oat."

"I know, but we can make a raft. There's no end of wood here, and we
have plenty of rope left after tying that man up, with which to bind
the planks together. There are some nails in that motor boat wreck,
too, and some tools. We could make a raft good enough to take us far
enough out so we would be picked up. We might even make the main land.
There are two paddles in the _Swallow_."

"What are we going to do with him--leave him here?" and he nodded
toward the prisoner.

"We'll have to take him along," said Andy. "We're not going to lose
him after we had so much trouble in finding him."

"Well, perhaps it's the best thing to do," agreed Frank, after thinking
it over. "But we can't get it done in time to leave to-day. It's late
afternoon now."

"No, but we can start it, finish it the first thing in the morning, and
leave as early as possible. We ought to be home by to-morrow easily."

"I wish we could be. If we could only run the _Swallow_."

"It wouldn't be safe, in the condition she's in. The raft is the only
thing."

They ceased their useless searching of the motor boat, and began
gathering large pieces of driftwood. Their prisoner in his seaweed
shelter watched them curiously.

"What are you up to now?" he asked in his surly voice.

"You'll see soon enough," answered Frank. He had no idea of telling
their plans.

It was not so easy to build a raft that would hold three as Andy had
supposed. But they did manage to get the framework of it together.
Then they had to think of a shelter for themselves, and built one near
that of the prisoner. They also gathered wood for a campfire and made
preparations for supper.

"Am I going to starve?" demanded the man, as they made no effort to
loosen his bonds so that he might eat. "I'm thirsty, too."

"We'll feed you and give you a drink," spoke Frank. "We aren't going
to take any more chances."

And this they did, putting pieces of food in the man's mouth, and
holding up a tin cup for him to drink from.

They divided the night into watches, each taking turns. While one
slept the other would sit by the fire to see that the desperate man did
not loosen his bonds.

It was Andy's trick, and he was very tired. In spite of himself his
head would nod at times. He even walked up and down to get rid of the
sleepy feeling but it came back. As he sat by the fire his head swayed
to and fro.

"I'll just close my eyes for a half minute," he told