he could always
rely. A single shrill whistle arose upon the air, an answering bark came
from the direction of the house, and Bose came bounding up to see what
was the matter. Tierney recoiled.

"He'll not say a spiteful word to you if you let me alone," Marcy
assured him. "You see now why I did not care to go down the road. You
have nothing to fear from me, but I shall tell Captain Beardsley all
about this interview as soon as I can find him. And that is just what I
am expected to do," he added, to himself, as the ship-keeper turned
around and hurried away. "That fellow isn't half as good a Union man as
Bose is. Beardsley sent him here to test me, and I saw it almost from
the beginning. If I don't report the matter, Beardsley will have his
suspicions confirmed, and then he will set something else on foot
against me. Oh, I'm a sharp one," laughed Marcy, taking off his cap and
patting his own head, "but I'd give a good deal to know when and how I
am going to get rid of that man. Whatever I do I must look out for
mother's comfort and peace of mind, and so I will not lisp a word of
this to her."

That night Marcy's sleep was disturbed by all sorts of bad dreams,
during which he was constantly detecting Captain Beardsley in some plot
to injure him, and when morning came he was not much refreshed. In
accordance with his usual custom he had his horse brought to the door
immediately after breakfast, kissed his mother good-by, and set out for
Nashville to bring the mail; but he stopped on the way to have a talk
with the owner of the privateer. Under almost any other circumstances
Marcy would have thought he was playing a contemptible part; but being
as certain as he wanted to be that Beardsley was trying to get a hold
upon him for some purpose of his own, the boy thought himself justified
in adopting heroic measures for self-defense. The ship-keeper was not
the Union man he pretended to be, and Marcy would tell Beardsley nothing
new when he revealed the plot at which Tierney had hinted the night
before. This was what Marcy believed, and the manner in which he was
greeted by the privateer captain confirmed him in his belief.

"Have you been over to the schooner this morning?" inquired the boy,
when he had hitched his horse and taken possession of the chair that was
brought out for him. "If you will not think me too inquisitive, I should
like to know where you picked up the two men you left in charge of
her."

"I found them