stounded and bewildered Sir Archibald; the second--the brief
expression of distrust--hurt him sorely. But he had no time to be
sentimental. Three eighty-five for fish? What was the meaning of that?
Cut prices on flour, pork, sugar and tea? What was the meaning of
_that_? Sir Archibald saw in a flash what it meant to Topsail,
Armstrong, Grimm & Company. But what did it mean to Armstrong &
Company? Sir Archibald flushed and perspired with wrath. He pushed
buttons--he roared orders--he scribbled telegrams. In ten minutes, so
vociferous was his rage, so intense his purpose, it was known from one
end of the establishment to the other that the _Black Eagle_ must be
communicated with at once.

But Armstrong & Company could not manage to communicate with the
_Black Eagle_ direct, it seemed. Armstrong & Company might, however,
communicate with the _Spot Cash_, now at Tilt Cove and possibly bound
north. Doubtless by favour of the clerk of the _Spot Cash_ Armstrong &
Company would be able to speak orders in the ear of Skipper George
Rumm.

"Judd!" Sir Archibald roared.

The pale little clerk appeared on the bound.

"Rush this," said Sir Archibald.

The message read:

St. John's, August 6.

Archibald Armstrong II,
On board "Spot Cash,"
Tilt Cove.

Please oblige order "Black Eagle" St. John's forthwith.
This your authority.

Armstrong & Company.

CHAPTER XXVIII

_In Which the "Spot Cash" is Caught By a Gale In the Night
and Skipper Bill Gives Her Up For Lost_

It was blowing up when Archie returned to the _Spot Cash_. There was a
fine rain in the wind, too; and a mist--hardly yet a fog--was growing
denser on the face of a whitening sea. Nothing to bother about yet, of
course: only a smart breeze and a little tumble, with thick weather to
make a skipper keep his eyes open. But there was the threat of heavy
wind and a big sea in gray sky overhead and far out upon the water.
Tilt Cove was no place for the _Spot Cash_ to lie very long; she must
look for shelter in Sop's Arm before night.

"Archie, b'y," said Bill o' Burnt Bay, in the cozy forecastle with the
boys, "there's something queer about this here _Black Eagle_."

"I should say so!" Archie sneered. "It's the first time I ever knew my
father not to play fair."

"Bosh!" Skipper Bill ejaculated.

Archie started up in a rage.

"'Ear the wind!" said Bagg,