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THE CLUE
51

There was a moment of silence, and then Sid exclaimed:

"Frank's dead right! We'll go to Crest Island to-morrow and hunt for clues."

Eagerly the matter was discussed, and in the end all four agreed that they would make the search. Then came an hour of studying, and the lights went out.

"Oh, for the love of baked beans!" exclaimed Tom, as they were all settled comfortable in bed. "Somebody stop that clock, will you? I'll furnish the toothpick."

"Get up and do it yourself," directed Frank. "I'm too comfortable."

"So am I," said Sid.

"Same here," came from Phil.

"Then I suppose I've got to," groaned Tom, and in the end he did. Then, with the fussy, little alarmer quiet, the chums dropped off, their thoughts lasting longest on the prospective races, and on the queer muddle of the lost trophies.

"Well, here's where the boat was," said Tom, as they landed on Crest Island the next afternoon.

"But it's gone now," added Phil.

"Yes, probably Mr. Farson had it towed away on a barge to see if he could save any of it. My opinion is that it wasn't worth it," said Sid.

"Well, let's scatter, two going down one shore of the Island, and two on the other," suggested