ible. Burton had too long a lead.

Snatching the painter from the rock, the fleeing rascal sprang into the
boat, picked up the oars and was twenty feet from shore before Clancy
and Hill came to the water's edge.

"Guess again!" taunted Burton, applying himself vigorously to the oars.

"This island ain't so big!" shouted Hiram furiously. "The steamer for
San Pedro has gone, and there's no other boat for the mainland until
to-morrow. You ain't out o' this yet, Hank Burton!"

What Burton thought regarding this did not appear. He put all his energy
into his rowing and was soon halfway across the bay.

"If we'd toted a popper," bewailed Hiram, "this couldn't have happened.

"Popper?" questioned Clancy.

"Meanin' gun. With a six-shooter we could have drawn a bead on Mister
Man in the boat and fetched him ashore. Blame it! I sure hate to see him
get away after bein' to so much trouble ketchin' him."

The motor wizard felt in the same way, but there was no use crying over
spilled milk. Mynie Boltwood got back from the other side of the bay
with a load of clothes, and Hill removed his wet garments, wrung them
out, dried them in the sun, and was soon back in his complete wardrobe,
and but little the worse for his drenching.

Clancy, hoping to develop something in the nature of a clew, searched
the pockets of Burton's clothes. He found nothing to repay his search.

"Now," inquired Hill gloomily, "what's the next step?"

"We came here to find your father, Hiram," Clancy answered, "and
suddenly got switched off into another trail. Now we'll get back to the
work that originally brought us to the island."

"And let that bunch o' grafters go?"

"I don't see what we can do, at present."

"We can set the police on their trail."

Clancy shook his head. "That won't do, Hiram," he answered. "I made a
crack of that kind at Burton, but it was only a bluff. The moment we
ring in the police, that moment we lift the veil on Lafe Wynn. Lafe must
be protected at any cost. If we could get back the money by our own
efforts, that would be all right. What we've got to avoid is making this
thing too public. We'll return to the curio store and see if Lopez has
got back from the other side of the island."

Mynie Boltwood displayed little curiosity regarding Burton. The
five-dollar gold piece had evidently blinded him, muzzled him, and tied
up his ears. He rowed Clancy and Hill back to the pier, and they left
the boat and proceeded to th