KIDNAPPED BY SMUGGLERS


When Hugh regained his senses, about half an hour later, he found
himself lying on the bottom of a canoe, bound and gagged, staring up
at the sky. The sun beat down upon him, full in his face, causing
him to close his eyes until he could just see through the
lashes,---a trick he had learned in many games played in the
woodlands. In the present instance it served him well, for the
three men who were paddling the canoe swiftly toward the mainland
believed that he had not yet recovered fully from the punishing they
had given him; so, after their first glance, they paid little
attention to the captive.

Though the threatened storm which Captain Vinton and Dave had looked
for on the previous evening had given way to a mild and sunny day,
the breeze was still brisk and the sea was choppy. The canoe bobbed
up and down on the short waves, and Hugh was rolled from one side to
the other or bounced roughly with every motion of the light craft.
He felt sick and sore, his head ached miserably, and though he had
had no breakfast, the very thought of food was repugnant to him.

On the island, he mused, his friends would have discovered his
discarded garments by this time, and would be calling and hallooing
to him---in vain. What would they think of his prolonged absence?
That he had been drowned, or attacked by sharks, or lost in a
quicksand?---what on earth would they imagine had happened to him?
And Billy? Poor Billy, he would be quite frantic over the strange
disappearance of his chum! The actual state of affairs would be