" gasped Mrs. Martin.

"What have you Curlytops been up to now?" asked Grandpa Martin.

"We dug a big hole to find the gold the tramps are looking for on this
island," explained Hal, who walked on slowly, following Mrs. Martin, who
had run after Ted and Janet. "Maybe the little boy fell into it."

"Where did you dig the big hole?" asked grandpa, and he, too, began to
be afraid that something had happened.

"Up near what Ted calls the cave. It's got a ladder in it, our gold mine
hole has, and maybe Trouble could climb out on that."

"If it's a hole deep enough for a ladder, I'm afraid he couldn't," said
Grandpa Martin. "You children must have dug a pretty big hole."

"We wanted to find the gold," explained Hal.

"What gold?"

"The gold the tramps are looking for here on Star Island. Ted told me
about them, and I suppose they were after gold. We want to find it
first."

"There isn't any gold here, and you mustn't dig holes so deep that
Trouble--or anyone else--would wander off and fall into them," said Mr.
Martin. "However, I presume it will be all right. But we must hurry
there and find out what has happened."

He and Hal hastened on, following Mrs. Martin and the Curlytops, who
were now out of sight around a turn in the path that led to the big
hole. Hal was rather frightened, for he knew it was his idea, more than
the plans of Jan and Ted, that had caused the "gold mine" to be dug.

On and on, along the path and up the hill hurried grandpa and Mrs.
Martin and the children. They called aloud for Trouble, but he did not
answer. At least they could not hear him if he did. He must have gone
quietly away from the table when no one noticed him. He had had his
supper before the Curlytops and Hal came from their digging.

"There's the pile of dirt," called back Ted, who was running on ahead.
He pointed to the mound of yellow sand that he, Hal and Jan had dug out
of the hole.

"And some one is there, digging!" cried Jan. "Oh, maybe it's Trouble!"

"I only hope he hasn't fallen in and hurt himself!" murmured Mrs.
Martin.

By this time Grandpa Martin and Hal had caught up to the others. They
could all see some one making the dirt fly on top of the yellow mound of
sand at one side of the big hole.

As Ted came nearer he saw a man on top of the dirt, using a shovel. The
man was digging quickly, and at first Teddy thought it was one of the
tramps. But a second look showed him he was wrong. And then came a glad
su