CHAPTER XXIV
JASNIFF AND MERWELL
"It's a man!"
"One of the Englishmen!"
"You are right, lads," came from Captain Sanders. "And see, he is bound hands and feet to the rocks!"
What the master of the Golden Eagle said was true, and as the firebrand was flashed on the scene, the chums could do little but stare in astonishment.
Lying on his back between the rocks was the Englishman named Giles Borden. Hands and feet were bound with a strong cord, which ran around a projection of the rocks in such a manner that the prisoner could scarcely move.
"Who tied you up?" questioned Dave, as he and Phil set to work to liberate the prisoner.
"Geswick, Pardell, and Rumney," groaned the prisoner. "Oh, if only I had my hands on them!"
"Why did they do it?" asked Captain Sanders.
"They wanted to rob me—and they did rob me!" answered Giles Borden. "Oh, help me out of this wretched hole and give me a drink of water! I am dying from thirst!"
Not without difficulty the man was freed of the rope and helped to get out from between the rocks. Then Dave and Roger half carried him down to the cave proper. The crowd had a canteen of water and the man drank, eagerly.
"So your friends robbed you?" said Captain Sanders, curiously.
"Do not call them friends of mine!" returned Giles Borden. "They are not friends—they are vipers, wolves! Oh, if ever I meet them again at home I'll soon have them in prison, or know the reason why!"
"Hadn't you better tell us all about it?" went on the master of the Golden Eagle.
"Wait a minute!" cried Dave. "Do you suppose those men are anywhere near here?"
"I don't know. They said they would be back, but they did not come."
"They may have seen us and skipped out," ventured the senator's son.
"More than likely," groaned Giles Borden. "Now that they have my money they won't want to stay here. They'll take passage on that ship as soon as she comes in and leave me to shift for myself."
"Tell us your story, so we can understand what you are talking about," said Captain Sanders.
In a disconnected manner the Englishman related his tale, pausing occasionally to take another drink of water. He said he was from London and had met Geswick, Pardell, and Rumney less than six months before. They had come to him with the story of a wonderful pirates' treasure said to be hidden on Cave Island, and had asked him to finance an expedition in search of it.
"I had just fallen heir to five thousand pounds through the death of my father," he went on, "and I was anxious to get the treasure, so I consented to pay the expenses of the trip, taking the three men along. They had the chart that you saw on shipboard and some other particulars, and they made me bring along a thousand pounds extra, stating that we might have to pay some natives well to get them to show us where the particular cave we were seeking was located."
Then had followed the trip to Florida and the one to Barbados. At the latter island a schooner had been chartered to take them to Cave Island, where they were landed on the eastern shore. The schooner was to come back for the Englishmen a week later.
"As soon as the treasure hunt began I suspected that I was being hoaxed," continued Giles Borden. "For all I knew, we were alone on the island. We found several huts, but they were all deserted. We visited a score of caves, but saw nothing that looked like a treasure. Then, one afternoon, Geswick asked me about the extra thousand pounds I was carrying. I grew suspicious and tried to hide the money between the rocks. The three caught me at it and pounced on the money like a pack of wolves. Then, when I remonstrated, they laughed at me, and told me to keep quiet, that they were going to run matters to suit themselves."
"They must have intended to rob you from the start," said Dave.
"You are right, and I was a fool to trust them. As soon as they had my money, one of them, Rumney, tore up the chart and threw the pieces in my face. That angered me so greatly that I struck him with my fist, knocking him down. Then the three leaped on me and made me a prisoner, binding me with the rope. I tried my best to get away, but could not. That was at night. In the morning they went off, saying they would come back later and give me something to eat. But that is the last I have seen or heard of them."
"If we hadn't found you, you might have starved to death," murmured Captain Sanders. "They ought to be punished heavily for this—and for robbing you!"
The Englishman was glad enough to get something to eat, and then said he felt much stronger.
"But what brings you to this island?" he questioned, while partaking of the food.
"We are after a pair of criminals," answered Dave, as the others looked at him, not knowing what to say. "Two young fellows who ran away with some valuable jewels. I suppose you saw nothing of them."
"No, as I said before, we saw nobody."
"They are on this island."
"Then I hope you catch them. And I hope you'll aid me in catching those other scamps."
"We'll certainly do that," answered Captain Sanders.
A little later the whole party left the cave, and Giles Borden pointed out a number of other caves he had visited.
"The island is full of them," declared the Englishman. "And one has to be careful, for fear of falling into a hole at every step."
The middle of the afternoon found the party once more at the water's edge. They had seen no trace of Jasniff and Merwell, or of the rascally Englishmen. All were tired out and content to rest for a little while.
"Looks like a wild goose chase, doesn't it, Dave?" remarked Roger.
"Oh, you mustn't grow discouraged so quickly, Roger," was Dave's answer. "Unless Jasniff and Merwell have a chance to leave this island we'll be sure to locate them, sooner or later. What I am worried about mostly is the question: Have they the jewels or did the gems go to the bottom of the ocean?"
"Yes, that's the most important question of all."
"It will be poor consolation to catch Jasniff and Merwell and not get the jewels," put in Phil. "I reckon, Dave, you'd rather have it the other way around—get the jewels and miss Jasniff and Merwell."
"Indeed, yes, Phil."
"In case we don't" began the senator's son, and then stopped short. He had seen Captain Sanders leap up and start inland.
"What did you see, Captain?" asked Dave.
"I saw somebody looking at us, from behind yonder trees!" cried the master of the Golden Eagle.
"One of the Englishmen?" queried Phil.
"No, it was somebody younger—looked a little like that picture of Link Merwell!"
"Come on—after them!" cried Dave, and started on a run in the direction the captain indicated.
All were soon on the way, climbing over some rough rocks at first and then crashing through the heavy undergrowth. Then they entered a forest of tropical trees and vines.
"I see them!" exclaimed Dave, after several hundred feet had been covered. "Jasniff and Merwell as sure as you live! Stop! Stop, I tell you!" he called out.
"You keep back, Dave Porter!" yelled Nick Jasniff in return. "Keep back, or it will be the worse for you!"
"Jasniff, you had better surrender!" cried Roger.
"We'll be sure to get you sooner or later!" added Phil.
"You'll never catch me!" answered the other. "Now keep back, or maybe somebody will get shot."
"Do you think he'll shoot?" asked Captain Sanders, in some alarm, while Giles Borden stopped short.
"Possibly," answered Dave. "But I am going after him anyway," he added sturdily. "I came here to catch those rascals and I am going to do it."
"And I am with you," said Phil, promptly.
"Scare 'em with your gun, Dave," suggested the senator's son.
"I will," was our hero's reply, and he brought the weapon to the front. "I've got a gun, Jasniff!" he called out. "You had better stop! And you had better stop too, Merwell!"
"Don't yo-you shoot at us!" screamed Link Merwell, in sudden terror. And then he ran with all speed for the nearest trees and dove out of sight. The next instant Jasniff disappeared, likewise.
Dave was now thoroughly aroused, and he resolved to do his best to run the rascals down and corner them. Shifting his shotgun once more to his back, he ran on in the direction the pair had taken, and Roger, Phil, and the captain and the Englishman followed.
Listening occasionally, they could hear Jasniff and Merwell crashing through the undergrowth and at the same time calling to each other. Evidently they had become separated and were trying to get together again.
As they advanced into the forest, Dave caught sight of Merwell. He was behind a low fringe of bushes and an instant later disappeared.
"Stop, Merwell!" he called out. "It won't do you any good to run. We are bound to catch you, sooner or later."
"Yo-you let me alone, Dave Porter!" spluttered Merwell. He was almost out of breath, so violent had been his exertions.
Dave kept on and soon reached the low bushes. Then he saw Merwell again, this time leaping for some brushwood between two tall rocks.
"I've got you now!" he said, sharply. "You may as well give in!"
"Oh, Porter, please let me" commenced Link Merwell, and then Dave's hand caught him by the shoulder and whirled him about.
As this happened something else occurred that filled both pursued and pursuer with alarm. The grass and brushwood under their feet began to give way. Then of a sudden Link Merwell sank from sight, and Dave disappeared after him!
In the meanwhile Phil and the others kept on in the direction Nick Jasniff had taken. Twice they caught sight of the former bully of Oak Hall, but each time he was further away than before.
"You'll not catch me!" cried Jasniff. "You might as well give up trying." Then he dove into another section of the forest and they saw no more of him.
"What has become of Dave?" asked Phil, when he and Roger came together, a little later.
"I thought he was with you, Phil."
"And I thought he was with you."
"He went after that other chap," put in Captain Sanders. "Perhaps he caught him. They were over in that direction," and the captain pointed with his hand.
All proceeded in the direction indicated. But they did not catch sight of either Dave or Merwell.
"Well, this is strange, to say the least," remarked Phil, after they had called out several times. "What do you make of it, Roger?"
"I'm sure I don't know, Phil. They can't have gotten so far away but what they could hear us call."
"Maybe they fell into one of the caves," suggested Captain Sanders.
"If they have, we had better hunt for Dave at once," returned Roger.