one beside him is Curtis
Darwood. The tall, slim chap nearest to us is Dill Bruce. They call him
the Pickle for short."

"He looks sour enough to be one," laughed Walter.

"The other chap, the little one, is Curley Tinker. And there you have
the whole outfit. I'll introduce you to them if you like," volunteered
Chunky.

"No, thank you. I already have tried to talk with the men, but they
don't seem inclined to open their mouths," replied Butler.

"It strikes me that you have made more progress that anyone else on this
boat, so far as the four gold diggers are concerned," added Rector,
addressing Chunky.

"Yes, I am convinced that Chunky is rather forward," agreed Tad.

"Oh, no one can resist me," averred the fat boy. "Anything else you want
to know, Tad?"

"Yes, a great deal. But here is the Captain. He will tell me."

Captain Petersen had taken a fancy to the boys almost from the first. He
had learned who they were early on that voyage, and in the meantime they
had become very well acquainted with the commander of the "Corsair." He
had taken pains to explain to the lads many things about the country
past which they were sailing--things that otherwise they would not have
known, and the voyage was proving very interesting to them, as well as
to Professor Zepplin himself.

"Come below now and I'll tell you the story," invited Captain Petersen,
starting to descend the after companionway. "All of you come along. That
will save your asking questions later on," he smiled.

"You see, he invited you on my account," chuckled Stacy Brown, tapping
his breast with the tips of his fingers.

The lads filed down the companionway behind the Captain, and when they
had finally settled themselves in the skipper's cabin and he had lighted
his pipe, he began to speak.

"I always come below and put my feet on the table after we pass the
Shoal of Seals," he explained. "That is the time I take my 'watch
below,' as we call it, when we come down for a rest or a sleep. But you
are eager to hear the story. Very good. Here goes. A good many years ago
an expedition came up to this part of the world on an exploring mission.
In that party was a Dr. Darwood from some place in the East. I don't
believe I ever heard the name of the place, and if I knew the state I
have forgotten it. Well, to make a long story short, the party was
ambushed by the Kak-wan-tan Indians. Every man of the party was captured
and all were put to death, with the ex