“But from where, Steve?” Pitch asked incredulously. “Look at that sheer wall behind the cliff!”

Steve said, “We can see it rising above the cliff, but actually we can’t tell from down here what happens when it meets the cliff. There may be a cave or path or something. There has to be a way. He got there.”

“Yes,” Pitch agreed, “there has to be a way.” Then he became excited. “Do you know what this means, Steve?”

“It means there has to be more to Azul Island than you thought,” Steve returned.

“More than anyone thought,” Pitch corrected hastily. “More than anyone has ever dreamed! Why, Steve, the presence of that horse up on the cliff has to mean that the Spaniards did inhabit this island at one time! How else did that horse get up there? Could Tom or anyone else now have the audacity to tell me that the Antago chamber of commerce was responsible for him too? Not for one moment, Steve!”

Steve smiled at Pitch’s last remark, but the intent look in his friend’s eyes convinced him that Pitch had not intended to be humorous. “You’re right, Pitch,” Steve said seriously. “And what we have to do now is to find a way into the interior.”

Pitch shook his head sadly. “I’d give five years of my life to do it, Steve,” he said, “but I don’t see how. I really don’t. Certainly we can’t get up from here.”

“No,” Steve agreed. “But there’s the sea, Pitch,” he added eagerly. “We can take the launch and look for a place where it might be possible to climb up.”

“I doubt that we could even get close enough to look, Steve. The waves would crash us against those stone walls. You’ve seen them. You know.”

“But we could try, Pitch,” Steve insisted. “There’s no other way.” He paused, then added slowly, “Unless you just want to stay here in the canyon.”

“No,” Pitch denied quickly, “I never could be content to stay here now! You’re right, Steve. We must do everything we can to get into the interior. This is probably the most important thing that’s ever happened to either of us. Come on, we’ll get the boat and see what we can find.”

A short while later they were in the launch and running alongside the island. The launch rolled on the giant swells that crashed heavily against the walled barrier of Azul Island.

They had gone a good distance when Pitch said, “I’m afraid I was right, Steve. We can’t get close enough to the island without crashing, much less try to find a possible way up the sides. It’s no use.”