Page:Dave Porter on Cave Island.djvu/221

Rh "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