CHAPTER XXI--INTO A CAVE AND OUT
"Let us look around for footprints, Roger," said Dave, as the pairscrambled up the rocks once more. "If any persons landed from thatsmashed rowboat they'd have to walk in some direction, and the groundis soft back of here."
"The trouble is, it is growing so dark," returned the senator's son."In a little while we won't be able to find our way back. We shouldhave brought a lantern along."
"I've got something almost as good," answered our hero, and took fromhis pocket a little electric flashlight--one of the kind that emits atiny flash of light when the button at the end is pressed.
"Good enough! That's first-rate!"
The pair were soon down from the rocks. Under the palm trees it wasnow dark, and Dave used the electric flashlight to advantage.
"Here are footprints!" he cried, presently. "Six pairs! That showsthat at least a half dozen persons came ashore in that boat. Those sixmay have been carrying others."
"Shall we set up a shout?"
"I don't know, Roger. If Merwell and Jasniff were around I'd like tosurprise them. If they discovered us first, and they had the jewels,they'd surely hide the gems and then say they didn't have them."
"I believe that, Dave. Well, let us follow the footsteps and see wherethey lead to."
"Another thing. Do you remember those Englishmen? They may be on thisisland, and if so, I'd rather steer clear of them."
"So would I, they were so disagreeable--all but that one chap, Borden."
The trail led among the palm trees and then up a rise of ground wheregrew a number of bushes. Here the boys had to proceed more slowly, forfear of missing the way.
"It's queer that they should call this spot Cave Island," observed thesenator's son. "We haven't seen anything that looks like a cave."
"The caves may be on the other side of the island," answered Dave."Look out, Roger, there is a split in the rocks! Let us jump over toyonder bushes."
Dave placed the flashlight in his pocket and made the leap he hadmentioned, and his chum came after him.
A most astonishing thing followed. The bushes where they landed gaveway, and down they rolled on some smooth rocks. They tried to staytheir progress, but this was impossible, and they continued to rollfor several minutes. Then Dave bumped into some sort of barrier andRoger landed beside him.
"For gracious sake, what's this?" gasped Roger, when he felt able tospeak. The breath had been all but knocked out of him.
"I guess we have found one of the caves," answered Dave, grimly."Phew, but that was some roll, wasn't it!"
"We must be down near the center of the earth," murmured the senator'sson.
"Not quite as bad as that. But we came down some distance, I admit."
"Flash that light around, Dave, and let us see where we are."
"I will if the light hasn't been smashed," replied our hero. "I rolledover it half a dozen times."
He brought out the little flashlight and tried it. Fortunately, it wasstill in working order. As the rays fell around the lads, they staredat each other, blankly.
"What do you make of this, Dave?"
"Looks as if it was cut out of the solid rock, Roger."
"It certainly is some cave. Wonder where it leads to?"
"We might follow the opening and find out."
"Excuse me, I'd rather climb out the way we came in."
"It certainly doesn't look very inviting."
The two boys found themselves in an irregular opening of the rocks,fifty feet wide and perhaps twice that in length. On one side was thesmooth slope down which they had come; on the other a dark hole thatlooked as if it might lead to some bottomless pit. A jagged rock inthe center of the underground chamber had been the means of stoppingthem from dropping to the unknown depths below them.
"We were lucky to hit this rock," said Dave, with something like ashiver. "If we hadn't----" He did not finish.
"Let us get out. It gives me the creeps to stay here," returned hischum.
"All right, Roger, I'm willing. But it is going to be hard workcrawling back, those rocks are so smooth."
"We've got to get back!"
"I can't hold the light and climb too. And if I place it on the rocksit may roll away and go down into that hole," went on our hero.
"Oh, put it in your pocket again and we'll try to climb back in thedark. We know the direction."
Dave did as his chum suggested, and then commenced a climb thatneither of the lads ever forgot. The rocks were so smooth in spotsthat at times to get a foothold was next to impossible. Once Rogerslid back several feet and would have gone to the bottom had not Davecaught and held him.
"Take it slowly, Roger," was our hero's advice. "If you go to thebottom, you may be killed!"
"I'll hang--on!" gasped the other. "But I wi-wish I wasout--of--th-this!"
"Well, I wish the same."
It took fully a quarter of an hour longer to get out of the rockycave, and when the boys reached the surface of the earth they were soexhausted they could do little but sit on the ground and pant forbreath.
"It's Cave Island right enough," was the comment of the senator's son."But excuse me from tumbling into any more such openings!"
"I guess the best thing we can do is to go back to the boat," saidDave. "We can't discover much in this darkness. We can start out againearly in the morning."
"All right, back to the boat it is," and the pair set out on thereturn along the sandy shore.
"I see a light!" cried Dave, after about half the distance to wherethe rowboat had been left was covered. And he pointed to a spotinland, among the trees.
"Maybe it's a camp of some sort," replied Roger. "It seems to be quitea distance away."
"Shall we go and see what it is?"
"Hadn't we better get the others first, Dave?"
"All right, if you think best."
So they continued on the way to where the rowboat had been left. Theycame up to find that Captain Sanders and Phil had not yet returned.Smiley was snoring on the sand, while Billy Dill sat near by on guard.
"Find anybody?" queried the old tar, eagerly.
"We found one of the caves, and we saw a light at a distance,"answered Dave. "We want to investigate that light, as soon as theothers get back."
Dave and Roger sat down, to rest and to wait, and thus anotherhalf-hour went by. With nothing else to do, Billy Dill took a nap, andthe boys allowed the old sailor to slumber on.
"It's queer the captain and Phil don't return," remarked Roger,presently. "They must have gone much further than we did."
"Maybe they fell into one of those caves, Roger."
"Oh, I trust not!"
Another half-hour went by and still the others did not put in anappearance. By this time Dave was getting worried.
"Let us take a walk along the shore and look for them," he said, andRoger agreed, and they started off.
They had covered less than a quarter of a mile when they came in sightof a campfire, well-hidden between the rough rocks back from thewater's edge. Around the campfire were huddled the forms of severalmen, evidently sailors.
"Perhaps those men are from the _Emma Brower_," said Dave, in a lowtone.
"I don't see anything of Captain Sanders and Phil," remarked thesenator's son.
"No. And yet they must have seen this campfire, if they came this way.What can it mean, Dave?"
"I don't know."
"Shall we go up to the campfire and talk to those fellows?"
"I don't see why not. I am not afraid of them."
"Do you see anybody that looks like Jasniff or Merwell?"
"No, those fellows are all plain sailors, by their outfits."
Dave continued to advance and Roger followed, and neither halted untilhe was within the glow of the campfire. Then Dave called out:
"Hello, messmates!"
At this cry the four sailors around the fire sprang to their feet. Ata glance Dave and Roger saw that they were in tatters, and that theylooked hungr
y and careworn.
"Hello, yourself!" answered one of the tars, stepping towards theboys. "Who are you?"
"Passengers from the _Golden Eagle_," answered Dave.
"Oh, some more of that crowd, eh?" cried the tar.
"Then you've seen the others,--the captain and a young fellow likeourselves?" queried Roger.
"Yes, they were here only a short while ago."
"They said they'd be back, and take us aboard an' git us something toeat," put in a second of the sailors.
"An' we need that grub putty bad, we do," added a third.
"Ain't had no decent meal since we got wrecked," came from the fourth."A few fish an' birds, an' that's all."
"You are from the _Emma Brower_?" questioned Dave, eagerly.
"You've struck it, messmate. She went down in the storm an' we comeputty nigh goin' down with her."
"Well, you shall have all you want to eat in a little while. Tell mewhere the others of our crowd went."
"They went after the two chaps as ran away."
"Ran away?" cried Dave. "From where?"
"From here."
"They must have been Jasniff and Merwell!" murmured Roger.
"Who were those fellows?" asked our hero.
"Two passengers from the bark. They came ashore with us, and theystayed with us until your captain and the other young fellow comealong. Then they up anchors and away like the old Nick was after 'em,"explained the tar who had first spoken.
"Were they young fellows like ourselves?"
"Yes,--a bit older, maybe. Named Ford and Smith."
"They must have been Jasniff and Merwell," said Dave, to his chum.
"I wonder if they managed to save the jewels," whispered the senator'sson.
"Did they have any baggage?" asked Dave of the sailors.
"Baggage? Not much! We didn't have no time for baggage when the shipwent down. It was every man fer himself. The cap'n got off in one boatwith some o' the passengers, an' the mate got off with some of thecrew in another boat, an' we got off by ourselves. It was blowin' bigguns, I can tell ye, an' it looks like we would be swamped most everyminit. I knowed about this island an' I steered in this direction aswell as I could, an' by sheer good luck we struck the shore--an' herewe are."
"What became of the other boats?"
"Ain't seen nuthin' of 'em yet."
"Is that your boat was split in two, between the rocks in thatdirection?" and Dave pointed to where such a craft had been found byhim and Roger.
"That's her, messmate. Putty badly used up, eh?"
"And you are quite sure those two passengers had no baggage?" went onour hero, after a pause.
"Nary a thing, messmate, excepting wot they wore. It wasn't no time tothink o' baggage, it was a time to think o' what to do to save yourlife!"