Part 47 (2/2)

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 s.h.i.+p, 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,”

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