ndencies, but don't you worry, Mr.
Swanson. He's all right."

The mate shrugged his shoulders heavily and said no more. That evening
the boys proffered a request that they be set ashore on the island in
the morning. Both were anxious to set foot on the sands, and to prowl
about the place at their leisure, and as the island was clearly
uninhabited, Captain Hollinger assented willingly. Mart decided to take
the motion-picture machine along in order to try it out, and Bob later
confided to him his intention to take along a rifle in case they saw
anything to shoot at.

"Shucks, there's nothin' around here to shoot," returned Mart
scornfully. "And 'specially on the island. Besides, your dad wouldn't
stand for it."

"That's all right," grinned Bob. "I'll get one of those thirty-thirties
out of the rack and slip her into the boat. Maybe we won't use it, and
maybe we will. We might meet that Pirate Shark, you know!"

"Oh, shucks!" ejaculated Mart.

They breakfasted early the next morning, and as the captain wanted a
message relayed to San Francisco, the boys sought the wireless house
while Dailey and Borden and Yorke were getting a boat over the side.
After some persistent efforts, Mart finally raised an answer, and after
looking it up in his blue-bound book, found that it came from a Dutch
steamer of the Nederland line, and promptly got rid of his messages,
which would be relayed by more powerful instruments to Manila and
Honolulu. During this labor, Bob slipped away, and after Mart had
reported to Captain Hollinger and secured his motion-picture camera, he
found his chum waiting in the boat, where Dailey and Yorke, Borden and
Birch were at the oars. Waving farewell to the ship, they moved away;
Bob nudged Mart and pointed to a tarpaulin under the stern.

"There she is," he said mysteriously.

"What?"

"That rifle," reported Bob, chuckling. "We're off, old scout! I wish
we'd meet that Pirate Shark o' Jerry's. I guess a thirty-thirty bullet
would make him sick!"

"Huh!" grunted Mart, his eyes sweeping across the sunlit waters. "No
chance!"

CHAPTER IX

THE BLACK FIN

The boys had fully intended removing their shoes and going ashore in
their bare feet, but as they started to do so, the men grinned and
stopped them. Yorke, with his twisted mouth leering and his gray head
streaming with perspiration, lay on his oar and gave them some advice.

"Young gem'men, don't go for to do them foolish things, not in