en't you going to help me into the boat, Allen?" she asked.

His rage at Ditty vanished in an instant as he turned to her. She was
trying to smile, but there was no laughter in her dewy eyes. But Drew
saw there something deeper and sweeter and tenderer. There was immense
sympathy and--what was that other fugitive expression that he caught
before her eyelids lowered?

He bent toward her, but just then Grimshaw and the captain ranged
alongside, and they had to take their places in the boat.

The members of the crew who had been told off for the service, bent to
the oars, and, at a rapid pace, they approached the shore. The beach
shelved gradually, and they had no trouble in making a landing. The
sailors leaped out into the shallow water and drew the boat well up on
the strand, and the party disembarked.

Drew wished that they had found it necessary to wade. With what
delight he would have carried Ruth in those strong arms of his!

"We'll be back in an hour or two, my lads," said the captain. "You can
scatter about and do as you like until we return, as long as you keep
within hail of the boat."

With the captain and Tyke in the lead, and Drew following behind to
help Ruth over the hard places, they plunged into the unknown forest.
After all, they went slowly, for Tyke had to favor what he called his
"game leg."

For all the evidence that the wood afforded, it had been untrodden for
many years. Giant ceiba trees reared themselves two hundred feet into
the air. Lianas hung in festoons from the boughs like monstrous boa
constrictors. Parrots flew squawking from branch to branch, and
humming birds and butterflies of many hues and gorgeous beauty darted
like bright arrows among the flowers.

The underbrush was thick and in some places impenetrable, and the
treasure seekers would have found their progress very slow if it had
not been for certain irregular trails that seemed to have been hewn
through the woods at intervals. In some places these trails were many
yards wide, while at others they narrowed to a foot or two. Nothing
grew upon them, but they were covered by dead leaves and twigs of
varying depths.

"Wonder how these trails came here," said the captain. "There are no
footprints on them, and yet they must have been made by animals or men."

"Better keep our eyes peeled," warned Tyke.

The captain, who had scraped away some of the accumulated leaves and
rubbish, gave a sudden exclamation.

"Wh