led the fearsome object stretched on the planks at Charley's feet. It was a man

ed!" Charley

unk," suggested his ch

ing hole in the man's forehead and th

rm and let it drop. "Yes, he is cold, dead, and stiff," he w

ath. In the course of the adventurous lives they had lived, they had often seen the coming of the gristly monster, but the suddenness of this sight ha

eamland, Charley nudged him with his el

uired Walte

with the fishermen and

emanded his chum,

ils yet. Get to sleep if you can. We'll need all the re

had hardly closed their eyes when they were aw

got aboard the skiff

ont of the shacks and they clamb

roup and with him was a stocky, determined-looking man,

he little party. "Come here. Perhaps you can tell us something about

ield told the little t

t is going to be hard to locate the murderer. The man who was killed was a pretty bad egg, although that does not e

troubles but he remembered the fish boss's declaration th

ermen who were known to have quarreled with the dead man the day be

re you get the booze but I am going to find out and the guilty ones are going to suffer. I'll give you a chance to come square with it. I'll give a reward of five hundred dollars to the man who puts me next to this booze bu

on of the large reward was not without some effect. Some face

of what the rest would do to them. I guess those that look so uneasy are the guilty ones, they have cause to be scared. Five hundred dollars is a big temptation for som

tate to do the same to Chris or one of us if they got a good chance. So we must get away from here at once. As soon as we eat breakfast, let's get all our things on the 'Dixie' and pull out. I've a sort of plan in my

ley approached the group. "Men," he said in a clear, manly voice, "please give me your attention fo

men, that you had a friend who for years had been faithful, loyal and true to you. Suppose that he had again and again risked his life for you. Would you turn him down at some one else's demand, even if his skin was black? Could you do it and retain an atom of your own self respect? No, you could not. Nor can we. That little darkey has been all of those things to us for many years and we can not and

turning around walked back to his friends. He had little hopes that h

s it was finished, the boys brought the "Dixie" a

oberts camp. As they approached the place, they were delighted with the looks of the little camp. They landed at a neat little wharf, on either side of which were neat, well-built net racks upon which were neatly hung well-me

estfield. "We can bank on their being pretty near all r

the Roberts at home taking a neede

you," said Bill Roberts, heartily. "Hope that you will

thought perhaps you could tell us if there would be any

fe on the dock alr

he sly. You have done just right to leave there, now, you won't be mixed up in any of their troubles. Sure you can make camp on any of these islands. They are owned by the state and no one has got any right to object. You could build a shack right here on our island but I've got a better idea than that. Y

r brother came running down with a rifle in his hands. "Better take this," he offered. "We have got an

onging for since their acquaintance with the fishermen. They hoped to never

ut ten acres and densely covered with palms. It was long and narrow. One of its snow-white beaches fronted on the Gulf of Mexico an

departure giving them one last

ne to do the cooking and keep nets mended up, and it's best not t

fell to work fixing up their new home w