boat, struck
in:

"What about the models?"

"I've got them hidden up here in the sand," came Barton's voice in
reply. "I'd have had them ready but two blooming kids trailed me here."

"Trailed you? What do you mean?" demanded the voice of the man who had
first spoken and who, with the solitary exception noted, had carried on
most of the conversation.

"Why, this Ensign Hargreaves, this Navy dude, saw fit to bring a band of
Boy Scouts down here. They're the nosiest kids ever, and I half think
they suspect me of not being all I appear to be."

"That's a good guess," whispered Rob to Merritt.

Merritt could not refrain from a quiet chuckle.

"As a long distance and local guesser, Barton takes the palm," he
breathed.

"Hush!" murmured Rob under his breath: "What are they up to now?"

"Going to dig up those models, I guess. Barton must have stolen them
from the workshop at odd moments."

Right then something happened that gave Merritt a shock. Rob rose to his
feet and started toward the beach. The men that the two Boy Scouts were
watching had headed inland, evidently to aid Barton in uncovering the
hidden models.

"Have you gone crazy, Rob? Lie down here," cautioned Merritt.

"Not much," was the response; "I'm going to do some reconnoitering while
I've got the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"That I'm going down to have a look at that boat, and if I can I'm going
to shove her off and thus leave those men prisoners on the island."

"By ginger, Rob, you are a great fellow for ideas. If only you can cast
the boat adrift, we'll have those chaps bottled up as securely as if
they were in a jail."

"Wait here till I come," responded the boy leader. "I won't be gone more
than ten minutes."

"I'd like to come with you, Rob."

"No; this is a job I can do best alone."

Rob noiselessly slipped away. The boat from which the mysterious men had
landed was plainly discernible as a black blot on the sandy beach. Rob
tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, but against the
white strip of sand he felt as noticeable as an elephant. However, he
gained the boat without interruption.

Its bow had been built up, apparently, to make it more seaworthy, and
the boy noticed that a small door had been cut leading into the space
beneath the raised bow. He had hardly discovered this when he was
startled to hear voices close at hand.

It was Barton and his crooked accomplices coming back. Fortunately for
Rob, they wer