as if he had seen it:--the quarrel between the two ivory stealers, the
duel with the pistols, and the death of both combatants beside the
treasure pile they had done so much wickedness to acquire.

"Truly that figure in the deck house is avenged," thought Rob, gazing
with horror-stricken eyes at the things before him. "Death was indeed
the wages of sin in their case."

Turning from the grisly relics of that far-off duel on the lonely
island, Rob fell to examining the ivory. There was a large quantity of
it.

"It must be worth an immense sum," he thought.

But in the very moment of his triumph, Rob suddenly recollected what, in
his excitement, he had entirely forgotten for the moment. He was a
castaway on a strange, uninhabited island, with only a few tins of beef
between him and starvation. Thirst he did not fear, for close to where
he had struggled ashore was a spring of sweet, cool water.

Rob made his way back to the beach and the boat. Inside the boat he now
noticed what had hitherto escaped his attention. There were several
hundred feet of light rope which seemed to be still in fairly good
condition. There was, too, a pair of oars. At the same moment the boy
was seized by a sudden idea. He could get away from the island, and in a
boat, too!

His Boy Scout training had made him fertile in ideas, and if the present
one succeeded it would mean his escape from a terrible fate.

+ + + + +

Ensign Hargreaves and Mr. Barr looked sternly at each other.

"There is only one man who could have taken that lever," said the
ensign.

"And that is who?"

"The rascal Barton."

"But for what possible object?"

"I cannot think unless he has hidden it and will only give it up as the
price of his liberty."

"But if he keeps us down here, he will die, too."

"He is playing his life against ours and he holds the cards."

"Not for long. Come below at once. We must act quickly. There is a
chance he still has it on his person."

Down the stairs they ran, leaving Merritt at the wheel with a sinking
feeling of fear clutching at his heart. If Barton, turned desperate, had
hidden the key and would not reveal its hiding place, it meant that they
must remain in the depths till death put an end to their sufferings.

In the meantime, the ensign and Mr. Barr, both excited, had rushed
through the cabin and toward the engine room. As they approached the
door, it was slammed and a pistol thrust th