ad been abstracted from his coat pocket by the thieves.
Among them was one from Mrs. Stanhope mentioning the treasure hunt and
how she would be on hand at Philadelphia to board the steam yacht with
Dora and the Lanings.

"If Cuffer and Shelley turn that letter over to Merrick it will give
him some idea of our proposed trip," said Mr. Rover, "and more than
likely he will strain every nerve to get ahead of us."

"His vessel may not be able to sail as fast as our steam yacht," said
Tom.

"That is true, Tom, but he may get down among the West Indies before we
can locate Treasure Isle and then he'll have as good a chance as
ourselves. Moreover, if he should land on the isle at the time we
did----"

"There'd be a hot time, that's sure," said the fun-loving boy, with a
grin.

"Do you think they'd fight?" asked Sam.

"Yes, if they saw a chance of getting the best of us," answered his
father.

"I wish I had caught Tad Sobber," came from Tom, regretfully.

"That might have done some good, but I doubt it," said Anderson Rover.
"From what I have learned of this Sid Merrick he is a man bound to do
as he sees fit, regardless of those around him. When the freight
thieves were captured he managed to get away, and he'll try to get away
even if we catch Tad, Cuffer and Shelley."

"I guess he is a worse man than Arnold Baxter was," was Dick's comment.
He referred to an old enemy of the Rovers, who had now reformed.

"Much worse than either Mr. Baxter or his son Dan ever were," answered
Mr. Rover. "If caught in a corner I think this Merrick would be capable
of any wicked thing."

"What do you advise?" asked Tom.

"We will go to Philadelphia as soon as possible and get the steam yacht
ready for the trip. The best way to foil Merrick and his crowd is to
find the isle, get possession of the treasure, and get away before they
know what we are doing," answered Anderson Rover.

On the following day the party was rejoined by Songbird, and then all
journeyed to Philadelphia, taking Aleck Pop with them. They found the
_Rainbow_ tied up to a dock along the Delaware River, and went
aboard. The master of the craft, Captain Barforth, was on hand to greet
them, and he speedily made them feel at home. The captain was a big,
good-natured man of about forty, and the boys knew they would like him
the moment they saw him.

"Well, this is certainly a swell boat," said Sam, after an inspection.
"And as clean as a whistle."

"Puts me in min