none of us could eat."

They all laughed at this hit, for the doctor's daughter was not much of
a pastry cook and her lemon pie had been voted the booby prize at
luncheon.

"Ooh!" gasped Bobby. "Do you suppose it will kill him? Maybe it will
give him such a terrible case of indigestion that he will steal a boat,
raise the Jolly Roger again, and go to work making people walk the plank
and all that sort of thing--and it will be your fault, Nellie Agnew!"

"I'm only afraid he will eat it and die in terrible agony all alone
here," wailed Nellie, who could take a joke as well as give one. "And
then his ghost will haunt this end of the island----"

"And Otto will never come here again," said Eve Sitz, poking fun at her
brother, who had once been very much afraid of a supposed "haunt" in an
old house in Robinson's Woods.

"Never you mind," growled her brother. "There _iss_ ha'ants, undt you
will findt oudt so some day--yes!"

But Chet and Lance decided that there were altogether too many prowlers
at this end of the island for the party to remain longer. Had they been
alone, or with the other boys and no girls, they would surely have made
an attempt to find the bewhiskered man whom the Lockwood twins had twice
seen disappear into the far entrance of the caverns.

"We ought to report him to the park police," said Nellie Agnew. "He may
steal something more than food, next time."

"Leave that to us," said Chet, hastily. "Lance and I will report it in
proper time."

But to his chum he whispered: "We don't want any police fooling around
here. Suppose they found Short and Long?"

"Right--oh!" agreed Lance. "Hope they'll all forget it and not mention
the 'lone pirate' when they get home."

But as events proved, some member of the party mentioned the robbery of
the lunch--and in a quarter which brought a search of the eastern end of
Cavern Island by the police, a happening that Chet would have given a
good deal to avoid.

Now, however, Laura's brother was busy inventing something to interest
the party, and yet take them away from this end of the island. The twins
were discussing with Eve Sitz the advantages of paddling over rowing,
when Chet gave a shout which drew all attention to him instantly.

"Come on!" said the big lad. "Let's get into the boats. We'll have a
four-oared race. I'll choose a crew of boys and let Laura choose one of
girls. I bet we boys, using my boat, can row around that channel buoy
out yonder and