat.

"You mean," Nancy asked, "that they do not use any other means of transportation?"

"Not as far as I know. But then, I wasn't around to see everything. I just worked and ate and slept."

The young people felt sorry for the man, and his story made them more suspicious than ever of the partners in the Crocodile Ecology Company. By now they had reached Key Biscayne. Danny pulled into a public dock to let Colombo off, and asked him if they could be of any further help.

Colombo shook his head. "You've all been mighty kind, and I'll never forget it. If I can ever do you a favor, just let me know."

Nancy asked him where he would stay.

"At the YMCA," he said. "I have relatives here, but Mr. Gimler knows about them. If I go there, he'll track me down and try to force me to return to Crocodile Island by threats, and make up some story."

"That's true," Nancy said. "Well, I hope your legs will heal properly. Perhaps you should see a doctor."

Colombo smiled. "I think you ladies did a fine job. I'll be well in no time." He stepped onto the dock with Danny's help, then turned around. "I don't even know your names," he said.

Nancy hesitated, but Danny spoke up quickly. "I'm Danny Cosgrove, and these are the Boonton girls, Anne, Elizabeth, and Jackie."

"Thank you," Colombo said. "I really appreciate your help."

Danny pushed off. "I hope you girls don't mind what I told him," he said. "But he can find out from anyone around here who owns the Pirate Pirate."

"That was perfectly all right," Nancy said. "Besides, I think we can trust him."

On the way home the young people discussed what the phrase "they want five hundred" could have meant.

"If not crocodiles, what else?" George asked.

"The thing that bothers me most," Bess said, "is that Mr. Gimler might have known Colombo was on the skiff. If so, he may make trouble. We'd better not go back to Crocodile Island."

"We've got to, Bess," said Nancy. "We're just beginning to get some good clues!"

When they reached the Cosgrove home, Danny's mother was waiting for them. After greeting each one, she said, "I have a message for you, Nancy."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Mr. Gonzales called. He has some valuable information to give you."

"Did he give any hint as to what it was?" Nancy asked.

Mrs. Cosgrove shook her head. "He said that you would receive a letter in the morning."

Nancy wanted to phone Mr. Gonzales at once, but realized that she should not let her curiosity get the better of her and possibly embarra.s.s him.

Later in the evening, the group settled down to watch television, but the young detective had trouble concentrating on the show. Instead, her thoughts focused on what Colombo had told them about Crocodile Island.

Presently the phone rang. Mrs. Cosgrove answered, then handed the receiver to Nancy. "It's for you."

"h.e.l.lo?" Nancy said.

"You're not Anne Boonton!" a man said gruffly. "You're Nancy Drew. We know all about you. If you and your friends don't leave Florida at once, you'll never never get home again!" get home again!"

CHAPTER XI.

An Identification.

"WHO are you?" Nancy asked the man on the phone.

There was no reply, only a click in her ear.

Nancy's friends looked at her questioningly. "Who was it?" George asked.

"One of our enemies, I'm afraid. He told us to leave Florida, or we might never see our homes again!"

"Oh, dear!" Bess wailed. "Now they know where we're staying."

"So what?" George said. "This isn't the first time Nancy has been threatened over the phone by her adversaries!"

Danny tried to break the tension. "Bess, will you stop worrying? After all, you have me to protect you!"

Bess laughed, and after a while the mysterious call was forgotten.

Next morning Nancy watched eagerly for the mailman. When he came up the street, she ran from the house to meet him. He smiled at her and asked, "Is a Miss Anne Boonton staying here?"

"Yes," Nancy replied. "Do you have a letter for her?"

"Indeed I do," the man replied. "And a lot of others. You want to take them?"