and. A peculiar rope was around the frame, and John grasped it.

The boys eagerly looked at it as John intently examined it. "It is the
same," he said.

"The same as what?" asked Harry.

"The same as the rope found on the boat when you discovered it on the
beach."

That was the first time that the boys knew that John had any idea about
the loss of the boat, or of the strange rope. It was possible, however,
that the Professor had told John about it, as they were accustomed to
talk over these strange things.

"But the boat?" asked George. "What do you think of the boat?"

"It is the exact counterpart of the _Investigator's_ Life boat No. 3."

CHAPTER XIII

A CONVICT COLONY OF NATIVES

The Chief's son was present. "Did you ever know of a boat load of
castaways on the island?" asked John.

"We never knew of anything like that," was his reply.

Every scrap in that mass of wreckage was gone over. There was nothing
else visible by which they could gain the slightest clue. The skeleton
was minutely examined. It was that of a strong, well-developed man, but
from all appearances one leg was shorter than the other.

The bones of the shortened leg were closely investigated. "The bones
show that this man met with an accident in early life, or before he was
fully grown, or, he may have had some disease before he attained full
growth, so that his right leg is shorter because not fully developed,"
said John, as he continued the examination.

"He must have been a soldier or an adventurer, as he has three bullet
marks, one here in the right shoulder, one in the ankle, and the other
on the cheek bone. All of the wounds were healed before he met his
death."

"But there is one thing which is still more remarkable. This man was a
captive. He was tied in the boat and it was set adrift, and was likely
on the open sea and washed ashore during one of the monsoons."

"Why do you think so?" asked Harry, as soon as he could recover breath
after this announcement.

"This rope tells the story."

"But how does it happen that he and the boat were together. It seems to
me that if the waves were high enough to bring the boat clear up to this
point, he would be freed from the boat long before it reached this
place."

"He was tied to the boat."

One mystery was solved, and another more terrible in its aspect came
upon its heels. There was but one thing to do, and that was to bury the
skeleton, and John ordered this done, as