pened doorway the face of Cosetta,
the bandit, appeared, his evil eyes glittering strangely.

Dave looked up swiftly, his eyes turned straight on those of the
bandit.

"It's a plot, sure enough!" gasped the young ensign to himself.
"We shall be attacked, and the crowd is too big for us to handle"

He was not afraid for himself, and he knew well that Seaman Rogers
was "aching" for a chance to turn his hard fists loose on this
rascally lot of Mexicans. But a rush would probably secure the
bag of money for the bandits, and the woman herself might be roughly
handled, It was a ticklish situation.

"You are from an American warship, are you not?" inquired the
woman.

"From the _Long Island_, madam," the young officer informed her.

"I am an American citizen, too," she claimed.

"No matter to what nationality you belonged, we would protect you to
the best of our ability," Darrin added, raising his cap.

Whump! whump! whump! whump! It was the sound of steadily marching
feet. Then around the corner came a boatswain's mate and eight
keep even a crowd of rascals in order men from one of the American
warships. It was a shore duty party returning to a ship!

"Boatswain's mate!" Dave shouted. "Here!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

On the double quick came the shore duty party. Dave Darrin found
himself surrounded by blue jackets.

"This lady is very nervous, and with good reason," Dave explained
to the boatswain's mate. "She just had a handbag of money snatched
from her by a thief. The bag has been returned, and now she wishes
our escort to the dock, that she may not be attacked again. She
is on her way to board a ship that will take her back to the United
States. Boatswain's mate, I wish you would ride in the carriage
at her side, while the rest of us walk on the sidewalk close to
the carriage."

"Aye, aye, sir!" responded the mate, saluting, then turning and
lifting his cap gracefully to the woman. He helped her into the
carriage, then took his seat beside her.

Dave and the nine seamen remained on the sidewalk, but kept close
to the carriage as the horses moved along at a walk. Darrin had
no further fear that another attempt would be made to seize the
money by force. Eleven men from the American Navy are guard enough
to keep even a crowd of rascals in order.

"Since Cosetta was looking on from the doorway, that must have
been one of his jobs, engineered by him, and carried out by his
own men," Dave told hi