Hal's Discovery
The boys were delighted with the suggestion of Mr. Perry that they
establish a camp on the island and needed no urging to begin work on the
project. With true outing instinct they had come prepared for just such
an emergency as this. They had brought with them a tent large enough for
four and a complete set of camp tools, including spade, shovel, axe,
pickaxe, hatchet, saw, hammer, and nails.
Returning to the Catwhisker, they hauled all these supplies out on deck
preparatory to taking them ashore.
"Let's make a better ascent up this steep bank before we carry these
things up," Mr. Perry proposed. "It's quite a climb, as it is, without a
load in our arms to hamper us."
"Only one person can work at a time to any advantage," Bud suggested.
"That's true," replied the director of the expedition. "But we can work
in rapid shifts and finish this job quickly. I'll take the first trick
and make things fly for about fifteen minutes, and then one of you can
take my place."
With these words, he stripped off his coat, seized the pickaxe and shovel
and stepped over the side of the boat onto the landing ledge. Then he
began a vigorous attack on the steep incline between the ledge and the
land level above.
The task consumed a little more than an hour of speed labor, and by that
time it was after one o'clock and each of the hillside stairway builders
had worked up a very healthy appetite. So they prepared and ate luncheon
on board the yacht, and then began the work of moving tent and other
supplies to the site selected for their camp. By the time this was done
and the tent pitched, it was 3 o'clock.
"Now, what next?" asked Cub as he sat down on a camp chair after the last
guy rope had been drawn taut and fastened securely to its peg. "It seems
to me that it's about time for another pow-wow of the Catwhiskerites."
"I agree with you, Bob," said his father, also unfolding a camp
chair and sitting down, followed by similar action on the part of
the other two boys.
"Well, what's the question?" asked Bud.
"I'll offer a question if somebody'll take the chair and preside," Hal
volunteered.
"All right," Bud agreed. "You act as chairman, Mr. Perry."
"I am elected by Bud, there being no opposition," announced the owner of
the Catwhisker. "Now, what is the question, Hal?"
"I'll put it this way," the latter replied: "Resolved, that mathematics
is more useful to a detective than a flashlight or a skeleton key."
"That isn't half-bad at all," declared Cub in the midst of general
laughter and applause. "The main trouble is that we can't find anybody on
this island to take the other side of the question."
"Very well," ruled the chair; "this question being decided in favor of
the affirmative, we will now proceed to the next."
"Which is as follows," Bud announced; "to-wit, why have we established
our camp on this island, how long are we going to remain here, and what
shall we do while here?"
"Now, we're getting down to business," said Cub. "But that's a composite
question. First, why are we here?"
"We're here because we're here," Hal replied solemnly.
"The chair is willing to accept that as a good and valid reason provided
other collateral questions are answered satisfactorily," Mr. Perry
announced.
"Next question, how long are we going to stay here?" Cub continued.
"I should say we will stay here until we find a reason for moving on to
the next place," said Bud.
"Another excellent answer and fully supporting answer number one," Mr.
Perry announced. "Now, for an answer to question number three--What shall
we do while here?"
"I'll answer that," said Cub; "well fish, cook, eat, sleep, explore and
keep our eyes peeled."
"Peeled for what?" asked Hal.
"More mathematical evidence."
"Good!" exclaimed Bud. "We mustn't lose sight of the purpose of this
expedition. If our radio Crusoe is really Hal's cousin, we're bound by
the ties of friendship to stick to our task till it's finished."
"Very well," said the chair. "Having settled the question of general
policy, let's get down to some more detail. What shall we do next?"
"Complete our exploration of the islands," said Cub. "There's no telling
what we may find."
"Now, you're beginning to look at things the way your father does," put
in Hal shrewdly.
"How's that?" Cub inquired.
"Why you're willing to look for a trail. I'm not saying you were any
worse than Bud and I were before we got started on this hunt. We just
stumbled on a trail to begin with, but when we lost it we didn't know
what to do next until your father told us it was up to us to scout around
and find it again."
"Yes, that's right," Cub admitted. "We scouted around in the air and
found the trail that brought us here."
"Moral: Whenever at a loss, do some broadcasting," suggested Mr. Perry.
"Right," declared Bud; "Now the thing for us to do is some physical
broadcasting on this island."
"In other words, we'll all go in different directions and examine every
square foot of this island," Cub inferred.
"Exactly," assented Mr. Perry. "It ought not to take very long. There are
only about five acres here, although the place is pretty well covered
with bushes and trees."
Without further ado they separated toward different points of the
compass. It was indeed a random exploration, well characterized as
something of a "broadcast," but the task was well executed by all. They
had no definite expectation in view, and hence they had to content
themselves with examining every physical feature as a naturalist or a
topographer, perchance, would look for the feature demands of his
specialty, and in about half an hour reconvened in front of their tent.
Hal was the only person present with a look of excitement or eagerness on
his face, and consequently the general interest of the others was
directed toward him.
"You've found something, I know, Hal," Bud declared. "You came running
through the bushes as if you were chased by a catamount or else you had
something on your mind that threatened to burst your cranium."
"I didn't meet a catamount," replied the boy to whom these remarks were
addressed; "but I did find something that excited me very much. I've
learned two important things."
"What are they?" Cub demanded.
"I've learned the name of this island and made sure of the name of the
person we came here to find."
"You don't say!" Cub exclaimed. "I don't see how the name of this island
can mean anything to us, but we should be very glad to know who the
fellow is that we came here to find."
"Well, the name of this island is important, or at least interesting,"
Hal returned; "and I am going to give you that first. It is Friday Island
and was given that name by the Robinson Crusoe who was marooned here
because he landed here last Friday. Now, I'll tell you the other
important item. The fellow who was marooned with a wireless outfit was no
other person than my cousin as I suspected. And I have learned why he was
marooned here."
"Why?" demanded Hal's three companions in chorus.
"Because he was a college freshman and some of the upper classmen had it
in for him and they simply strong-armed him, captured him, and brought
him here to haze him."
Every one of Hal's three companions gasped with astonishment. The
possibilities of such an explanation of this strange "radio-island
affair" had never occurred to one of them.