ther expedition against him. He felt now that he had been a
weak fool not to utterly exterminate the decoy party that he had just
left.

At length, after what to Leslie appeared an eternity of suspense, the
catamaran passed through the entrance channel and bore away for the
camp, a raking view of which was to be obtained as soon as the veiling
wall of surf was passed. To his inexpressible relief, the framework of
the cutter still stood on the stocks, apparently uninjured; and inshore
of it he could see the tent, also apparently uninjured. He had been
cherishing a sort of half hope that he would also see Flora standing on
the beach awaiting his arrival; but she was not there, and, upon
reflection, he was not greatly surprised. No doubt she was still in
hiding, and would probably not reappear until he had succeeded in making
her aware of his return and of the fact that all danger was now past.
As the catamaran sped along Leslie's keen glance roved anxiously over
the various parts of the camp as they opened out, and he presently saw
that his savage visitors had been busy with the varied items of the
cargo that he had saved from the brig and stored under canvas, for the
canvas cover was folded back, and boxes and bales were strewed here and
there upon the sward. Ah, and there was Sailor--good dog!--lying down
on the beach close to the water-line, waiting for him. But where, then,
was Flora? She could certainly not be far off, or Sailor would not be
there, lying so quietly and lazily stretched out in the sun. Leslie
seized his rifle and fired a signal shot to let the girl know that he
was at hand; but the echoes of the report pealed off the face of the
mountain and still she did not appear, nor--stranger still--did Sailor
leap to his feet with a welcoming bark. What, Dick wondered, was the
matter with the old dog? Why did he lie there so utterly motionless?
and what was that long thin shaft that looked almost as though its point
were embedded in his body? Leslie gave vent to a bitter groan; for as
he bore up to run the catamaran in upon the beach, he recognised only
too clearly that the poor dog was dead--slain by the cruel spear that
transfixed his body. And he saw, too--just in time to avoid grounding
the catamaran upon the spot--that the sand of the beach was marked with
many naked footprints, leading to and fro between the camp and a mark
upon the sand that had evidently been left there by a canoe.

Leaping