time as an entrance was attached to the new one that did
not require any extraordinary amount of gymnastics.

[Illustration]

A portion of the day had been occupied in these operations, when
Willis and Jack returned to the camp.

"We have seen no one," said the Pilot.

"But," said Jack, "we are on the track of Fritz's knife."

"Be good enough to explain yourself."

"Well, father, at the entrance to the cocoa-nut tree wood we stumbled
upon two sugar canes completely divested of their juice."

"Which proves--" said Ernest; but his remark was cut short by Jack,
who continued--

"Not a bit of it; a philosopher would have passed these two worthless
sugar canes just as a place-hunter passes an overthrown minister, that
is, as unworthy of notice."

"And what did you do?"

"Well, I, the headless, the thoughtless, the stupid--for these are the
epithets I am usually favored with--I took them up, scrutinized them
carefully, and discovered--"

"That they were sugar canes."

"In the first instance, yes."

"Very clever, that!"

"And then that they had not been torn up--_they had been cut_."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, most wise and learned brother, that is all; and I leave you to
draw the inferences."

"I may add," observed the sailor, "that, as we were steering for the
plantation, myself on the starboard and Jack on the larboard--"

"On the what?"

"Master Jack on the left and myself on the right."

"That I pitched right over these canes without ever noticing them."

"Which is not much to be wondered at; Willis has been so long at sea
that he has no confidence in the solidity of the land; during our
cruise, he kept a look-out after the wind, expecting, I suppose, that
it would perform some of the wonderful things you spoke of this
morning."

"After all," observed Becker, "this is another link in the chain of
evidence, and I congratulate Jack on his sagacity in tracing it."

"But the affair is as much a mystery as ever."

"True; and the solution may probably be awaiting us at Rockhouse."

The united squadrons then started on their homeward voyage, Jack
thrusting his nose into every bush, and carefully scanning all the
stray objects that seemed to be out of their normal position.

"If these plants and bushes had tongues," said Jack, "they could
probably give us the information we require."

"Do you think," inquired Ernest, "that plants and bushes are utterly
without sensation?"

"Faith, I can't say," r