Page:Off For Hawaii.djvu/111

Rh "Caleb Merkin!" came from all of our lips simultaneously.

"Here's a mystery," added Dan.

"No mystery at all!" I almost shouted. "I now see why Merkin came to the Hawaiian Islands. He is after what we are after."

"But how could he" began Oliver, and stopped short. "Do you think he found that lost map?"

"Not only that, but that he overheard our talk when he pretended to be asleep under the veranda of your father's house."

"By Jove, Mark, I believe you are right! Isn't he slick, though? He's just about twenty-four hours ahead of us in this game," put in Dan.

"But he shan't come out ahead at the end," said Oliver, with quiet emphasis. "I'll turn him down yet—just see if I don't." And his words meant a good deal.