n his forehead. Even
the ensign turned a shade whiter than usual.

If the lever could not be discovered, they were doomed to an awful death
in the depths of the sea!

CHAPTER XXIV.

ROB MAKES A DISCOVERY.

Rob, disconsolate and miserable, passed a bad night, and rose early. As
his captors were still asleep and had, apparently, made no effort to
guard him, he decided to make a tour of the island himself. For one
thing, he was by no means sure that Berghoff had been speaking the truth
when he said that the place was uninhabited; and again he thought that
some form of escape might present itself if only he investigated the
place thoroughly.

So the lad tiptoed out of the camp, first taking the precaution to fill
his pockets with food. He headed straight into the woods, planning to
come out again when he had traveled a safe distance from the camp. He
followed out this idea, pushing his way through the brush for a time,
and then emerging on a strip of white beach that seemed to extend around
the island.

He trudged along, keeping a bright lookout, but saw nothing that would
further his prospects of getting away. All at once, though, as he came
around the other side of the little spot of land, he saw another island
lying at no great distance off. And on the beach of this island was a
boat.

A more welcome sight could not have presented itself to the boy's eyes
just then. It meant that there was somebody on the island,--somebody who
would surely be glad to help out a lad in his predicament.

"But how on earth am I to get over there?" mused the lad. "The tide is
running like a mill race, and I don't know whether I'm a strong enough
swimmer to buck it."

Then another idea occurred to him. Just above him was a small point of
land. By going into the water from the end of this, he would be some
distance above the island he wished to gain, and the current, would,
therefore, carry him down.

"If I only could get a log or something," thought the boy; "it wouldn't
take me long to get over there."

He started to hunt for a log that would suit his requirements; but logs
didn't seem very plentiful in that vicinity. In his search, he reentered
the woods, and after looking about a bit succeeded in finding one that
would just suit his purpose.

Stooping down, he lifted it, and then jumped back with a startled
exclamation. A huge black snake had been coiled under the log, and now
it struck at him, hissing and darting