Dave Porter on Cave Island: or, A Schoolboy's Mysterious Mission

“Perhaps those men are from the Emma Brower,” said Dave, in a low tone.

“I don’t see anything of Captain Sanders and Phil,” remarked the senator’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 until he 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. At a glance Dave and Roger saw that they were in tatters, and that they looked hungry and careworn.

“Hello, yourself!” answered one of the tars, stepping towards the boys. “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 like ourselves?” 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 to eat,” 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 come putty nigh goin’ down with her.”

“Well, you shall have all you want to eat in a little while. Tell me where 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 they stayed with us until your captain and the other young fellow come along. 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’s son.

“Did they have any baggage?” asked Dave of the sailors.

“Baggage? Not much! We didn’t have no time for baggage when the ship went down. It was every man fer himself. The cap’n got off in one boat with some o’ the passengers, an’ the mate got off with some of the crew in another boat, an’ we got off by ourselves. It was blowin’ big guns, I can tell ye, an’ it looks like we would be swamped most every minit. I knowed about this island an’ I steered in this direction as well as I could, an’ by sheer good luck we struck the shore – an’ here we 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 that direction?” and Dave pointed to where such a craft had been found by him and Roger.

“That’s her, messmate. Putty badly used up, eh?”

“And you are quite sure those two passengers had no baggage?” went on our hero, after a pause.

“Nary a thing, messmate, excepting wot they wore. It wasn’t no time to think o’ baggage, it was a time to think o’ what to do to save your life!”

CHAPTER XXII – THE HURRICANE

“What direction did those fellows who ran away take?” asked Dave.

“That’s the way they went,” answered one of the sailors, pointing to some heavy undergrowth behind the camping-out spot.

“Where does that lead to, do you know?” asked the senator’s son.

“Leads to a spring o’ fresh water an’ half a dozen big caves,” was the reply.

“Caves?” queried Dave. “Then perhaps the fellows, who ran away, took to one of the caves.”

“Like as not, messmate. Them two chaps have been explorin’ them caves ever since we came ashore.”

“Let us walk back and have a look,” suggested our hero. “We may be able to give Phil and Captain Sanders some assistance.”

Without further delay, the two boys left the camp of the castaways and hurried along a small trail through the bushes. They soon came to a rocky depression in the midst of which was a tiny spring.

“That water looks good,” exclaimed Dave. “Let us get a drink.”