e why Leyden showed such cocksureness," muttered
Barry, taking his companion's arm and returning to the huts. He shouted
to the man in the river to come out and gave orders for the others to be
released; then, with a quiet hint to his own crew to keep an unobtrusive
watch over the liberated men, he and Little walked upstream to a piece
of high ground, and there they sat down to discuss the situation where
they had under their eyes every yard of country within a five-mile
radius.

Upstream the river speedily dwindled to a creek, and its headwaters were
apparently fed out of a maze of low jungle land that looked feverish and
uninviting. Beyond the stream, the land rolled away for a mile in
smoothly alternating downs and hills; on the near side, two miles of
open country lay spread before them, fringed at that distance by a dark
and luxuriant forest of stout trees. In the direction from which they
had come, the river ran into the narrow pass, and disappeared from view;
but the nature of the country beyond was well known to them by having
passed through most of it by bright moonlight.

"I don't mind being fooled like this, but what gets me is Vandersee's
attitude again," remarked Barry, with his eyes roving keenly over the
stretch of land that terminated in the forest.

"That's what I can't understand," agreed Little. "He knows so much that
he must know about this fake. If he does, what could be his object in
letting us come up here?"

"It beats me, Little," the skipper grunted. His gaze had fixed upon a
point in the forest fringe, and for a moment he said no more; then he
said with sudden interest:

"You've got good eyes; what d' ye make of that?" and pointed.

Out from the forest trees a party of people had emerged, and they seemed
to be lined up in some sort of definite order. Little stared awhile,
then replied:

"In uniform, ain't they? Sailors or soldiers, hey?"

"Look like naval seamen to me--natives too--wonder if the Dutch Navy has
native crews out here."

"There's at least one white man, Barry. Two--no, three--coming over
here, too. Here, let's get back to the boat. Perhaps we'll find out
something about this mix-up."

"Bright boy," rejoined the skipper, rising. "Get ready to make the talk.
You speak Dutch, don't you?"

"Enough to sell typewriters," grinned the ex-salesman. "I can say gold,
and point, anyhow."

Back to the boat they hurried, and Barry first made his men stow their
arms out of sight.