The Wonder Island Boys | Page 5

exploits which brought to light the hidden mysteries of the
island, and which caused them to name it "Wonder Island."
Four exploring trips had been made by land, and one by sea in a boat
which had been specially built for the purpose, and this vessel was
wrecked shortly after they had discovered the location of the savages.
In the previous expeditions they saw mysterious lights, and had
evidences of human beings by the camp fires used by them.
The first crude boat turned out was left at the foot of a high falls in a
river to the south of their home, and after the return the boys set out to
get the boat. It was missing, and recovered several months afterwards,
but to their surprise, when found, it had two oars and rope that were
placed there by some one.
On returning from one of the trips their flagpole and staff, which was
put up on a high point, called Observation Hill, was missing. Later on a
gruesome skeleton was found on the seashore not far from Observation
Hill, and the wrecked portions of a boat, and to this may be added the

discovery of a lifeboat, similar to their own, among debris on South
river, fully ten miles inland, which must have come from the interior.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. The First Boat.]
In this boat was found, accidentally, a note written by a captive in
distress, showing that some of the party had been taken by the
inhabitants of the island, and this occurrence determined them the more
to put themselves in condition to aid the captives.
The last important development grew out of the finding of a cave, or a
series of caverns, not far from their home, which contained numerous
skeletons and a vast amount of treasure, showing that it was a pirates'
cave, but up to this time it had not been fully investigated in view of the
more serious need of haste to relieve those who were in the hands of
the savages.
Shortly before leaving on the present expedition, and after returning
from the expedition by sea, which had wrecked the boat, they were
surprised to find a man at their home, who had entirely lost his memory.
This happened six weeks before the occurrence in the opening page,
and during that time he had not uttered a single word, and seemed to be
entirely unconscious of his surroundings.
He was evidently a cultured man, but how he came to the island, or in
what manner his faculties were lost, they could get no clue. He had
proven himself to be harmless, and in many ways he was of great
service to them, and was now with the party, this being the fifth day of
the journey, and the distance from their home was from sixty to seventy
miles.
It should not be forgotten to mention Red Angel. Over eight months
before a baby orang-outan had been captured. He had grown rapidly,
and George, the elder of the two boys, had taken a special delight in
teaching or training him, and the result was that the imitative quality of
the animal made him useful to the party in many ways. Angel was with
them also, and was the only amusing element in their days of stress and
tension.

The condition before them at this time was one of intense interest. For
the first time since their arrival, savages had been seen. From the first
view it was apparent that the party sighted were on the point of meeting
a hostile tribe, and while it was their intention to journey west to the
large stream called by them West River, it was concluded to remain at
the present camping place until they could more fully observe the
attitude of the natives.
During two days previous the route had been through a dense forest,
and they emerged from this only a few hours before, their object being
to make their way to the river, as in the vicinity of the stream there was
not much wood, and the land was covered with comparatively little
underbrush. They felt that with the strongly built wagon, which had
been purposely made with a large, thick body, it would be more
serviceable to them as a means of defense than the woods, because the
forest would serve as places of concealment for their enemies, while
adding nothing to their security.
The strange man, who, in the absence of his true name, was called John,
noting the different ones climbing to the wagon top, also made his way
there, and gazed in the direction pointed out by Harry. He glanced
toward the savages, and then looked wonderingly at the boys and the
Professor. He did not appear at all disturbed, nor