ected Elsa Mallaby with her in ten years of hard thinking. All he
did know was that some unknown agency was suddenly at work in behalf
of the man he hated.

He notified the admiralty that a strange schooner had impersonated the
gunboat of H. I. M. George V, and gave a very accurate description of
her.

As this was a new offense for the vessel that had already interfered
with justice twice, the skippers of all the revenue cutters along the
coast bent their energies to capturing or sinking this semipiratical
craft, upon the receipt of radiograms to that effect.

Not only had Nat set the machinery of the law in motion against the
mystery schooner, but he had provided against any future dabbling with
his constabulary powers by the simple expedient of having with him an
officer of the law who was empowered to bring the accused murderer of
Michael Burns before the bar of justice without transfer.

When the supposed gunboat had removed the prisoner from his deck and
borne away (for a while) on the course to St. Andrew's, Nat, relieved
of responsibility, ran over to Grande Mignon and into the harbor of
Freekirk Head.

His purpose in this was twofold, and treacherous in both cases. First
he lost no time in spreading the details of how Code Schofield had
been captured in a drunken brawl at St. Pierre and was fighting the
jailers in St. Andrew's. Secondly, he had a long private interview
with Bill Boughton, in which he tried to get the storekeeper to sign a
contract for his (Burns's) fish at a certain price.

While the former was meanness of a hideous kind, this latter move was
one of treachery against the men of Freekirk Head. The worst part of
it was that Nat had about a hundred quintals of splendid-looking cod
(every pound he had caught) in his hold, and these he handed over to
Boughton as a sample of what was to come from him very shortly.

Boughton was hard up for fish, for none had come from the Banks, and
bought them at a big price. But as to the signing of the contract, he
demurred. When Nat could not explain why he had caught so few fish in
such a long time, the storekeeper became wary and refused to commit
himself. Finally he agreed to the price if Nat would deliver a
thousand quintals before any of the rest of the fleet arrived home.

Consequently it was up mainsail and sway 'em flat and a fast run north
for the _Nettie B._

During his day's stay in Freekirk Head he had received a great bag of
mail for the me