The Wonder Island Boys

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The Wonder Island Boys: The Mysteries of the?by Roger Thompson Finlay

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Caverns, by Roger Thompson Finlay
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Title: The Wonder Island Boys: The Mysteries of the Caverns
Author: Roger Thompson Finlay

Release Date: February 17, 2007 [eBook #20614]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The Wonder Island Boys
THE MYSTERIES OF THE CAVERNS
by
ROGER T. FINLAY
Illustrated

The New York Book Company New York Copyright 1914

[Illustration: "The professor was reading the scrap, and silently handed it to George"]

CONTENTS
I. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE TEAM
The runaway team. Circumstances leading up to the present condition. The singular occurrences. Examining the tree. The search for the yaks. Red Angel as a scout. On the tracks. Losing the trail. Red Angel's discovery. The wrecked wagon. The lost weapons and ammunition. Breaking in new steers. The planting program. Different plants and soils. Prospecting for ores and vegetation. Discussing hunting trip. How people of different countries select soils. Wild fruit and vegetables. Lessons from the actions of their animals. Propagation of fruit and vegetables. Chemical changes produced by different soils. The wild potato.
II. WORKING ON THE NEW BOAT
Determine to bring in the newly discovered lifeboat. Trip to South River. Finding the broken yoke of their team. Recovering the lifeboat. Uses for the bolo. Decision to row the boat around the point. Making more guns. Preparing new tools. Alloys and their uses. Hardness of metal. Bronze. Ancient guns. Manganese. Making stocks for the guns. Commencing the hull of the new boat. Size of the vessel. About shape or form of hulls. Momentum. Resistance. Red Angel's attempt to whistle. Amusing performance. Teaching Red Angel accomplishments. Vibration, the universal force.
III. THE HIDEEN MESSAGE
The new yoke for the yaks. Some of the mysteries. Discussion concerning future discoveries. Rainbows. Musical pitch and colors. Reflection and refraction. Riding the yaks. Completing some of the guns. The trip after the wrecked wagon. Finding their runaway team. Accounting for their disappearance. Prospecting. Sugar cane discovered. Sorghum. The Tamarisk. Rigging up the lifeboat with sails. Discovery of a hidden message in the lifeboat. Examining the place where it was found. Determining the time when the message was written. Rushing preparation of guns and ammunition. Galena. Lead. Getting rid of the sulphur. Making bullets.
IV. THE TERRIBLE MONSOONS
Completing the guns. Description of the new ones. Polishing grit. Emery. Corundum. Laying the keel of the big boat. Terrible winds. The monsoons. Trade winds. Length of summers north and south of the Equator. Disappearance of the flag from Observation Hill. George and Angel's hunt for the flag. Disappointment. Angel finding the flag. Angel's laugh. Facial expression in animals. Brass. The form of bullets. Why pointed at one end and hollow in the other. Rifling guns. Spiral movement. Molds for castings. The Professor's desire to fully explore the cave. Weaving the sails for the new boat. Angel's work on the loom.
V. THE VOYAGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANGEL, AND THE DISCOVERY
Completing the hull of the new boat. Making manilla rope. Decide to take Angel along. Enticing him aboard. His consternation. Rounding the cliffs. Discovering their first boat among debris. Taking it along as a trailer. Sailing up Cataract River. Evidence that their boat had been used by some one. Proof of its use by the natives. One of the signs of civilization. Leverage. Fulcrum. Mechanical powers. Delay of voyage owing to weather. Tourmaline. Harry's invention. The bamboo tubes. Testing how fast the guns could be loaded and fired. Cartridges. The marine works. The boats. Three cheers for the new ship.
VI. THE GRUESOME FINDS IN THE CAVE
The cave. Taking the boat to explore the interior. The air pocket. A board for charting the cave. The boat on the wagon. Entering the cave. The lights. Returning for the boat. The peculiar noise at the cave entrance. Methods for searching the cave. The domed chamber. Making a circuit within it. The outlet. The second chamber. The chalk icicles. Limestone. Volcanic action. Carbonic acid, and what it produced. The caves of the world. What is learned in searching caves. Their archaeological knowledge. A peculiar formation in the large chamber. A platform within a recess. Skulls and skeletons. Ancient weapons. Evidences of a terrible conflict. Musket balls. Dirks and unknown forms of weapons. Singular copper receptacles. Curiously wrought knives. Articles of furniture. Decayed