rs.

"I thought I heard somebody calling!"

They strained their ears and from a great distance heard a cry, but
what it was they could not make out.

"Let's call back," said Dick.

"It may do us harm," interposed Sam.

"We'll take the chance," said Tom, and started a loud cry, in which
all joined. They waited patiently for an answer to come back. But for
several minutes there was absolute silence. Then, to their surprise, a
pistol shot sounded out.

"Hullo!" ejaculated Dick. "Something is up, I wonder what it is?"

CHAPTER XXIII

WHAT WINGATE HAD TO TELL

After the departure of the Rover boys from the steam yacht Mr. Rover
and Captain Barforth held a consultation, and it was decided that the
search for the treasure cave should begin in earnest at daybreak.

"I do not think the boys will locate the cave in the coming darkness,"
said Anderson Rover. "But still it will do no harm to let them have a
try at it."

"Mr. Rover, do you suppose those on board the _Josephine_ have landed
yet?" asked Fred, who was present.

"There is no telling for certain, Fred. But I should say not, since
their steamer is nowhere in sight."

"I hope they do not come for some days," said Mrs. Stanhope. "For if
they do, and you meet, I feel sure there will be serious trouble."

After that Anderson Rover had a long talk with Bahama Bill, and the
old tar said he thought he could locate the cave without much trouble.

"0' course, the isle has changed since I was here last," said he.
"Must have had a hurricane or something like that, to wash the beach
and rake down some o' the trees. But I think I can find it as soon as
I locate the trail leadin' that way. You know trails are great things.
Why, when I was sailing on the _Jessie D._, from the South Sea Islands,
we landed on a place where there was a trail running to a volcano. We
took to it, and the first thing we know we went down into that ere
volcano about a thousand feet. It made my hair stand on end, I can
tell ye! Four o' us went down, an' the others had to git ropes an'
haul us up ag'in, an' it took half a day to do it."

"Vos you hurted much?" asked Hans.

"Not a scratch, my hearty, only it broke my pipe, one my brother gave
me afore I sailed, an' one I wouldn't have taken a month's pay for,"
concluded Bahama Bill.

An hour later Songbird, who was on the deck of the steam yacht,
composing poetry in the darkness of the night, saw the old tar coming
toward him. Baha