The Wonder Island Boys: The 
Mysteries of the
by Roger 
Thompson Finlay 
 
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of the 
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 
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 
WONDER ISLAND BOYS: THE MYSTERIES OF THE 
CAVERNS***
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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    
    
		
	
	
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