Page:Dave Porter on Cave Island.djvu/250

234 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