and stay
behind my cargo zere. You vill not come till I say you sall."

He pointed to the upper part of the cavern, but Vince said firmly:

"We cannot stay any longer, sir. We must go now."

The captain turned upon him savagely, and the next moment a couple of
the men had seized the boys and run them up behind the pile of bales,
and then stood on either side, with drawn cutlasses, to act as guards.

"What are we to do, Vince?" said Mike.

"I don't know. It seems like nonsense, and playing with us; but we are
prisoners, and--Who's that?"

They both listened in wonder, for they heard their names mentioned
angrily by the captain, who was speaking threateningly to some one who
replied in a tone that they recognised directly.

"Aha! you lie to me. Ve sall see. Here, you two boy, come here,
_vite_--_vite_!"

The guards made way for them, and followed just behind, as they marched
back to where the captain was seated, with old Daygo standing before
him.

The old man gave each of them a peculiar look, and then turned to the
captain again.

"Now zen," cried that individual, "you 'ave seen zis man. Him you
know?"

"Yes," said Vince; "of course we do."

"Aha! ze old friend. And he tell you of ze cavern and ze smuggling, and
how you find ze vay here?"

"No, not a word," said Vince stoutly. "But I can see now why you
wouldn't bring us round by the Black Scraw, Joe."

"Aha! ze vairy old friend. It is Joe!" said the captain fiercely.

"Well, why not?" said Vince quickly. "Old Joe has taken us in his boat
scores of times fishing and sailing."

"And told you of ze goods here in my cavern?"

"Not a word," said Vince.

"I do not believe," said the captain.

"'Course I never told 'em," growled Daygo. "I dunno how they come here.
I watched 'em times enough, and when I couldn't watch I set a boy to
see wheer they went. I couldn't do no more, Capen."

The Frenchman looked at them all in turn fiercely, and then he fixed his
eyes on old Daygo again.

"And ze peoples up above, zey are look for zem--ze boy?"

"I dunno," said Daygo. "I didn't know they were here, and I dunno how
they come. Dropt down with a rope, young gen'lemen?"

"No, zay come anozaire vay, my friend. It is good luck for you I do not
find zey know how of you. But sink no one on ze island know?"

"I dunno," said Daygo. "They don't know from me."

"You can go," said the captain sharply, and the old fisherman thrust his
hands very de