Part 29 (2/2)

”I'll give him reason to think so,” growled Juarez sullenly, ”if I ever get on his trail.”

The Indian, Yaquis, grunted approval, for there seemed to be a bond of sympathy between him and Juarez, as the reader can well understand.

”How far is that cave, Tom, where the old codger left you?” inquired Jo.

”Just around the bend,” said Tom. ”Here's the rock where Juarez made his famous jump.”

”How did you ever get up there?” asked Jo in wonder, looking up at the pinnacle of rock.

”You'd a done the same if those fellows had been chasing you,” replied Juarez, ”but if it hadn't been for Jeems here catching me when I jumped they would have got me after all.”

”I was afeard you might have fallen on the Skipper and a hurt him. He's a kind of a tender plant you know.” The Shepherd made this remark with a perfectly sober face, in no wise disturbed by the hilarity of the boys, over the idea of the tenderness of the Skipper.

”Here's the cave,” said Juarez, and he led the way through an arched opening in the wall of the cliff. Picking up a lantern, he went ahead as guide.

”This is certainly a dry cave,” said Jim.

”It ought to be,” said Jeems Howell. ”It don't rain on this Island more than twice a year, but I feel it in my bones that it is coming on to storm today.”

”I hope you don't feel it in _all_ your bones,” remarked Jim, quizzically, ”because it is liable to be a long drawn out storm if you do.”

The lanky Shepherd gave himself over to spasms of silent mirth at Jim's queer humor.

”Here's where we found Tom,” said Juarez. ”Just discovered him a couple of hours before you discovered us.”

When the Captain had made his sudden change of plans, Tom made himself as comfortable as he could for the night, intending to search for Juarez in the morning.

”Sometime I hope that this wretched Captain will be captured and imprisoned right here,” said the Spaniard with a cold, vindictiveness.

”If he comes snooping around here again, that is what will happen to him,” remarked Jim quietly. ”I suppose, Tom, that he hid some of the loot he took from us in this cave somewhere. I bet this is his safe deposit vault, all right.”

”He went back in there with his small satchel,” said Tom, indicating the depths of the cave as yet unexplored.

”It will keep,” said Jim, ”but before I leave this island for Hawaii, I am going to search every corner of this cave and see if I cannot find our property.”

”We discovered it in a cave and perhaps we will lose our treasure in a cave,” said Juarez, who was something of a fatalist.

”Don't you believe that we won't find it,” declared Jim stoutly, ”but no work for me for a while. I'm going to take a good rest.”

”So say we all of us,” chanted the boys.

”Gentlemen,” said Jeems Howell oracularly, ”If it pleases you, and Christopher Columbus,” with a wave of his hand toward Jim, ”who discovered this savage group, we will now adjourn to my castle on the distant hillside.”

”We are with you,” declared those a.s.sembled in unison, and in a short time they were making their way up the slope towards the ”castle” on the hillside, where they made themselves at home.

All the new arrivals at the island were soon fast asleep.

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