“Maybe he got caught at his funny work,” suggested Shelley, hitting the nail directly on the head, as the reader already knows.

Casting the light of the acetylene gas lamp ahead of them, the party from the Josephine moved on, directly past the spot where the Rovers were in hiding.  The boys hardly dared to breathe for fear of discovery.  They stood stock still until the others were all but out of sight.

“This is interesting,” murmured Tom.  “They must have landed on the other side of the island.”

“Yes, and Merrick hired that Walt Wingate to play us foul!” cried Sam.  “What shall we do next, Dick?” he continued anxiously.  “They act as if they expect to get that treasure to night!”

“I don’t know what to do exactly,” answered Dick.  “But one thing is certain—­we must follow them up and prevent their getting hold of that treasure if we possibly can!”

CHAPTER XXI

SCARING OFF THE ENEMY

It was easy enough for Dick to say they must follow up their enemies and prevent Sid Merrick and his party from gaining possession of the treasure, but how all this was to be accomplished was another matter.

In the first place, the other party numbered four as against their three.  More than this, those from the Josephine were heavily armed, while the Rovers had brought with them nothing but a single pistol.  “It’s well enough to talk,” whispered Sam, after Sid Merrick and his crowd had passed on, “but if we tackle them in the open the chances are we’ll get the worst of it.”

“We may get a chance at them in some other way,” answered Dick.  “We have this advantage, we know where they are and they don’t know we are on the isle.”

With cautious steps they stole after the Merrick party, keeping them in sight by the waving rays of the lamp and lantern ahead, as they danced over the rocks and among the trees and bushes.  They kept about a hundred feet to the rear.

“I’ve got a plan,” said Tom, as the party ahead came to a halt to make sure of the trail.  “Can’t we cut in somewhere and get ahead of them and then scare them back?”

“Let’s try it!” exclaimed Sam.  “I am sure if we play ghosts, or something like that, we’ll scare Tad Sobber out of his wits.”

“It’s a risky thing to do,” mused the eldest Rover.  “We might get caught at it.”

Nevertheless, he was rather in favor of the plan, and when the Merrick party stopped again, for Cuffer to take a stone out of his shoe, they “cut into” the woods and pushed forward with all speed.  It was hard work, but they were in deadly earnest, and did not let the vines and brushwood deter them.

“Now, the question is, How are we to scare them?” said Dick, after they had regained the trail, well in advance of Sid Merrick and his followers.

“Let us play ghosts?” said Sam.

“We might black up and play niggers on the warpath, with big clubs,” suggested Tom.