The Boy Scouts on Picket Duty

camp fire of driftwood, he explained to them that the mysterious box might be fi

dded, "but 'twouldn't be hard for a sly old sea-dog like him

stirring the fire; for, in spite of the spring warmth, t

ff hike from here," replied the c

ess, he had fallen asleep. Above the splash of the surf and the rustle of the wind in the palmettos, his snores could be he

whispered. "Poor old Injun

er, stretching himself

ose stuffy little bunks

ny disparagement of the Arrow. The good captain was inordinately proud of his sloop, which he preferred to all other craft; ind

im and up at the sky in the scrutinizing way which seafaring men have when they retire fo

y. Off on the lagoon loomed the dark hulk and slender mast of the sloop, rising and falling on the choppy waves, her bow light gleaming across the wate

t, and nearby lay the neat little pile of provisions and utensils covered with a tarpaulin. What matter if rain should chance

nkind,--even with the smugglers who had roused his righteous wrath,--and hi

ptain came to the conclusion that it would not be amiss if they should linger there a day or two longer than they had pl

in the hope of catching some fresh fish for breakfast. He assented to this plan, for he himself intended to go aboard the Arrow the first thing on the morrow to look he

have taken a dip into the breakers before going to

" he warned them. "Besides, it's dangerous to go in around these shores in the darkness. You might stumble into a hole

of furnishing supper to a shark. Anyway, real, live, m

ke smudge, for the mosquitoes were truly formidable. Even under the canopy of smoke, these noxious insects darted viciously to bite and torment the campers. Time and time again, the boys were awake

*

g red, the

traveler

gray, the

ers down up

nguish objects clearly, and for a moment he felt that queer sensation of being lost, of not knowing just where he was--that feeling which so

and paler. "Thought I heard some noise like distant thunder, very far away, and then it changed into the sound of muffled oars, or the tc

o take flight into the shadowy undergrowth, retreating before the advance of day. Across the dark stretch of water between this island and the mainland a flo

," Hugh thought, still trying to de

le down to the beach and stood gazing at the sloop, whic

und like a motor b

he rounded a curve of the shore and saw before him a narrow channel separating the island on which he stood from another, slightly larger. Clumps of young palms grew on that other island, taller and greener than those aroun

were alone, though he naturally preferred to share a quest of discoveries with some comrade. So now, shedding his coat, outer shir

ortheastern extremity of the small island. From the top of this he could obtain a good view of th

the rising sun turned the edges of clouds into flame. Across this glowing expanse the mainland s

boy drew a deep breath of wonder and turned to look around him on all sides. As he did so, hi

in the form of a lean-to against the slope of a sand dune near the shore, and at first glance it seemed to be part of the island itself. Indeed, it was so well concealed

f the mound and lay flat, watching the canoe. He felt like a scout in the enemy's te

t into the shallow water and drew it up on the beach. From the bottom of the canoe they lifted a