Page:The Secret of the Caves.djvu/140

themselves up in their blankets and went to sleep. Frank hardly dared hope that his surmise was correct and that in Captain Royal they had discovered the missing college professor, but he was convinced that the old man was not a sailor, in spite of his claims, and the circumstances of the exclamation "by jing" and the untied shoelaces, slender as the clues were, led him to believe that they were at least on a trail worth following.

When the boys awakened next morning they found the sea hidden by a dense fog. It was damp and cold and the weather put all idea of further exploration of the coast out of their heads.

"I'm not going to wander among the rocks in this fog," declared Chet emphatically. "If it got worse we'd have a fine time finding our way back here."

"Looks to me like a good morning for fishing," said Biff.

Chet greeted this suggestion with enthusiasm.

"That's the brightest idea you've had in years. We brought lots of tackle with us, thank goodness, and there's a high rock over there that hangs over deep water. Perhaps we could catch a whale or so for lunch."

Frank and Joe saw their opportunity. They encouraged their two chums to go fishing. As