"Well," said Will, opening the letter which had not been sealed, with
exasperating deliberation, "we shall see--what we shall see."

He leaned forward, regarding the paper closely in the yellow
lamplight, while the others crowded eagerly about him.

"Well--what-do-you-know-about-that!" he said slowly, pushing the
paper from him disgustedly. "All in code--and a code that will need
an expert to figure it out. Gee, that's a mean trick, that is!"

Frank picked up the paper and pored over it for a moment, while the
rest watched him anxiously.

"Yes, that's a stiff one," he said at last. "I guess there's no use
in our wasting time over it."

"It proves one thing anyway," put in Allen, from his corner. "The
paper is important, and our friend to-night is undoubtedly what we
thought he was."

"Much good that does us," said Will, morosely folding the paper and
stuffing it carefully into his pocket. "Of course, it's better than
nothing, and we'll get it into official hands just as soon as we can;
but we certainly ought to have caught that rascal."

"Say!" exclaimed Roy suddenly, his eyes gleaming with the light of
adventure, "maybe it isn't too late yet. Unless Adolph, the spy, had
a boat or swam to the nearest island, which is more than a mile away,
he's still on this island somewhere. We've got our good old trusties
over in the big tent, and there's a bare chance we might be able to