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"Well, then we'll go back home after we find Jack," decided Freddie.
Breakfast over, the search for the missing boy was begun once more, Mrs. Bobbsey and the smaller twins going along.
In some places, however, the way was rough and steep, and once on top of a little hill, Freddie suddenly cried:
"Look out! I'm coming!"
And come he did, but in a queer way. For he slipped and fell, and rolled to the bottom, bringing up with a bump against a stump.
"Oh, my dear little fat fireman! Did you hurt yourself?" asked his father.
Freddie did not answer at first. He slowly got to his feet, looked up the hill down which he had rolled, and then at the stump, which was covered with moss.
"I -- I guess I'm all right," he said.
"He's so fat he didn't get hurt," said Cousin Jasper. "Fat boys and girls are just the kind to bring to a place like this. They can't get hurt easily."
Freddie laughed, and so did the others, and then they went on again. They looked in different places for the missing boy, and called his name many times.
But all the sounds they heard in answer were those of the waves dashing on the beach or the cries of the sea-birds.
"It is very strange," said Captain Crane. "If that boy was here about a week ago, you'd think we could find some trace of him -- some place where he had built a fire, or set up a signal so it would be seen by passing ships. I believe, Mr. Dent, that he must have been taken away, and when we get back to St. Augustine he...
"Well, perhaps you are right," said Cousin Jasper, "but we will make sure. We'll stay here a week, anyhow, and search every part of Orange Island."
They had brought their lunch with them, so they would not have to go back to the camp when noon came, and, finding a pleasant place on the beach, near a little spring of water, they sat down to rest.
Flossie and Freddie, as often happened, finished long before the others did, and soon they strolled off, hand in hand, down the sands.
"Where are you going, children?" called Mrs. Bobbsey to them.
"Oh, just for a walk," Freddie answered.
"An' maybe we'll see Jack," added Flossie.
"I only wish they would, but it is too much to hope for," said Cousin Jasper, and he looked worried.
Bert, Nan and the others stayed for some little time after lunch, sitting in the shade on the beach, and talking. They were just about to get up and once more start the search; when Flossie and Freddie came running back. One look at their faces told their mother that something had happened.
"What is it, children?" she asked.
"We -- we found a big, black cave!" answered Freddie, somewhat out of breath.
"An' -- an' they's a -- a giant in it!" added Flossie, who was also breathing hard.
"A cave!" cried Mr. Bobbsey.
"What do you mean by a giant in it?" asked Cousin Jasper.
"Well, when you see a big black hole in the side of a hill, isn't that a cave?" asked Freddie.
"It surely is," said his father.
"An' when you hear somebody making a big noise like 'Boo-oo-oo-oo! Boo!' maybe that's a giant, like it is in the story," said Flossie.
"Oh, I guess perhaps you heard the wind moaning in a cave," said Captain Crane.
"No, there wasn't any wind blowing," Freddie said. And, surely enough, there was not. The day was clear and calm.
"We heard the booing noise," Freddie said.
"Are you sure it wasn't a mooing noise, such as the cows make?" asked Nan.
"There aren't any cows on Orange Island; are there, Cousin Jasper?" asked Bert.
"I think not. Tell me, children, just what you heard, and where it was," he said to Flossie and Freddie.
Then the little twins told of walking along the hill that led up from the beach and of seeing a big hole -- a regular cave. They went in a little way and then they heard the strange, moaning sound.
Cousin Jasper seemed greatly excited.
"I believe there may be something there," he said. "We must go and look. If they heard a noise in the cave, it may be that it was caused by some animal, or it may be that it was -- -- "
"Jack!" exclaimed Bert. "Maybe it's Jack!"
"Maybe," said Cousin Jasper. "We'll go to look!"
Cousin Jasper and Mr. Bobbsey walked on ahead, with Flossie and Freddie to show where they had seen the big, black hole. It was not far away, but so hidden by bushes that it could have been seen only by accident, unless some one knew where it was.
Outside the entrance they all stopped.
"Listen!" said Flossie.
It was quiet for a moment, and then came a sound that surely was a groan, as if some one was in pain.
"Who's in there?" cried Cousin Jasper.
"I am," was the faint answer. "Oh, will you please come in and help me. I fell and hurt my leg and I can't walk, and -- -- "
"Are you Jack Nelson?" cried Cousin Jasper.
"Yes, that's my name. A friend and I were wrecked on this island, but I can't find him and -- -- "
"But he's found you!" cried Mr. Dent. "Oh, Jack! I've found you! I've found you! I've come back to get you! Now you'll be all right!"
Into the cave rushed Cousin Jasper, followed by the others. Mr. Bobbsey and Captain Crane had pocket electric flashlights, and by these they could see some one lying on a pile of moss in one corner of the cavern.
It was a boy, and one look at him showed that he was ill. His face was flushed, as if from fever, and a piece of sail-cloth was tied around one leg. Near him, on the ground where he was lying, were some oranges, and a few pieces of very dry crackers, called "pilot biscuits" by the sailors.