they flop back and forth foolish,
like they was tryin' to kick themselves out of the water. They make a
getaway about as graceful as a cow tryin' the fox trot. But say, once
they get goin', with them big wings planed against the breeze, they can
do the soar act something grand. And dive! One of 'em doin' a
hundred-foot straight down plunge has got Annette lookin' like a
plumber fallin' off a roof backwards.

No, there wasn't any gloom around our side of the yacht, though I'll
admit it don't take much of a program to keep me amused while Vee has
the next orchestra chair to mine. We took no notice of anybody's
grouch, and whether or not there was any pirate gold in the
neighborhood was a question we didn't waste thought on. We knew there
wouldn't be anything in it for us, even if there was.

When the word was passed around that anybody that wanted to might get
out and fish, we was the first to volunteer. Seems this had been the
scheme right along--that our party was to do more or less fishin', so
as to give any natives that might be hangin' around the proper idea of
why we was there.

Professor Barr is right on hand, too; and Dudley tries it just to kill
time. We did have more or less luck, and got quite excited. Vee pulls
in something all striped up like a hat-band, and one that I hooked blew
himself up into a reg'lar football after I landed him in the bottom of
the boat. The Professor had jaw-breakin' names for everything we
caught, but he couldn't say whether they was good to eat or not. The
yacht cook wouldn't take a chance on any of them. It was good sport,
though, and we all collected a fresh coat of sunburn. And say, with
them new tints in her cheeks, maybe Vee ain't some ornamental. But
then, she's easy to look at anyway.

It was this same evenin', the second we'd been anchored quiet in behind
this lengthy island, that the big three of our expedition gets together
again. First I knew, I saw 'em grouped along the side where the
companionway stairs was swung--Auntie, Old Hickory, and Captain Killam.
Rupert seems to be explainin' something. Then in a minute or two the
men begin easin' Auntie down into one of the launches tied to the boat
boom, and the next I see them go chuggin' off into the moonlight. I
hunts up Vee and passes her the word.

"What do you know about that?" says I. "Pikin' off for a joy ride all
by their three-somes!"

"I suppose Captain Killam has found where his treasure is