“And make prisoners of the buccaneers who marooned him,” suggested Mr. Perry.

“Yes, and make them walk the plank,” added Bud.

“We’re not exactly right in calling Hal’s cousin a Robinson Crusoe, are we?” asked Cub reflectively.  “You know Crusoe wasn’t marooned; he was shipwrecked on his island.”

“Yes, but Crusoe was just a hero in fiction, you know,” Mr. Perry replied.  “Alexander Selkirk, the real Crusoe, was marooned on an island in the south Pacific.”

“Too bad he didn’t have a wireless outfit,” said Hal.

“Well, boys, my portion of the breakfast is stowed away, and I must remind you that the moments are fleeting rapidly,” announced the director of the expedition presently.  “Cub, are you ready to start?”

“All ready,” the latter replied, rising from his chair and turning the “finish” of a cup of coffee down his throat.

“I would suggest that you boys try to raise some amateur over in Rockport and probably you can stir up some local interest there in this affair,” Mr. Perry suggested.  “I’m always in favor of all the publicity that can be had in cases of rascality, and this looks to me like something more than a mere hazing.”

“Why, dad, I haven’t heard you say anything like that before,” said Cub, with a curiously inquiring look at his father.  “What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know,” was the reply.  “Maybe it’s our remarks about Crusoe, buccaneers, marooning, and walking the plank that worked on my mind and set me to thinking about outlaws.  I’ve just got a feeling that this affair isn’t going to be explained along any play lines.”

“But Hal’s cousin didn’t have any suspicion that it was anything more than a hazing affair, according to his diary,” Cub reminded.

“I’m not so sure about that, either.  You know he explained his distress messages by saying that he had been marooned by some river thieves or bandits.”

“But he said in his diary he didn’t want to tell the truth,” said Hal.

“True, but he may have had a suspicion, nevertheless, that he felt was not tangible enough to incorporate in his diary.  However, that will all be explained in due time, let us hope.  Now, let’s hurry.  Good-bye, Hal, Bud.  We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

A few minutes later that Catwhisker was backing out of the narrow harbor with Cub and his father aboard and Bud and Hal on shore watching their departure.  Presently the yacht was out of sight from their hemmed-in position, the view being obstructed by trees and tall bushes on an intervening isle, which constituted a link of the insular chain that surrounded Friday Island.

“Now, let’s wash the dishes,” said Bud, turning back toward the camp.

“I thought Friday was going to do that work,” Hal reminded with a broad grin on his face.

“Wasn’t it ordered that both of us should be Fridays?” Bud demanded smartly.