that morning, for heavy clouds were gathering in the
sky. The short Arctic night came to an end at last, however, and in the
murky distance the boys saw the long coast line. Shortly after three
o'clock they passed the wireless station and landed, not without some
difficulty at Cordova.

They found the town asleep, of course, but after a time an early riser
directed them to the residence of a surgeon. They arranged with him to
meet them later in the day and at once set out for the wireless station.
It was two hours before they saw the operator coming to his post of
duty.

He remembered Frank, and willingly promised to at once open
communication with Seattle and take up the work of securing a duplicate
of the code message. He explained that a copy had been kept, but that it
had been destroyed by a careless janitor, who had said that he could
make nothing at all of the jumble of words and letters!

As soon as Seattle answered the Cordova call, a duplicate of the code
telegram was asked for, and Seattle undertook to place the request on
the wire and cause it to be rushed through to Chicago.

"We ought to receive the answer some time this afternoon," the operator
said as the boys started away.

CHAPTER XI

MAKING NEW PLANS

When the boys returned to the floating dock at which the motor boat had
been tied during their absence at the station they found Boswell sitting
in the cabin in a crouching attitude.

"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked.

Tommy shook his head.

"Then," continued the sailor, "you'd better give over trying to get it
for the present and duck away from here! You'll have trouble if you
don't!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Frank.

"Do you see the tug coming up the bay?" asked Boswell.

"Certainly!" was the reply.

"Well, she's been signalling to have this boat held until she arrives!
And the chances are that she picked up Jamison and his pirates somewhere
near the island where you left them."

"Then, of course, Jamison will want us arrested for piracy?" asked Tommy
tentatively. "I presume that's what it means."

"Well," Boswell replied, "when you take another man's boat and leave him
afloat in a dinghy, you must expect something to come of it besides
kisses. Of course you'll be arrested!"

Frank gave a long, low whistle of dismay.

"Then," he said, "we'll have to go and notify the surgeon of what's
coming off and get him to go on to the cabin alone."

"Yes," Tommy add