chest had been uncovered, and the men had fastened a rope to a ring
in the lid, and were now hauling on the rope to drag the chest clear.

Cavendish watched the seamen a moment, and then went to examine the
poles. After a few minutes' observation, he said to Roger: "It is
pretty evident to me, boy, that this inlet has been used before for some
such purpose as that for which we are using it, namely, for careening
vessels for repairs and refit. These poles have been employed for
lifting guns or other heavy material taken out of a ship or from off a
raft. Now I wonder who it may be that has used these things? The
Spaniards would not need to use this inlet for any such purpose, for
they have their own ports on the island, where this kind of work could
be done far better than here. Nor can they have been Englishmen, I
should think, for if this place were known to any of our own people it
would be marked on the chart, and we should have heard of it, most
certainly. Also, the fact that these things have been buried points to
the certainty that the people who have hidden them intend to return and
use them again. If they had not meant to come back, they would have
taken them with them when they left. No, it is evident to me that the
people who left these articles will return periodically to this place to
refit; and as this spot is almost unknown, as well as being lonely and
secluded, it would seem to my poor understanding that the men who use
this place are not Spaniards or English seamen proper, but pirates. It
also occurs to me that there may be something in this box that they are
just getting out which will tell us what we want to know."

As the captain finished speaking, the box came up suddenly, and the
seamen, who were hauling manfully on the rope, fell upon their backs,
only to scramble quickly to their feet again with much laughter at the
mishap.

"Now, men," said Cavendish, who had a habit of taking his crew into his
confidence, "before we go any further, let me tell you that I believe
this inlet to be a pirate's resort, which they visit periodically for
the purpose of effecting repairs. If so, we must capture them if we
can. We must, therefore, be careful to leave no traces of our own visit
here or they may become alarmed and desert the place. Therefore all
this gear must be replaced exactly as we found it, before we sail, and
this box must not be broken open, but the lock must be picked instead.
And if w