There are no wild beasts or anything like that here to carry him off, so if we keep up the search we must come upon him sooner or later." "That's what makes the whole affair the more mystifying," rejoined Rob.
"What can have become of him ?" "Well, if he's on the island, we'll find him," he continued; "and if he isn't--" "We'll find him anyway," declared Merritt in a determined voice.
"That's the stuff!" warmly exclaimed the other.

"And now I'm going to take a cruise round to the other side of the island, and see if I can find out anything there." A few seconds later he was in the dinghy and sculling out over the water to the speedy Flying Fish.

In a short time he was off.
As the "chug chug" of the motor grew fainter, Merritt turned to young Thompson.
"Don't breathe a word of this to the others till we know for certain that Digby has vanished," he said.
The other boy nodded.
"I understand," he said, and the look with which he accompanied the words rendered Merritt perfectly confident that he would be obeyed.
"And now let's rouse out Andy Bowles and get him busy with that tin horn of his," cheerfully went on Merritt, walking toward Andy's tent.
That youth was much surprised to find that it was morning, but tumbled out of his cot in double-quick time, and soon the cheerful notes of reveille were ringing out over the camp, on which the sun's rays were now streaming down in that luminary's cheerful morning way.
The soldier who immortalized himself by sing the words: "We can't get 'em up, We can't get 'em up, We can't get 'em up in the morning--, We can't get 'em up, We can't get 'em up, We can't get'em up at a-a-l-l-l!" to the stirring notes of the army's morning call had never been in a camp of Boy Scouts.

If he had he wouldn't have written them, for before the last notes had died away the camp was alive and astir, with hurrying lads filling tin washbasins and cleaning up.
The cook and "cookee" for the day--Jim Jeffords and Martin Green--soon had their cooking fire going, and presently the appetizing aroma of coffee and fried ham and eggs filled the camp.
"Give the breakfast call, Andy," ordered Merritt, as the proud if flush-faced cooks announced their labors complete, and with a clatter and bang of tin dishes and cups the Boy Scouts sat down to breakfast.
"Where's Rob and Digby ?" demanded Andy Bowles, as he dug his spoon into an island of oatmeal completely surrounded by an ocean of condensed milk thinned down with warm water.
The moment that Merritt had dreaded had arrived.
"Why, he and Rob went off early to see the captain," he said.

"I guess they'll be back soon." "Pretty early for paying social calls," commented Andy, too busy with his breakfast, however, to give the matter more attention, for which Merritt was duly thankful.
After breakfast Merritt ordered a general airing of bedding, and the side walls of the tents were raised to let the fresh air blow through them.