“Leave my brother alone!” came from Tom.

“A fine coward you are, to kick him when he is a prisoner!  You wouldn’t dare to try it if he was free.”

“I wouldn’t, eh?  I want you to understand I’m not afraid of anybody,” blustered Tad.  “I am—­”

“Tad, be quiet,” cried his uncle.  “I am fully capable of managing this affair.  Don’t kick him again.”

“Yes, but look here, Uncle Sid, they—­”

“I will take care of things,” cried Sid Merrick, and so sharply that his nephew at once subsided.  But on the sly he shook his fist at both Tom and Sam.

“Maybe we had better make sure that nobody else is around,” suggested Shelley, who had been Merrick’s best aide in the capture.

“All right, look around if you want to,” was Merrick’s reply.  “I am pretty certain these boys are alone here—­although more persons from the steam yacht may be ashore.”

They looked around, but, of course, found nobody else.  Then Dick, Tom and Sam were tied in a row to three trees which were handy.  Merrick took possession of their single weapon.

“I don’t want you to hurt yourselves with it,” he said, grimly.

“Merrick, this is a high handed proceeding,” said Dick, when the gag was removed from his mouth.

“No more so than was your statement of owning the isle,” was the answer.

“What are you going to do with us?”

“Nothing.”

“I must say I don’t understand you.”

“What should I do with you?  I don’t enjoy your company.  I am here solely to get that treasure, as you must know.  I am going after that and leave you where you are.”

“Bound to these trees?”

“Certainly.”

“Supposing we can’t get loose?” remonstrated Tom.  “We may starve to death!”

“That will be your lookout.  But I reckon you’ll get loose sooner or later, although we’ve bound you pretty tight.”

“Can I have a drink before you go?” asked Sam, who was dry.

“Don’t give ’em a drop, Uncle Sid!” cried Tad.  “They don’t deserve it.”

“Oh, they can have a drink,” said Sid Merrick.  “I’d give a drink even to a dog,” he added, and passed around some water the boys had in a bottle.

Less than fifteen minutes later the three Rover boys found themselves alone in the forest.  The Merrick party had lit their acetylene gas lamp and the lantern and struck out once more along the trail which they supposed would take them to the treasure cave.  The boys heard them for a short distance, and then all became dark and silent around them.

“Well, now we are in a pickle and no mistake,” remarked Sam, with a long sigh.

“That ghost business proved a boomerang,” was Tom’s comment.  “It’s a pity we didn’t dig out for the shore, signal to the steam yacht, and tell father and the others about what was going on.”

“There is no use crying over spilt milk,” said Dick.  “The first thing to do is to get free.”